Tomorrow I will be speaking about textile scraps and leftovers in late medieval Arezzo, focusing on the circulation, reuse, and value of what we might now define as 'waste' within urban and artisanal economies. I am very happy to take part in this workshop organized by the University of Warwick, which offers an important opportunity to discuss material sustainability and circular practices in medieval Tuscany from a broader comparative perspective. Looking at textile by-products in Arezzo allows us to see how nothing was truly 'discarded': fragments of cloth, production remnants, and worn materials often re-entered economic and craft cycles, revealing a system where reuse and transformation were embedded in everyday practice.
