Seminar: "Moral Fiber: Towards a Faithful Response to the 'Fast Fashion' Crisis" with Dr. Bethany Hebbard

Never in human history has clothing been more abundant or less expensive for the average consumer. This might seem like good news, as we rely on clothing not only to protect us from the elements, but to signal who we are and what we value. However, “fast fashion”—our prevailing system of clothing production and consumption—endangers the health of diverse environments, communities, and cultures. As with our global food system, there is a great deal at stake in our everyday choices. How we feed ourselves, and how we clothe ourselves, matters as we imagine the kind of world we wish to inhabit.

In this seminar, we will ask what it means to dress ourselves faithfully in the age of “fast fashion.” As we investigate the problems with current trends in production and consumption, as well as hopeful responses, we will discover how local, community-based, and even domestic action can help us repair the rifts caused by a culture of excess. 

Bethany Hebbard (nee Bear) received her PhD in English from Baylor University in 2012. In 2015, she left an academic teaching post and returned to Texas to join her husband, Steven, at Community First! Village, a master-planned community for the formerly homeless in east Austin. There she directs the Community Corps, a missional volunteer training program integrating service, spiritual formation, and life in community. In the fall of 2019, they will be moving to San Marcos, Texas, to launch a farm-based ministry to the homeless there.