The Ecosystems Woven Into Our Clothes
High in the Andes mountains, a puma looks down upon the Patagonia plateau, eyeing a large herd of woolly sheep moving in lockstep. The threat of attack distresses the rancher below. These sheep are his livelihood, their thick wool destined to enter a supply chain before becoming a warm sweater hanging on a clothing rack with a hefty price tag. But the puma’s presence is actually a good sign for the farm: Its return to the landscape signals a healthy ecosystem.
“There are indicator species that you can see at different stages of ecosystem repair,” said Bronwyn Botha, regenerative agriculture and biodiversity strategist for Textile Exchange, a nonprofit supporting the fashion, apparel, and textile industries in sourcing raw materials and fibers from preferred production systems. “If you’ve got one of those predators, like a puma, it might be annoying for your wool production, but it can also be a great sign that things are doing well.”