Over the last few years I've become increasingly aware of the "high cost of cheap fashion" and whilst developing our online training in natural fabric dyeing, I started researching ways I could contribute to a much needed change.

We all love a bargain but following the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in 2013 when over 1000 people lost their lives due to unsafe working conditions, many of us started to understand just how our demand for cheap clothing and 'retail therapy' had deadly consequences, mainly for women in less affluent countries.

On April 24, 2013, an eight storey clothing factory in Rana Plaza, Bangladesh, collapsed killing 1,134 workers and injuring 2500. The building had been unsafe and in a state of disrepair yet because of the demand for cheap labour and fast fashion, the building owners ignored warnings and forced workers to carry on.

2013 Savar building collapse, Bangladesh. On Wednesday, 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka,...

This year, I am working on a community project called ‘Re-Wild Wirral’ to help raise awareness about sustainable alternatives to buying cheap, fast fashion. I’m encouraging people to love their clothing a little longer by up-cycling it using locally foraged plant dyes and colourful food waste and if you live locally, you're invited to join in!

Do you have an old, white (or pale) cotton T-shirt that’s been languishing in the back of your wardrobe? Are you willing to join a multi-coloured group of other volunteers for a photo shoot on Sunday 22^nd April 2018? If so, would you like me to re-dye and pattern your T-shirt using the botanical colours our ancestors used and shibori tie-dye patterns, for free?

This project is a form of creative activism running in collaboration with the international ‘Fashion Revolution’ event this April. This organisation campaigns for a safer, cleaner fashion industry.

(Images © Fashion Revolution ...

Helen Melvin is a textile artist creating landscapes in felt, the fibres for which she colours herself in natural dyes mainly grown in her own working dye garden.

Over the last twenty years she has evolved her own unique style which is created not only by the way she felts using fabrics and fibres but also by her unique use of sustainable dyes.

Helen works with the ancient techniques of feltmaking and natural dyeing in a modern contemporary way which prioritises having a minimal impact on the environment.

Her landscapes are in private collections world wide including Australia, Switzerland, Belgium, USA and the Falkland Islands as well as throughout the UK.

She attracts many visitors to her Summer House gallery, working studio and dye garden when it opens for the annual 'North Wales Helfa Gelf' throughout September.

I was lucky enough to attend a one-to-one training in natural dyeing by Helen back in March 2013 at her lovely home in North Wales. You can find out more about her...

Wind-fallen scarves workshop at Big Cat Textiles, Newburgh, Scotland – August 2015