What is deadstock fabric?
Textile / garment factories and fashion designers normally have a large amount of left over fabric. This left over fabric is often taken to landfill, incinerated or destined to be kept in storage. These fabrics may be left over because they were printed on the wrong substrate (type of fabric), they were dyed the wrong colour, the print scale is inaccurate, or it is just surplus fabric that is not being used because the designer has finished their collection.
Where do we source deadstock fabric?
At Sew Me Sunshine we often purchase fabric directly from fashion brands who have surplus fabric left over after sampling or at the end of their collections. We are really honoured to be able to work with other small businesses.
We also purchase deadstock fabrics not directly from the fashion brands. Our higher end ex-designer fabrics are sourced directly from the warehouses and mills in Italy and France.
Is deadstock fabric sustainable?
No single fabric can be deemed sustainable, the fashion industry alone contributes to approximately 10% of global carbon emissions, therefore we believe it is important that we are transparent about our fabric sourcing practices.
We do not believe sourcing deadstock fabric is the perfect answer, however, it does enable us to cut back on purchasing virgin fabric - using already produced polyester fabric is still more sustainable than creating new fabrics even when these fabrics have eco-credentials.
It also enables us to provide our customers with high quality unique fabric at a lower price point which makes our business more accessible, which is something we are incredibly passionate about.
In an ideal world there would not be any surplus fabric produced, however, until this practice improves we will continue to source deadstock fabric directly from fashion brands and mills so that these gorgeous fabrics can fulfil their destiny and be sewn into incredible garments.
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You can find all our deadstock fabrics here
If you have any questions then please email us at teamsunshine@sewmesunshine.co.uk
If you are a fashion brand looking to sell your surplus fabric then please get in touch at harriet@sewmsunshine.co.uk
Beautiful fabric. Wow.
Just reading about what occurs to the deadstock fabric…how shameful. They should be donating it to people that sew and perhaps cannot afford to purchase fabric. What a shame…The word landfill and incinerates is frightening when this could all be put to good use.
You folks have some beautiful fabric and thank you for the You Tube videos demonstrating them.