Sustainable Fashion- Good for people and planet
JUST SUST Festival of Sustainable Clothing - A Day to Remember at Brimscombe Mill
On Saturday 28 February 2026, Brimscombe Mill was transformed. For the very first time, the Mill opened its doors to a full festival takeover, and what a day it turned out to be.
JUST SUST Festival of Sustainable Clothing brought together makers, repairers, activists, artists, dancers, filmmakers and community members for a free, joy-filled celebration of sustainable fashion. By the end of the evening, over 800 people had passed through the Mill's doors. Here's how the day unfolded.
The organiser of the festival Annabel Richmond has put together a full rundown of the day for us, read it below, we can’t wait to see what Annabel has planned for next year JUST SUST Festival of Sustainable Clothing V2 Watch this space.
https://sites.google.com/view/justsustfestival/welcome-to-our-festival
The Makers' Market
The day began with a bustling Makers' Market filling the Mill's spaces with colour, conversation and creativity. Every seller reported a fantastic day of sales and engagement, and the remnant table - piled high with generous donations of fabric and materials - was particularly well loved, generating welcome income for both the festival and the Mill.
Alongside the makers, a wonderful selection of information stalls brought the world of sustainable fashion to life. Amelia and Carly from Sustainable Fashion Week, Stroud District Council, Emergence Restock and Save Our Socks Cirencester were all on hand to share knowledge, spark conversations and inspire visitors to think differently about the clothes they wear and buy.
Workshops, Weaving and Wonderful Makers
The Mill’s spaces hummed with activity throughout the day as interactive workshops invited visitors to try their hand at textile crafts. Flaxland (Ann and Simon Cooper) and Wayward Weaves (Nicola Builder and Louise Phelps) led hands-on sessions that drew curious visitors of all ages, Kids Stuff (Leigh Montague) engaged our younger audience with pom pom making, while tailor Sayeed Heray offered tailoring and alterations - a beautifully practical reminder that repair and care are radical acts.
Lining the walls of the Sanctuary was one of the day's most quietly powerful moments: Sue Brown's extraordinary Covid Quilts. Each unique square contained intricate, personal detail of a maker's experience during the pandemic - a textile installation that was equal parts craftivism and social documentary, and one that stopped visitors in their tracks.
Sonny the Sunshine Bard
All the while, a festival poet worked quietly and joyfully at his vintage typewriter. Sonny the Sunshine Bard connected with dozens of visitors across the day, crafting a unique, hand-typed poem or story for each person to carry home. A small and perfect thing.
Talks, Film and Conversation
As the market wound down and the Sanctuary was transformed into an intimate venue space, the festival shifted into its evening programme - and the energy shifted with it.
Sustainable fashion activists Amelia Twine and Venetia La Manna took to the floor for a powerful conversation, captured beautifully on video by Emlyn Bainbridge and available to watch on the JUST SUST YouTube channel. By the time this audience settled in, the festival had already welcomed over 600 visitors - a milestone that felt worth pausing to appreciate.
The early evening then brought a special collaboration with Stroud Film Festival for a screening of Woman Grows Jeans, followed by a lively Q&A with panel guests Katy Bevan, Justine Aldersey Williams, Simon Cooper and Shalize Nicholas. On a pay-as-you-can basis, another 100 festival-goers filled the room to capacity and the presence of the actual jeans, grown and made by hand, really brought the idea of field to fibre to life.
Boss Morris and the Runway of the Preloved
As darkness fell over the Mill, the evening truly came alive. Progressive morris dance side Boss Morris opened the evening segment with a spectacular guest performance - their musicians filling the Mill with sound, their dancers moving with playful precision in vibrant upcycled tea towel tunics. Traditional folk dance, reimagined and irresistible. The perfect way to light up a winter night.
Then came the moment the festival had been building towards: The Runway of the Preloved.
Conceived as a celebratory showcase of upcycled and sustainable fashion made by and for our community, the Runway was dazzling. Over 50 makers of all ages and all stages of their creative journeys presented their work - and remarkably, more than 80% of them chose to walk their own designs down the catwalk themselves. (Some even walked with canine companions!) Produced and compered with warmth and humour by Kirsty Donnelly who had interviewed every maker beforehand and knew each story intimately - the show was as moving as it was spectacular. There was a fantastic set of entries from Stroud School of Art at SGS, including one design that has since been accepted into the finals of the global Junk Kouture Youth Sustainability Design Challenge. Huge congratulations to City Finalist Tabitha, who also won the 'most-enjoyed outfit' festival audience vote.
The Sanctuary held over 100 audience members, with the show simultaneously live-streamed to the Mill restaurant so that nobody had to miss a moment. The whole runway was captured on video by Pete Barnes and is available to watch in full on YouTube - do treat yourself.
Makers had been invited to help shape the show through a group facilitation session at the dress rehearsal, and the result was a runway that felt genuinely community-owned. The overwhelming feedback was one of pride, courage and joy. We wanted this to be a moment for makers to shine - and shine they did!
A Festival Built on Community
None of this would have been possible without an enormous amount of trust and generosity. The Mill itself which had never previously hosted a full festival takeover - gave us the freedom to imagine something bold, and we are deeply grateful. The Long Table kept everyone fed and watered beautifully throughout the day and evening, and the Mill's businesses remained fully operational, welcoming the extra footfall that the festival brought through the doors. Thank you.
Our incredible volunteers deserve their own standing ovation. Stroud's Sub Rooms generously shared their experienced volunteer team with us - directing traffic, signposting visitors and turning the Sanctuary around between events with remarkable efficiency and good humour. We simply could not have done it without them. If you'd like to get involved with next year's festival, please do get in touch via our contact form or at hellojustsust@gmail.com - we would love to hear from you.
DJ Izzy Martini set the tone as makers and models arrived for the Runway, and costume designer as DJ Druidress (aka Katie Taylor) closed the night in the Long Table area with a joyful after-party set that sent everyone home dancing. (night pic attached)
Heartfelt thanks go to our sponsors Ecotricity, funders the Laura Kinsella Foundation and Stroud Arts Festival, and to everyone who donated their time and their skills - including image capture by Wilson Cook Photography and Iona Edmonds; videographers Emlyn Bainbridge and Pete Barnes; set from the Kids Stuff and the Home Remedy - these contributions made it possible to offer the festival free to the community.
Shall we do this again? We rather think we should.
JUST SUST Festival of Sustainable Clothing V2 is planned for spring 2027. Watch this space.
https://sites.google.com/view/justsustfestival/welcome-to-our-festival