Anna Bruffy is the founder of Sea Side Fiber Arts in Virginia Beach, VA. Sea Side Fiber Arts focuses on sustainable natural dyeing of animal and plant fibers (such as sheep wool and banana tree fiber) with tree wood, plants and insects. She collaborates with the Iwokrama rainforest research center in Guyana, South America

[0:30] Sustainable dyeing using insects (cochineal and lac) and plants (osage orange, sequoia wood)

[4:00] Environmental consciousness and the history/process of dyeing

[10:00] Waste products and water use

[14:30] Guyana and the humble banana (1,000+ types of bananas in the world!)

[22:00] Banana: Medicinal use, Pseudo-stems, Carbon Sequestration, Insulation, Rhizomes

[31:30] NIH Study: “An experimental study on the effects of different type of textiles on conception”

[34:00] Microplastics, PFAS, Abaca Tree, Styrofoam, Banana Paper

[46:30] Fair Trade, Circular Economies, Surama Eco-Lodge, Iwokrama Research Center

[52:30] Dyeing yarn

[57:00] There are no shortcuts to the mountain top

[58:00] Physiology and aesthetics of natural dyes vs. synthetic dyes

[1:04:00] Waste: a cultural creation?