Fabrics: How to use Deadstock Fabric Sustainably With maake

This type of fabric combines waste and surplus material produced by manufacturers. By acquiring this type of textile and using it in your business, you can show your sustainability initiatives and make some money, too.

Businesses often overlook this type of fabric, but, when it’s available, it’s a great idea to use it, as it is very sustainable. Working with this textile uses far less energy and water than creating a new fabric from scratch. If it’s already been produced, or it has been dyed, or patterns have been printed on it, you can’t change how it looks. But if you are creative, you can still make gorgeous material products using deadstock, and save a fortune. And you’re stopping the fabrics from ending up in landfills.

If you follow our lead and use our innovative maakeless Fabric Waste initiative, you can give the material a second life without costing your business a penny. You can also create unique, once-off products as the material is limited. Although the fabrics may have imperfections, that’s why they are considered rare!

 Facts About This Type of Fabric

• This material has been around since the beginning of the 21^st century; this is when manufacturers started donating it to charities or selling it at a discounted price.

• Initially, this material had a bad name; these days we view this material as an opportunity to eliminate material waste and be more creative. Ideally, this material should be made of natural fibres.

• You can’t use this type of material to mass-produce products. That’s because it’s difficult to find enough of these fabrics to do this. As we said above, this material comes in limited quantities; it usually comprises offcuts and excess or surplus material.

• Sadly, recycling is not as common as it should be. So many manufacturers are creating too many fabrics that end up as waste. Sometimes this material ends up in landfills; at other times, it’s incinerated.

• Some people don’t believe this material can be environmentally friendly; recycling this material requires a lot of water and energy.

• We should become more aware of the importance of recycling, fabric waste, and how to conserve this material to make a sustainable difference and fight textile waste.

Read our informative guide on How to Combat Textile Waste!

• There’s another side to this material: by using leftover fabrics to make innovative and unique products, we encourage creativity, as designers use the material to create exclusive, one-of-a-kind items to shop for.
• Using deadstock fabrics creates a circular economy as businesses reuse fabrics and minimise waste. Small batches of unique products are far more sustainable.

What the Naysayers say

• This material may be unique, but it can also be expensive. Sometimes it’s cheaper than new fabric; this depends on its quality and source.
• The material may have been discarded because it has minor defects. When you use this type of material, you’re taking the defects and emphasizing these as part of the uniqueness of the material.
• This fabric is only available in limited quantities, so people can only produce small collections.
• The fabrics may not be sustainably produced. It’s hard to find out where the material originated from in the first place. It could be completely synthetic, created in a factory where the working conditions were harmful and unsafe, or made using chemicals harmful to the environment.
• Although the process required to clean and sort this fabric is more eco-friendly than producing new fabric, there is an environmental impact. This type of  material is not completely sustainable.
• These fabrics can often be produced using unsustainable methods, which is not environmentally friendly. We must continue to find more sustainable ways of manufacturing fabrics  to protect our planet for future generations.
• Because of the above reasons, we advise you to purchase or find this type of fabric from reputable sources.

The Difference between Deadstock, Available Stock, & Vintage Textiles

• Deadstock fabric is, as its name implies, dead stock – leftover material after garments have been made.
• Vintage material has already been made into garments that have been worn. It is now being used a second time to create another item of clothing.
• Available stock is an excess of fabric initially mass-produced to create fast fashion. This type of material is usually T-shirt material or plain knit jersey fabric.

View our blog entitled The Problem With Fast Fashion here!

Add to Your List When You Shop by the Metre

1. When you shop, before you put fabric on your shopping list, consider the quality of the fabric. Is it suitable for the products you want to create? The material will be high quality if produced by upmarket fashion manufacturers for their top fashion collections.
2. Find out the type of material and whether it has been sustainably made.
3. The most important point is what you want to use the material for. Is it for a unique fashion garment, a décor accessory, or upholstery? Make sure that the material will suit the product.
4. Synthetics like polyester and nylon are the least eco-friendly fabrics. These fabrics are not biodegradable and are made from petroleum-based fabrics , making them unsustainable.

Let’s Promote Sustainable Material

It’s important to offer your customers sustainably made products, especially as the world becomes increasingly aware of the importance of choosing sustainable and other fabrics. Sustainable doesn’t have to be expensive – this type of textile can be less costly, even if the material initially costs you more. That’s because you’re producing one-of-a-kind, unique products in limited quantities.

This material has already been produced, so it’s more eco-friendly. You don’t have to worry about the energy and water required to manufacture it. That old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” is so true. You’re taking discarded material and finding a use for it, sewing it into a new garment. By sewing something new, you are ensuring the material doesn’t become waste and end up in a landfill.

And you’re reducing carbon emissions at the same time.

Find out Why Slow Fashion is the Only Choice for Sustainable Fashion Clothing.

Follow our Lead: maakeLess Waste!

You can help us reduce textile waste in the fashion, patterns and interior design industries by giving the material a second life. Prioritise recycling and minimise fabric waste by taking advantage of our maakeLess Fabric Waste initiative:

Become a Volunteer

Contact us today by using the button below or email us at volunteer@maake.com with the headline ‘‘Let’s maakeLess fabric waste‘‘ and become one of our charity volunteers! 

You can choose to do as much or as little as your time allows you. EVERY EFFORT HELPS!

Contact us

Collect Your Free Upcycling Bag!

We provide free 1 or 2.5kg bags of plain material offcuts. You can pick these up for free from our factory to save carbon emissions or have the bags delivered to your door at a minimal fee.

Choose from our Upcycling bags selection – there are small (approximately 1kg), medium (around 2kg) and large (up to 15kg) bags, each filled to the brim with maake’s product offcuts. The material includes organic cotton, linen and velvet, all ideal for sewing projects and lining garments.

Most of the material is white, ivory or natural in colour, eg natural cotton. Some offcuts may be printed fabrics. The material is perfect for any fashion or interior design project, even for lining jackets and coats and skirt lining.

The material is usually full width (approx 140-150 cm). It varies from 20cm to sometimes up to 2m long.

Cheap at the Price! Give Fabrics a Second Life

Add one ( or more) of our fabrics to your cart, and select ' Click and collect' to collect it from our NW10 mill or add it to your basket and pay just the postage for the item. 

Help us maake a Difference with our Textile Initiative!

Our Extra Gift to You!

When you order, you will also receive a certificate from our 'maakeLess Waste Initiative’ that you can share with all your friends and followers.

Order your free bag now!