Deadstock: A Quick Guide to Clothing Sustainability

A lot of clothing we sell here at Daines Atelier comes under the Sustainability Factor of Deadstock. But what does it mean?

When you Google for DeadStock materials the first result states: “Deadstock Fabric is NOT as Sustainable as You Think” which is an article written by Melanie Disalvo back in November 2019. They state in the article that: Mills overproduce the material a client has ordered and resell them to make a profit for themselves at a lower percentage. Hence Greenwashing the purpose of deadstock materials. They also state that buying into these materials is buying into over-production and is un-necessary consumption. They also the concern on the material being faulty to its original owner and meaning that the material is of a low-quality.

So What Exactly are Sustainable Deadstock Materials?

In simple terms, Deadstock is materials (or Garments) which have surpassed being able to be sold. This could be due to an over-production of material or garments. Faulty Stock. A miscommunication or non-followed through order. But how can it be sustainable?

There are SO MANY options when it comes to having an ethical pathway with Deadstock. You can invest in vintage materials which have already withstood a lengthy amount of time presenting the quality of them. Or you can get creative and invest in the end-of-bolt materials which have been made/brought as a safety net for the consumer rather than with an over-production mindset. Or if the material has infections, that is another way to spot that it was just a minor production mistake.

It is very easy to spot an unethical production of materials from a mill- for example if you can buy over 8-10 meters chances are it was unethically produced to present greenwashing.

What we do here at Daines Atelier to remain Sustainable with our Deadstock.

BUT all cons aside, I wanted to explain our business model. At how we have we ensure that there is quality in our deadstock. We buy a lot of our deadstock materials second-hand from local charities such as: British Red Cross, Barnardo’s or Dorothy House Hospice. They get donations of materials from either business’ or locals who have no need for the material. Here we eliminate the ultimate landfill prospect for these deadstock materials and close the gap- hence our circular fashion model.

Secondly, we use trusted outlets such as Amothreads who work alongside designers and mills to sell trusted high-quality materials. They are materials where the designer no longer needs the required amount or the end of roll.  We also used fabric shops who have remnant sections of their materials or the end of roll which isn’t quite big enough to be sellable to other consumers.

This is WHY you will notice a lot of our garments feature panelling and multiple materials as we only invest in what is available and what actually has the potential to go to landfill. Once again making us circular.

“Over-Production is a massive NO here at Daines Atelier.”

We also do not over-produce out garments. We make a forecasted amount based on popularity with you as the consumer. It’s our aim to make garments which are not on ‘trend’ but will be a wardrobe basic or statement piece which won’t go out of fashion.

With knowledge in what high-quality materials are and if the fault in a material is going to be impactful on your own wear and tear of the garment. we see these infections as a celebration of craftsmanship and evidence of real hands and minds making these materials.

We only source our deadstock materials from the UK. We want to ensure that everything is kept local with a reduced carbon footprint. This is why we really thought through circular model.

Vintage deadstock is OUR FAVOURITE! These are hidden gems which can be found at flea-markets or car boots. We recognise these materials on their durability to outstand many years! A lot of materials currently produced by factories for small fashion brands; have no durability and can be damaging to your wardrobe. Vintage materials have a quality unknown to todays market. Although a lot of them contain nylons, we are careful to select the materials made with natural fibres. Rarely we use nylons; But if we do they are to a high-standard as we do not want to see them go to waste. This is because they can take 20 to 200 years to decompose.

Have any more questions about our process or deadstock materials? Drop us a message on Instagram @DainesAtelier and we will be sure to get back to you!

Here’s some of our Garments which are featured in Our Shop which feature the Sustainability Category.

We have sourced out our materials from local sources to produce these gorgeous garments! Even better they’re all ONE-OF-A-KIND (Only one will every be in stock) due to our ethos of using Deadstock materials and being a circular fashion brand.

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