Barkcloth Collar, 2018
Aniela Hoitink (b. 1975)
Mulberry tree bark, ramie fiber, and root dye, 13 3/4 × 15 × 5 1/2 in. (34.9 × 38.1 × 14 cm)
Courtesy Aniela Hoitink | NEFFA

This barkcloth collar presents an alternative method to garment production as a response to unsustainable “fast fashion,” where barely worn clothing is thrown away by consumers. When discarded, this collar fully decomposes in the ground, reducing pollution and waste. Notably, it was inspired by methods of producing barkcloth that Hoitink learned from the Atayal people in Taiwan, for whom doing so is a form of cultural practice that has been recently revived as a means of establishing Indigenous identity. In this context, conservation bridges matter, community, and ecology.