Reclaiming Cloth, Regenerating Futures, Rethinking

Aim: Building a sustainable fashion model using seaweed dyes & UK fibres. Small-batch, regenerative production rooted in craft & biodiversity.

Finch Marsh: Restoring Cloth, Regenerating Futures

@finch_marsh

 

Scaling a regenerative fashion practice: seaweed dyes, UK fibres & local production to reduce waste & support sustainable textile futures.

Project Aim

Scaling a regenerative fashion practice: seaweed dyes, UK fibres & local production to reduce waste & support sustainable textile futures.

 Introduction

I’m Joanne O’Rourke, a textile designer and female founder based in Norfolk. Through my practice, Finch Marsh, I explore the relationship between nature, waste, and craft by creating regenerative garments and textiles.

https://www.greengrads.co.uk/meet-our-green-grads/

Joanne O’Rourke BA (Hons) Textile designer

BA Textile Design, Norwich University of the Arts, 2024. My textile collection Harmonious Nature’s Rhythms explores the biodiversity of meadows and marshes through abstract designs infused with dynamic colour. “By combining hand-drawn elements with digital techniques, I aim to capture the energy and fluidity of these ecosystems. Sustainability is at the core of my work, which utilises eco-friendly materials and processes that minimises waste and environmental impact.”  Inspiration,  comes from the serene landscape of Glendalough, Ireland, where I grew up, and now from the marshes and meadows of Holkham in Norfolk, near where she lives. I have been  influenced by the artists Helen Frankenthaler and Henri Matisse. “I have developed a profound appreciation for the natural world. This connection to nature drives me to create designs that reflect the vibrant interplay of natural elements and promote environmental stewardship.” Going forward,  I will focus on eco-friendly dyes, waterless dyeing technologies, biodegradable and non-toxic dyes, and energy-efficient processes. “These advancements can significantly reduce the environmental impact of textile production while opening new creative possibilities.”

I work with natural fibres, seaweed dyes, and reclaimed materials to produce small-batch clothing and cloth rooted in care, ecology, and place. My design process blends hand-painted techniques with digital tools, scanning textures from the natural world and creating pieces that hold both story and sustainability at their core.

This campaign is about launching a new kind of fashion practice — one that honours slowness, biodiversity, and the handmade. Your support will help me scale small-batch production using UK-based sustainable suppliers, while keeping every piece local, ethical, and deeply personal.

Why Materials Matter

Every fibre choice carries both an environmental cost and the potential for repair and regeneration:

• 92 million tonnes of textiles are wasted globally each year
  (UNEP, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2023)

• 35% of ocean microplastics come from washing synthetic textiles
  (IUCN, 2017)

• 500,000 tonnes of microfibres enter oceans annually
  (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

• Inshore dredging damages fragile seabeds, removing vital seaweed beds, salt marshes, and coastal biodiversity
  (UK Marine Conservation Society, 2024)

• Deep-sea mining threatens fragile ecosystems that may take centuries to recover
  (IUCN, 2024)

 My Approach

At Finch Marsh, I am building a regenerative alternative:

Working with UK-grown natural fibres

Hand-painting with seaweed dyes and waste inks

Avoiding synthetics and contributing to microplastic reduction

Rooted in place, craft, and care

Small-batch, slow and intentional production

Local sourcing, local making, local stories

Your support helps scale this work — proving that sustainable fashion can be both beautiful and responsible.

About Me

I am a regenerative textile designer based in Norfolk, founder of Finch Marsh. My work blends hand-painted processes, seaweed dyes, and natural fibres to create sustainable garments and cloth rooted in place.

I have shared my work at:

Green Grads (London & North) 

 Green Grads

https://greengrads.co.uk/

FESPA Berlin (Eco Stories Award)

Ocean Talks 2025

links to view my patterns design .

 https://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-events/ocean-talks/interview-joanne-orourke-eco-textiles

https://www.fespaglobalprintexpo.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaddhsGML5wcdzQdPV9eKGWqR6A4hr9kC8fNB0GmTr2Ek6AYIc96gAvLOuQXAw_aem_Hgw6zxv2KG1OlnLtj0MN6A

https://www.artsthread.com/profile/joanne-maria-orourke?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadnHW2ivpi_c1RuPoha4Tx2vWHamUQf6TQ16uPTrZfVREhZvyAYDJUm_Efdmw_aem_Cp1YHYvwR_wzkMDFSmopbw

https://www.texintel.com/press-room/orourke-10-24-p-meet-joanne-maria-orourke-and-her-harmonious-natures-rythyms-collection-of-digitally-printed-textiles?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafX4N53ixRo5bYHstvWWf7F3Fajge50Qvf23sGyTkWn087AWTuEgn-H0ZFnqg_aem_45PwdhzlpNboJ59O9-MqWA

Looking Ahead

This campaign supports the launch of Finch Marsh’s first small-batch collection, but it’s part of a wider long-term vision.

Through my research, I’m exploring how regenerative materials upcycling, digital tools and responsible manufacturing can scale — without losing craft, story, or care.

Exploring digital print-on-demand processes to minimise waste and allow flexible, made-to-order designs

Developing pattern design that holds memory and place — inspired by nature, marshes, skies, and biodiversity

Building connections with manufacturers in Leicester (UK) and Como (Italy) to develop ethical, small-scale production routes

Creating textiles that hold stories in colour, mark-making, and materials — making the invisible visible

Searching for ways to rebuild parts of the lost UK manufacturing knowledge, where regeneration means both environmental repair and social making

Finch Marsh isn’t just a product — it’s a living research practice shaped by place, process, and possibility.

Sharing the Pattern Language

Finch Marsh isn’t just about producing garments — it’s about developing a living language of pattern, colour and place.

As part of this work, I’m researching ways to:

Translate nature into regenerative design language — drawing from salt marshes, skies, and waterlines.

Develop pattern systems that hold memory and location — blending mark-making, digital tools, and pigment studies.

Share this learning with others through workshops, talks, and open research — building a future where regenerative design is practical, creative, and teachable.

Offer ways for others — makers, designers, students — to explore eco-pigment use, local fibre sourcing, and zero-waste pattern approaches.

This is about building skills as well as products — teaching how we can work with materials in ways that restore rather than extract.

This campaign will help me scale production while remaining deeply connected to craft, care, and my local environment.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 6th September 2025 at 8:46am