Learning to hem your own clothes to extend the life of the garment and encourage you to wear it more often is always a sustainable, and often more affordable, choice than replacing it.
When it comes to sewing clothes from scratch, in terms of sustainability, it might seem like a wash– are we supposed to consider the origins our fabric and accessories like buttons and zippers too? Luckily, FABSCRAP has got you covered! Read about them below.
Photo Credit: FABSCRAP
The tea: FABSCRAP is one of my favorite organizations to support in NYC; last summer, I was able to volunteer with them and received 5 FREE POUNDS of fabric for 3 hours my time (WAY more than enough fabric to get started sewing)! Essentially, they gave a demo and then I was assigned a large trash bag filled with fabric and papers to sort through (don't tell– but my bag was full of fabric swatches from J.Crew, cool right?). I was then able to pick through a large selection in their fabric shop that was sorted by color, AND anything I found in my trash bag was free for me to keep as part of my 5 pounds of free fabric! They also have VERY affordable sewing accessories– I believe I paid $1 per zipper and got a few.
FABSCRAP is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that "was created to meet New York City’s commercial textile recycling needs. Materials that traditionally would have gone to landfill are now being properly recycled and made available for reuse."
Here is their list of 'Who's Fab" a.k.a. the companies that donate their scraps– including: Macy's, Steve Madden, Noah, Marc Jacob, J.Crew, and HUNDREDS more!
If you are able to sign up for a volunteer session Mon-Fri, 9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm at their warehouse at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, you will receive 5 pounds of FREE fabric plus a 30% volunteer discount on any additional material, OR they can waive the fee for recycling up to 10 pounds of personal sewing scraps!
Click here for their upcoming events page (on eventbrite)!
Personally, I went to a session alone and had a blast! Some of their volunteer sessions have super fun themes (like BINGO, SORT-A-THONs, wine/movie nights, and more), and they also do corporate volunteer days and big groups/classes!
Their website AND in-person store have a 'Pay What You Wish' section too, which also includes more than just fabric (such as elastic), and anything you do choose to pay is a donation!
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