Deadstock Fabrics... A Sustainable Method For Dressmaking?
What is deadstock fabric?
There are many names for deadstock fabric: overstock, surplus fabric, jobber fabric… but in essence they all mean the same thing: excess fabric left over from the clothing industry which have no plans to be used again.
In some cases, the excess fabric gets sold to what we call a jobber. These are suppliers who buy and sell this surplus fabric, kind of like an outlet store. But... unfortunately, most of the time the excess fabric goes straight into landfills - even when it’s new and untouched. Stats show that a whopping 25% of fibre/fabrics purchased from textile mills and garment factories is leftover!
Not only is this a terrible thing as is the world running out of landfill space, we just can’t get our heads around THAT much wastage being caused from perfectly usable materials
Here at Elizabeth Grace HQ’s we want to help prevent this from happening. We source deadstock fabric and use it in our evening wear collections to create exclusive designs. By using deadstock fabric we are not fuelling the demand for new fabrics to be produced.
This is one of the many reasons why we see ourselves as a sustainable brand. Our goal is to encourage consumers to try and live in a circular economy. In order to do this we need to follow these 4 key points: REUSE, RECYCLE, REPAIR, REFURBISH.
Currently, too many of us are living in the linear economy, or the TAKE, MAKE, USE, DISPOSE, way of thinking. Which the bridal industry is a huge culprit for as most brides think to wear their wedding gown for one day only.
3 reasons why it’s great to use deadstock fabrics:
1. We are helping our planet. As we’ve said, not only does it reduce the amount of wastage, it also helps reduce the carbon footprint of the textiles industry.
2. It saves you money. Surplus fabric is usually sold at a much cheaper rate compared to made-to-order fabrics. Therefore, as a retailer we are able to offer our customers more competitive prices on our collections.
3. As a customer you are always buying something unique. At EG Couture, all of our collections are unique… but those that are made from deadstock fabrics are always limited edition pieces and you can guarantee no one else will have the same gown as you!
We’re doing our part to try and make the fashion industry sustainable.
Join us!