Donate and recycle fabric and sewing supplies – Our Social Fabric

Donate and recycle fabric and sewing supplies

Rolls of donated fabric ready to be recycled

Textile recycling and saving waste fabric

Thinking about donating fabric? We accept donations of fabric and sewing supplies to keep these items out of the landfill. 

Working in partnership with our donors, we kept an astonishing 20 tons of textiles and sewing related materials out of landfill in 2021. Over the past five years we diverted a staggering 85.5 tons. That’s the equivalent of nearly seven school buses!

Textiles are one the most common household items and represent a staggering proportion of the solid waste stream: approximately 16 kg per person, or a total of 33,600 tonnes in Metro Vancouver in 2006.

What to donate

We are pleased to accept donations of:

  • unused fabric of 0.5 meter length or more (full width please) (no home decor please - see below)
  • quilting cottons (fat quarter or larger scraps only please)
  • leather
  • sewing supplies such as trims, sewing tools and notions
  • patterns (uncut only please)
  • functioning sewing machines (but not table sewing machines, where the machine is built into a table, as we just don't have space for them at the moment)
  • knitting and embroidery supplies

Please make sure that everything is clean and free of dirt, debris and insects.

Due to capacity issues, as we work on sorting and making space for more, we are currently not able to accept sewing books and home decor fabrics. 

We do not accept used clothing, sheets, draperies or towels.

How to donate

To donate, please complete this form. Once completed our Donations Coordinator will contact you to confirm the next steps and book a drop-off appointment. 

If you live outside of the metro Vancouver area we do accept donations by mail if the cost is assumed by the donor.

We have a step-by-step guide on how to donate on our blog.

What happens next?

Textiles are sorted by staff and volunteers, priced and set out for sale in our store or our website. 

Prices are very affordable and proceeds from sales help to pay for rent and business expenses. Any surplus is reinvested in our operations or used to nourish and support Canada’s fibre arts community and slow-fashion movement.

Find out more about how we support our community. 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Ripple of Change magazine.