I consider myself a moderately frugal person in many areas of my life and live by the motto of “riding ’til the wheels fall off.” I don’t tend to replace things often (I still have clothing, shoes, and accessories from 15+ years ago), I don’t upgrade devices easily, or trade out my car every couple years. At the beginning of my sewing journey, this same thing applied. I was very practical. I bought fabric only when I needed it, and I only bought the amount I needed. As I fell deeper into the rabbit hole that is the online sewing community, I found more online fabric shops, and eventually a love for custom fabric. Pre-COVID into early 2021, sewing strikes (sample fabric sewing) was a huge part of my sewing life. At one point, I’m sure I was sewing for 10 different companies and loving every moment of it. With sewing strikes, I got nice discounts, which meant buying more fabric every month. For one company, I took the fabric photos for their website so I regularly received 8-10 yards of fabric at a time. I fell into the hype of having a certain coveted print from a small shop. I scoured destash groups to score specific ones to scratch my itch. In my mind “I was doing the right thing by supporting small business and not shopping big box stores” and I wasn’t participating in “fast fashion” because I was making my own clothing, and they were better made and meant to last longer. In hindsight, I was simply justifying my consumerist behavior because it made me feel better, ignoring the larger problem I was a part of.
“In hindsight, I was simply justifying my consumerist behavior because it made me feel better, ignoring the larger problem…”
In 2025, it’s certainly no secret that the fashion industry is notorious for waste and pollution. While I knew that, it never really occurred to me to figure out how home sewing fit into the equation until some of my classes at Cañada. In both my Textiles & Intro to the Fashion Industry classes, we watched documentaries that were astonishing (which some videos and additional reads are linked at the end of this post). The current coordinator of the fashion department of my college is passionate about environmental sustainability and weaves it into everything she teaches and facilitates. She hosted an entire runway show on Earth Day that I got to be a part of, titled Eco Elegance, where all garments we made were upcycled, recycled, donated, sustainable materials that we diverted from landfills. While most of the stats we find online are geared toward the fashion or garment industry on an industrial scale, they are still eye opening and can help us identify areas where us “little ol’ mes” can have an impact. I am not an expert in the field and I won’t get super science-y or academic because that’s not my wheelhouse, but I do have a few stats to share that will stop you in your tracks. Most factories overseas (where. most of our common textiles come from) do not have the best conditions for their workers, nor pay them a livable wage. The workers are often living in the areas that are heavily polluted from textile production and have to live with poor air quality + polluted waste waters. When we are washing these textiles, the microplastics and chemicals that come off of them then end up polluting our waters. According to Hedgehog, the fashion industry generates more emissions than the aviation industry! 50-80% of the negative environmental impact of fashion stems from the textile production alone–this is why it should matter to us.
Over the past year, I have become extraordinarily conscious about my choices and the impact that my behavior has had on a scale larger than me. I think about, not only the silent agreement I made that it’s okay to not think about the environment and all of these facts I have learned as long as I’m getting what I want, but also the fact that I invited others on the journey along with me! I sewed strikes and encouraged people to buy all the fabric. I laughed about having to rent a storage unit to store my excess fabric because I had no more space for it in my house. This thought now makes me feel sick to my stomach. Do I think that buying fabric is bad? Of course not. What I do think is bad is buying it in excess far beyond what one can reasonably sew. We have to stop wearing the size of our fabric hoards as a badge of honor.
So…you have the fabric stash, and like me, you have realized the error of your ways. Now what? Here are some actionable steps to take in order to turn things around.
- Always check your stash for something suitable before thinking you need to buy/order more yardage. Oftentimes, I know I am just being picky or impulse buying the must have fabric that I apparently didn’t need because it’s been in a storage bin for 2 years. 9/10 times, I already have a fabric that’ll work perfectly fine for most projects.
- Give old textiles a new life–think old tablecloths, curtains, sheets, and other textiles. Donated and thrifted sheets have become my absolute favorite textile for muslins, and even some wearable projects! Additionally, you can save clean batting/stuffing from pillows for plushies and other crafts. This also includes upycling other garments. I turned 15 or so pairs of donated denim jeans + some old donated floral fabric into a new outfit. I still have a bag full of scraps for future projects…
- …which brings me to the next point. Minimize scraps as much as possible by considering zero waste patterns, like this one. If you can’t find/utilize a zero waste pattern for your project, save your scraps. You can incorporate color blocking into your patterns with them. Woven scraps can make cute patches or can be quilted together to make yardage again or simply quilted, scrape projects.. Knit scraps can be used for cuffs, neckbands, bindings, etc. Scraps of all kinds can also be used to stuff pet beds, little plushies or even cover buttons. There are sooooo many possibilities. If you don’t have the patience for these small projects, but have the extra income, Retold Recycling also has a scrap recycling program where you receive baggies with prepaid shipping labels to send to them for recycling. Check out their site for cost and other info.
- If you must order fabric (because I know sometimes we do need something specific) be careful not to buy too much excess and choose natural, renewable fibers (like cotton*, linen, & wool) over synthetics. I know the brushed poly prints are so cute & affordable, but all the microplastics that come out in every wash aren’t worth it. If we stop buying it, eventually, they’ll stop making it! Additionally, consider checking for fabric or creative reuse stores in your area that focus on keeping fabric from landfills. If your’e near in the California Bay Area, FabMo in Sunnyvale is a great resource for supplies for this. They carry sewing, knitting crochet, interior design, and so much more! They do not have traditional store hours, as they are volunteer run, but check their site for the calendar and sign up for their emails to have the latest info. A couple more in the Bay Area that I haven’t personally been to, but have heard great things about are SCRAP in San Francisco and Urban Ore in Berkley. I see both post amazing fabric finds frequently on their Instagram accounts. *Cotton can also be viewed as “bad”, depending on the source. The land and water usage and contamination take away resources from people and wildlife in the area. You have to decide which is the lesser of two “evils” for yourself, but I choose to include it.
- Fix your “messed up” clothes. Whether this means learning how to creatively patch the hole in your favorite sweater, or taking in those seams you’ve been meaning to for a year, fix it so you wear it. If the garment is genuinely beyond repair, go back to #2 on this list. Maybe you can make a garment for a kid, a doll, a pet, or something else with the fabric.
- Fight the urge to sew a new garment for every event unless it’s something you will continually wear. This one is a hard one for me, so I get it! Consider restyling, instead. I know, social media tells us we can’t wear the same dress to two weddings or that we always have to have a new piece for every concert or event we attend, but would anyone recognize it if we used different accessories, different shoes, added a layering piece, belt? Even if they do…can’t we stop caring what people think?
- Sharing is caring! Keep your fabrics in circulation by sharing with your direct sewing community, either selling or donating. If you would like to make some of your money from purchases back, there are tons of Facebook groups dedicated to fabric selling (destashing), or you can find your own outlet, like I am here. If you simply want to let go of fabric without the hassle of selling, you can check your neighborhood (like in a Buy Nothing group), senior centers, nonprofits (such as FabMo, which was mentioned above), community colleges or students in youth sewing classes, or even trading with friends who may have a more immediate use (…just not one who will hoard it like you did haha).
I’m sure there are many more ways we can work toward a future and an environment that is safer, cleaner, and less riddled with the problems that the fashion and textile industry has created (that we have all taken part of in different ways). I understand that us home sewists don’t have millions (billions?) to invest in infrastructure, new textiles innovation, equipment, and wage & conditions related to textile production. My suggestions here are simply a start, not the whole solution. I’m “new” to this, but I’m doing it and the idea is that it’s something I’m committed to working toward, not thinking I will solve on my own, nor will I get everything right all the time…but that’s okay! I think sometimes one of the biggest mistakes we make is writing off our ability to change. We accept the past & and the mistakes we made as though they are a permanent identifier of who we are. We are human, and we have desires and wants and I know we will still backslide and buy the fabric or make the trendy pattern. Ultimately, if each one of us starts implementing some of the practical steps above and making being more mindful and making intentional choices in our everyday sewing practices a priority, I believe we are headed in the right direction.
“I think sometimes one of the biggest mistakes we make is writing off our ability to change. We accept the past & and the mistakes we made as though they are a permanent identifier of who we are. We are human…”
If you’re further interested in the topic of sustainability within the fashion industry as a whole, here are some sources I highly recommend checking out:
Documentaries:
Textile Mountain
The True Cost
Generation Rewear
Articles:
Waste Water Treatment Magazine
World Resources Institute
Hedgehog
I invite you to share your thoughts on the topic, to look at your own practices and identify areas you can grow. Do you have suggestions I didn’t list for how we can lighten the environmental load while still pursuing the joy of home sewing and garment creation? I’d love to hear!