Interview with Laura Sansone: Fashion + Sustainability – Lines of Research Series / by Mae Colburn

In this interview Laura Sansone, an artist and professor at Parsons, discusses her passion for sustainability, particularly in textiles, and how it connects to community empowerment and local economies.

She reflects on her journey from working with recyclable materials to focusing on natural, compostable fibers. Sansone founded the Textile Lab, a mobile project that brings hands-on textile techniques like spinning and dyeing to New York City’s greenmarkets, engaging the public in crafting while fostering a deeper connection to the materials and production processes. Through this initiative, she encourages a decentralized, locally-driven approach to sustainability that emphasizes community involvement and knowledge-sharing, aiming to create a more self-sufficient and productive culture.