How to Join One of the Rust Belt Fibershed Directories:

Which to join?

VALUE CHAIN DIRECTORY

or the

SUPPORTING PARTNER DIRECTORY

This page explains which of the two directories might be the best fit for you, depending on your work/interest, as well as how to apply. Both updated directories will launch in October!

Up first, the Value Chain Directory:

How to Join the Value Chain Directory

a network of farmers, mill owners, natural dyers, sewists, weavers, knitters, spinners, designers, menders, and upcyclers living and working within a 250 mile radius of Cleveland, Ohio

 

Value Chain Directory

Rust Belt Fibershed Value Chain Directory is a network of farmers, mill owners, natural dyers, sewists, weavers, knitters, spinners, designers, menders, and upcyclers living and working within a 250 mile radius of Cleveland, Ohio, which includes most of the cities and surrounding areas classified as Rust Belt during the previous industrial era.

Note: we use the term “chain” due to its familiarity, though we prefer to think of the Supply Chain/Value Chain actually as a web of many interconnected parts, not organized in a specific linear order around the circle. Truly, many parts of our value chain cut across the center of circularity and dynamic interactions form what looks more like a web than a smooth, predictable movement around the circle.

We are looking towards a new type of “industrial” area– one that is at a local scale, bioregional and creates connections that allows our place to thrive. One that doesn’t function linearly but circularly– starting and ending with improved soil. We recognize the current truth of our place: our region is lacking infrastructure for most members of a local value chain to create solely within our three pillars of local fiber, local labor, and local dye.

That said, below are our guidelines for joining as a part of the Rust Belt Fibershed Value Chain Directory for a regional, soil-to-soil textile economy.

Guidelines for becoming a part of the Rust Belt Fibershed Value Chain Directory 

  1. You must be aligned to our mission and vision:
    Mission: to catalyze the development of a circular textile infrastructure in the Rust Belt Region.

    Vision: Makers and consumers alike participate in a reimagined textile ecosystem, cultivating a culture of care for people and planet.

    If this describes your ethos, we’re on the right track!

  2. Your work must fit under either Option A or Option B below. Your work does not have to fit both. 

OPTION A

Your work utilizes/supplies fiber, dyes, labor are farmed/sourced anywhere within the Rust Belt Fibershed (250 miles of Cleveland, Ohio).

OPTION A: Your work utilizes, or supplies fiber, dyes, and labor which are sourced anywhere within the Rust Belt Fibershed (250 miles of Cleveland, Ohio).

OPTION B

Your work is keeping the textiles here in use and out of landfills. This may mean mending, upcycling, other creative use of textile scraps, and/or larger more robust recycling initiatives.

OPTION B: Your work is keeping the textiles already in our place in use and out of landfills, incinerators, or contributors to waste colonialism. This may mean mending, upcycling, other creative use of textile scraps, or larger more rubust recycling initiatives

  • Here are some examples of good fits for the RBF Value Chain (There are many others):

    • You live in Southern Ohio and are a shepherd with 50 head of Icelandic sheep, and you’re selling raw fleece, yarn, skins, etc. 

    • You live near Detroit and grow other fibers or dyestuff

    • You’re are a shearer that works in the Southwestern PA region 

    • You are an upcycling designed based in Buffalo

    • You are a cut-and-sew business located in Columbus 

    • You are a clothing designer looking to create a regional product line with local yarns and fiber located near Cleveland

    • You live in the Northeast corner of Indiana and are an interior designer who uses waste wool from sheep for insulation purposes

    • You offer mending services in Toledo

    • You offer fiber processing (felting, spinning, weaving, dyeing, etc.), either mechanized or hand-scale near Cincinnati

    • You have farming and land management experience in the Ohio region and you offer services to help shepherds and farmers shift their practices towards those that are beneficial for the entire ecosystem– humans included!

    • You are growing an indigo crop in the microclimate of Chautauqua, NY

    Many other possibilities exist. If you have any questions about if you qualify, please simply email rustbeltfibershed@gmail.com

    Note: Only specific products that abide by all three (fiber, dyes, labor) may bear a Rust Belt Fibershed label and tag, which will be available to you to order at cost as a Value Chain Directory member. As stated above, we recognize that our region lacks the infrastructure needed to allow many parts of the value chain, especially those with products” to be fully “Rust Belt Fibershed”. As our program expands, our descriptions and delineations will as well.

  • Let's say you're a boutique or shop that wants to move towards selling RBF-certified goods as our collective economy grows, or perhaps you simply have a desire to support more ethical fashion/textiles, but perhaps they aren’t grown/processed/sewn here? 

    Please keep scrolling to check out our Supporting Partners Directory option below to see benefits for joining!

  • Let's say you’re a community center or local organization that offers educational programming around a local fiber economy (farming, re-skilling, local school programming, textile clubs, etc.)?

    Please keep scrolling to check out our Supporting Partners Directory option below to see benefits for joining!

  • Donation beginning at $45 annually.

    This fee helps us maintain our website platforms and other operational costs associated with our organization. Thank you!

    • Promotion via Directory: Your name and contact information will be displayed on our official RBF Value Chain Directory section on our website, alongside your photo/logo & name.

    • Promotion via Map Directory: Your same basic contact information above will also be shown on an interactive Value Chain Map

    • Promotion via individual Page on our Website: Website visitors can click on your information that will be taken to page dedicated to your work where we’ll put the basics: Expanded information about what you offer, a brief bio, contact information again, links to any of your resources, platforms, etc. up to 10 photos (you supply)

    • Event Promotion: Send us a list of any public events (farm sale, workshops, etc.), and we’ll put them on our official website calendar as a “Producer Event”

    • Producer Spotlight: A “Producer Spotlight” section in our newsletter after you join, launching in October 2024

    • Connecting Meetings: Invitation to Annual RBF Value Chain Meeting (via Zoom for 2024 in Oct or Nov– shooting for in-person in 2025) as well as potential book clubs and field trips.

    • Private Section on our Online Platform: Our RBF Value Chain Members will receive access to a closed group on our online Circle platform to chat/connect with each other privately at any time

    • Discounts: Discounts for registration fees or tabling fees to RBF events like our annual symposium, RBF-sponsored workshops, etc.

    • Special RBF Value Chain logo to use with specific items on your website.

    • Tags at Cost: You’ll have the ability to purchase Rust Belt Fibershed tags (with logo, mission statement, & soil-to-soil explanation) at cost for any items that follow local fiber, local labor, local dye.

    • Satisfaction: Know that your support is directly going towards our operational costs and programming for a soil-to-soil, regional textile supply chain.

    • Thank you! Your entity’s name and info will be listed in our annual report.

  • Only specific products that abide by all three (fiber, dyes, labor) may bear a Rust Belt Fibershed label and tag, which will be available to you to order at cost as a Value Chain Directory member. As stated above, we recognize that our region lacks the infrastructure needed to allow many parts of the value chain, especially those with products” to be fully “Rust Belt Fibershed”. As our program expands, our descriptions and delineations will as well.

how to join the value chain directory

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how to join the value chain directory 〰️

STEPS TO JOIN THE RBF VALUE CHAIN DIRECTORY:

  • 1. Fill out this form

  • 2. We’ll respond back to you within the week, letting you know we’ve reviewed your application, and we’ll send along a link for payment for your donation starting at $45 annually.

  • 3. After we receive your payment, we’ll add you to our website in the various places, we’ll share about you in our next monthly newsletter, and on a Value Chain spotlight we’ll do monthly on Instagram.

 
 

SUPPORTING PARTNERS DIRECTORY

How to Join the Supporting Partners Directory

So you’re not necessarily a member of the Regional Value Chain but would like to support our efforts?  You can show your support by becoming a Supporting Partner!

Our goal is that our Supporting Partner Directory becomes a go-to list for folks who are looking for programs, spaces, education, business partners, commissioned work, etc. when it comes to co-creating a more regenerative place here in the Rust Belt Region. Our Supporting Partners are attracted to our work likely due to their interest in local fiber/textiles/fashion, but more broadly due to wanting to also create opportunities for knowledge & ecological awareness, kinship, and changemaking.

Supporting Partners foster, advocate for, and aspire to the core of the Rust Belt Fibershed: local fiber, local labor, local dyes, but do not have to be working on any of those three inititatives personally.

Your participation as a supporting partner aids in our mission of connecting people to local fiber materials and building our local fiber economy.

When you offer your support on a sliding scale starting at $45 a year, we’ll ask which of the following four categories best applies to you, so visitors to our website can find you. Here are the four categories we anticipate our Supporting Partners will fall into:

Four Categories of supporting partners:

Individual Supporter

Maybe you’re simply a human interested in supporting a regional fiber economy. Thank you!

Orgs, Schools, Museums, Nonprofits, etc.

Maybe you’re a fiber art guild, museum, non-profit, school, etc. in the area interested in supporting our mission, and you’re also seeking reciprocal partnership benefits, be it education, promotion, etc.

Artist

You make art and would love to showcase and connect it with regional fiber, but you’re not looking to be a part of the Value Chain when it comes to manufacturing local textiles. We are often looking for engaged community artists to help bring our mission to the hearts and minds of our wide community.

Retailer

You own a boutique, storefront, or other customer-facing, merchandise business that sells goods that align to our principles of economic integrity, ecological stewardship, and connection to people and place. You do not need to be a textile, fabric, clothing, etc. shop.

  • 1) Individual Supporting Partner: You’re simply a human who is interested in supporting a regional fiber economy. Thank you!

    2) Organization/Group Supporting Partner: You’re a fiber art guild, museum, non-profit, school, etc. in the area interested in supporting our mission, and you’re also seeking reciprocal partnership benefits, be it education, promotion, etc.

    3) Artist Supporting Partner: You make art and would love to showcase and connect it with regional fiber, but you’re not looking to be a part of the Value Chain when it comes to manufacturing local textiles. We are often looking for engaged community artists to help bring our mission to the hearts and minds of our wide community.

    4) Retailer Supporting Partner You own a boutique, storefront, or other customer-facing, merchandise business that sells goods that align to our principles of economic integrity, ecological stewardship, and connection to people and place. You do not need to be a textile, fabric, clothing, etc. shop.

  • Cost: Sliding Scale starting at $45 annually.

    This fee helps us maintain our website platforms and other operational costs associated with our organization. Thank you!

    • Website Presence: We will list your name and, if desired, business, and contact information on the Rust Belt Fibershed Supporting Partners page, under the correct designation of
      - individuals (listed unless otherwise specified),
      - organizations (with logo or photo, brief bio, address, website, and contact info like email or phone number to be listed on website)
      - artists (with photo, brief bio, address, website, and contact info like email or phone number to be listed on website)
      - retailers (with logo or photo, address, website, and contact info like email or phone number to be listed on website)

    • Events: If you are having an event that is related to our mission, let us know, share the connecting piece with us, and if it’s an appropriate fit we’ll promote it on our social media channels.

    • Private Section on our Online Platform: Our RBF Supporting Partners Members will receive access to a closed group on our online Circle platform to chat/connect with each other privately at any time and hopefully build some mycelial connections amongst yourselves!

    • Discounts: Receive discounts for registration fees to RBF events like our annual symposium, RBF-sponsored workshops, etc.

    • Satisfaction: Know that your support is directly going towards our operational costs and programming for a soil-to-soil, regional textile supply chain.

    • Thank you! Your/Your entity’s name and info will be listed in our annual report.

how to join the supporting partners directory

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how to join the supporting partners directory 〰️

Steps to becoming a part of the Rust Belt Fibershed Supporting Partner Directory 

1. Donate below any custom amount starting at $45 a year. In the comments section, please write your name, your email, and that you are joining as a Rust Belt Fibershed Supporting Partner!  

If you’re an individual, that’s all you need to do! We’ll list your name on the website (no contact info). Thank you so much for your contribution! If you currently offer a recurring donation, you will also be listed in this section unless you prefer not to be— please let us know.

If you’re an org/group/school, retailer, artist, etc, please move onto Step 2:

2. Send an email to rustbeltfibershed@gmail.com, with the subject line “Joining as a Supporting Partner”. In the brief email, simply share:

  • A brief bio of you/your org. Shoot for under 250 words. A mission statement is fine.

  • All the contact info you would like to appear (links, addresses, phone, etc.)

  • 1-3 photos and/or your logo you would like us to use in your section.

    We will add your information to our website under the appropriate section (Individual, Organization/Group/School, Artist, or Retailer), and let you know when it’s been updated! We try to update as soon as possible, but please allow up to 2 weeks, as we are still working as volunteers (thank you for your donation!).

Additionally, at any time, anyone can peruse and join our free online community, and we kindly encourage anyone reading this and living in our region to do so!