FABSCRAP Helps Fashion Brands Recycle Textile Waste | One Small Step

In this One Small Step, Lucy visits FABSCRAP, a nonprofit with a mission to recycle textile waste.
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Jessica Schreiber founded FABSCRAP in 2016 to take on the fashion industry’s textile waste problem. Jessica was inspired to start FABSCRAP after working at New York’s Department of Sanitation. To date the nonprofit has partnered with more than 500 fashion brands to rescue more than 500,000 pounds of fabrics from going to landfills.
FABSCRAP gives designers and brands a place to recycle fabric scraps, cuttings, headers, mock-ups, samples, overstock bolts, production remnants, and any other unwanted excess fabric that might come about during the creation and manufacturing process.
#sustainability #fashion #textilewaste #ClimateChange #Environment #OneSmallStep
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What happens to everything we use after we throw it away? How does our trash impact the environment and contribute to things like pollution and climate change? From plastics and recycling to food waste and composting - we're breaking down the issue of waste and sustainability piece by piece to answer one of the most important questions facing the world today: How do we save our planet?
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[@muzairanwar]

They should start a programme to send employees of these clothing corporations and business to volunteer at a place like this. This would raise awareness at the employee and corporate level to reduce the waste to begin with

[@muzairanwar]

@@teacher_ps I did not mean "volunteer" as in work without pay. I am using "volunteer" as in "volunteer" to do work normally outside of their day-to-day work. It has to be workers' consent to be sent to a place they normally dont work in and do tasks not part of their normal work.

[@janjan6661]

We should stop making clothes all together

[@elmyra.jackson]

I agree.

[@blackmber]

@Uzair Anwar Yeah if they have to pay their employees to help deal with the waste maybe they’ll care a little bit more about using textiles efficiently. It’s nice that things can be reused, but they really need to make less to begin with.

[@LaughingInTiny]

That implies that they are not already aware. They are aware. I work in this industry. From 2017 to 2019 these corporations realized that sustainability had become part of the conversation and created "sustainability advisor" positions. They're aware. They don't care.

[@ebonyj2942]

I had a chance to volunteer at their facility with my environmental class and it was great. I remember standing at those tables with my classmates and helping them sort through everything it was so much fun and great to know we are making a difference

[@ElleLillian]

Omg that’s really cool 🥺

[@sharonlalli1414]

This would be a great nonprofit for high school students that are required to do something for a nonprofit for part of their education.

[@janewilliams3326]

​@@sharonlalli1414loop

[@astridmccorkle1015]

What a great idea. Needs to be worldwide.

[@priscillajimenez27]

We need more places like this!

[@katek1017]

This was posted so long ago, but I just want to say, it's Earth day today and it's the first time I've seen this. What a fantastic way to deal with waste. I hope you are still going strong. Thank you for your good work.

[@janewilliams3326]

0:47 0:48 0:51 0:53

[@99leadpencils]

That 1:40lb waste ratio for fashion was EYE OPENING! Really puts into perspective how important it is to buy used and only buy new clothes you know you will get a lot of use out of. Geeeezz

[@Susweca5569]

I buy new underwear and socks only. EVERYTHING else from shoes to clothes & coats to accessories is second-hand.

[@chocolot888]

This is AMAZING!! I had never heard of this before! Hoping this company becomes larger and this issue of manufacturer waste becomes more well known!!

[@raluuca300]

This channel is so underrated! You deserve more credit! Love you forever! 💞

[@donnyt857]

I wish these design challenge shows would be challenged to source from there. It would be an awesome episode with a eco message.

[@sarahkinsey5434]

There was an episode of Next In Fashion where the designers had to make an outfit exclusively from a pile of secondhand clothes and quilts. There was 1 designer whose whole brand and personal aesthetic is thrifted patchwork. He won the episode of course, but it was disheartening to hear the other designers say they had never reworked clothes into something else, especially the younger ones who I feel like are more aware and concerned about the impact of the industry

[@carneliancaryatid]

Why does entertainment have to have a message?

[@SharonRStudio]

I love to see this! Congratulations to everyone at Fabscrap for doing this.

[@xtscarfacem8255]

I re-use a lot of my old clothes, shower cloth curtains, towels and jeans. I made a bunch of face masks, and face coverings with old tshirts. Towels and shower curtains we turned into extra big throw pillows. Get creative people!

[@kimwittenburg5118]

When the world opens up again, you should check out two places in Pittsburgh... The center for creative reuse and Construction Junction .

[@doriswhitegiver9334]

I realize this video is 4 years old but it is still circulating on KZbin so hopefully people are still seeing it. WOW I'm impressed with this fabric recycling program. I am an avid recycler of household items but had no idea that there was so much waste in the fabric and textile industry. How sad! This is such a wonderful program and hopefully it is still going strong. Will definitely be researching and trying to locate others doing this. Please please recycle!

[@svij40]

Maybe a potential replacement for the black plastic bags could be some repurposed fabrics to make bags?? Volunteers can stitch them together to make the bags, could potentially work?

[@AB-nx1kl]

Exactly!

[@user-yn2rd4yq6d]

Wow, tbh you REALLY inspired me to go into a more zero waste life, to look into option to create less waste, honestly thank you soo much I feel like there’s so much I can do to change how much trash I’m creating in really cool ways I didn’t know before, I’ve told my family about this, my friends and I really think we can all make a really big change one step at a time, so thanks you! 🙌

[@lacyhay9022]

Another video well done. This is awesome this is something our ancestors used to do. My grandmother made a quilt from scrap fabric that their local store back in the day had leftover that wouldn't get sold she would get it for free and make wedding quilts for all her grandkids. Mine is in my keepsake trunk. Its 18 years old and was made with all kinds of fabric. She's trying to finish one for my oldest daughter before God calls her home for us to give to her as a graduation present. 102 years old almost and still hand sews her quilts

[@K.Spade7902]

@Lacy Hay My Grandmother used to hand sew quilts from scraps of fabric. She did that by hand up until her 80s. I really miss her. She was so sweet and good to everybody. RIP Granny 🙏

[@lacyhay9022]

@@K.Spade7902 grandmother is still here by the grace of God. She'll be 103 on the 29th of this month Lord willing. I have alot of respect and love for her

[@sharonlalli1414]

I have always said it is not an authentic quilt unless it is done by hand.

[@jadakowers590]

Happy Birthday to her!

[@charliebrown9188]

I'm watching this 4 later, I hope the scheme is still going not only strong but thriving, we need people like you, what a shame im on the other side of the Atlantic... as a quilter id be there very frequently. You mentioned that the black plastic bags to temporarily store fabric is a necessary evil - you could get students to make fabric bags, each fabric bag they make gets them X-amount of fabric for free... but 4 years later you probably have this sorted already. I love this idea.

[@susyhammond5196]

What an absolutely fabulous enterprise! I'm so impressed. I wish every large city or at least state would have a program like this.

[@jadakowers590]

What a great idea! When Barbie Dolls first came out, their clothing was well made. I still have some and the doll clothes have never needed any mending. Though beautiful, Barbie’s clothing designs were not cutting edge fashion because the clothes reflected that era’s preference for long lasting clothing over fads. It would be nice if we all adhered to the similar preferences now in our own clothing choices.

[@JRR31984]

LEGIT discussion. Very GOOD video.

[@MrZBartek]

The main conclusion I can draw from this series is how disorganized US management system is. There's a clear lack of federal level legislation and I get the feel that big American companies push the responsibilities on consumers. I say that from the European point of view and I know that not all of the things are perfect here but at least manufacturers are responsible for the waste they produce and I can't imagine a situation when they wouldn't know how much and what kind of trash they make. In EU they are even charged a fine when they don't accomplish certain recycling levels of packages they bring to market.

[@andreaandrea6716]

As of WHEN? In the 80s and 90s I lived in the sweat-shop district of Paris (2nd arrondisement) and there were big trash bags put out on the street at night FULL of fabric scraps. They were NOT being recycled. Some of it was fabulous quality, just small and irregularly shaped (I still have pieces of beautiful wool and also some leather from that period). I imagine they have moved all of those sweat-shops outside of Paris now. It is great to hear that recycling has come to Europe because, when I was living there, there was NOTHING. People laughed at me when I talked about the huge recycling programs in the States (US). But I am on the West Coast and people told me that it wasn't the same across the country ... and that it was different rules/laws State by State. NOW I hear that a lot of what we put out to be recycled is taken away but NOT RECYCLED. Recycling HAS TO BE the way of the future, if we want a planet. ALSO, gross consumerism MUST become something we are ashamed of. Especially here in America; it's out of control here. The level of waste HERE is outrageous, especially with food and clothing. I am so very happy to hear that Europe is now strict. Another thing I noticed, when coming back to the States, is HOW MUCH WASTEFUL UN-NECESSARY PACKAGING there was HERE (in the US). It made me appreciate carrying home a baguette under my arm WITH NO WRAPPER.

[@frances6827]

I agree with the first two statements but unfamiliar about Europe's situation.

[@savagesfortruth]

I once worked at a car dealership you would not believe how much paper they waste when they have those pamphlets of the new cars and stuff and every year we would have a room full of boxes of paper and flyer going into the trash because they didn’t know what to do to recycle the paper on the flyers and the paper would be filled up from top to bottom with hundreds of boxes of papers and pamphlets it would get thrown in the trash and I thought for every car dealership that using this paper for every year a new car comes out that is millions of paper being wasted I thought it be great if they would recycle the paper

[@buckeyedav1]

Oh my this is the beginning of my life long dream of saving fabric though I want to take all the clothing the thrift stores can't sell because it has a stain or rip in it that could be cut up and used in making hand made quilts instead of buying one new that creates earths resources to manufacturer it. People are such a throw away society bored with the pattern after a year or so throw it out and buy a new one. I wish they had this kind of store here in Ohio. This is a beginning and I'm so pleased to see it fair priced too. Anna In Ohio.

[@Mangobaby-sz7pz]

Same here!!! That's my dream too!🙌. One day I'll open a shop and sell recycled clothing, patchwork clothing, and more!👍

[@MomAsol]

this is one of good idea to recycled unwanted extra fabricsm I know a little bit of sewing so in my house when we have turn clothes I did my best to fix it or turn them into something useful, like bags, rugs, mask, diy things you name it it's endless option just be creative, I feel bad and sad when I see clothes on trash.

[@Clove2546]

This was a great video! Thank you! I've learned a lot on your channel.

[@bladeknife1123]

such a great cause!! we need more people like her.

[@themajesticwierdo2193]

I hope more of these open across the world! How amazing that a business is able to be created out of the desire to save scraps! A lot of people just toss things away because they don't have the time or desire to sort through reusables

[@deanatruppa5452]

That's crazy. Great job!!!

[@littleone7404]

What an absolute amazing idea she came up with

[@tonyabrookes9931]

This is so amazing! Im thrilled that she saw an issue and did something about it!!! I feel such hope seeing this. Imagine if everyone did what they could to solve these problems! I love this beyond words

[@lovesttruck]

I love this series so much! Thank you, I am discovering so many things and becoming more conscientious about my choices in regards to the environment

[@victoriafielding2478]

Just went to their website, so here is a brief updates as of May 2024: since opening they have collected 1.6 million lbs of fabric and saved 11000 tonnes of CO2. They have a centre in philadelphia as well now. They had a rough 2023 financially and could do with more volunteers and shoppers. They streamlined a lot of their work and found a new shredding company.

[@agamergirl166]

I love the shirt she wore custom made out of those scrap fabrics 😍

[@Diane-nr3sf]

I wish there was a place like this in Pennsylvania where I live I love collecting fabric notions yarn etc and making things and giving them to places that are in desperate need of clothing

[@davkmv]

I wish I lived closer to New York! I was glad to see the online option for fabric buying at least.

[@LM-uc5sg]

I love Fabscrap!! Such a great way to volunteer!!

[@imperpekto12ify]

God!!!! This is genius!!!! We need more of this!!!

[@savagesfortruth]

This is a wonderful way of helping the environment we need more companies like this helping to remake fabric into new materials

[@LaineyBug2020]

I wish we had one in my state! Would love to volunteer for fabric!

[@marshaflorom8401]

I am glad people are concerned about what we leave behind .

[@LucianaMilano]

Gosh, how can I create one Fabscrap here in São Paulo, one of the fashion capitals of the world??????

[@williamncube1316]

I could help you write a business plan

[@anab5248]

Seria incrível!!

[@nancyespinoza8974]

I would like to help

[@kitkat88816]

I love making clothes and patches with visible mending and layering different textures patterns to make a patch for my bag I found so many cool ways to Upcycle from pintrest:) it so sad to see so much clothing and fabric waste and thinking about how much water and resources it taken to make them just for them to be chucked. Companies like this need to be funded more cause this is what we really need more of in every town

[@papercents]

What a fantastic organization! 1st time seeing this video 4 years later - just googled Fabscrap and so happy to see they're going strong and even have an online store -- how wonderful!! Great video - really enjoyed this!

[@leecegal]

This is amazing! We need more people like her! Amazing work!

[@annafeatherston9216]

Great video! Loved the questions and tour! That warehouse would be my happy place, would donate tons of time.

[@ConnieAcree]

Wonderful idea. May God bless whoever came up with this idea. Thank you for sharing.

[@jeanneamato8278]

This is more than fantastic! Thank you.

[@deannajohnson3933]

That's what I like. This should be everywhere.

[@PiscatorCemZ]

! Oh ! Please launge your brand in Sweden ! This is fire 💥👌🤩😍❤️

[@theresac8572]

Try Chico’s in Fort Myers, Florida- The corporate location used to be to put hundreds of boxes into the landfill. The stitch was wrong on pants or one arm or leg a different size etc. Contact them to see if you can save the boxes of partialy processed clothing that wasn’t good enough to sell but still new fabrics.

[@caliemm2159]

Terrific!...keeps. Creating the world into a better place!!!!

[@user-jx8go6hi8i]

Great idea! They need to start places like this everywhere!

[@alanbirkner1958]

Just in my small area, people throw away lots of clothing and linens. People only give perfect items to thrift shops. I've made cleaning cloths, doll clothes and quilts with some items. If an item just has a spot, I give it to a homeless shelter. Why buy Swiffer pads when you can cut up a ratty towel and wash and re-use the pieces many times? Tina

[@JohannaVanWinkle]

Fantastic! I love to hear about solutions like this!

[@elmyra.jackson]

WOW. This is just incredible!!

[@ecoquilting7077]

This is so beautiful!

[@loriwooten5249]

YAY, YOU!! Great job!! My Mom was genius with this!!

[@NyanyiC]

I'd be in heaven in that fabric shop😍

[@lianatobias3741]

lovely. It gives hope

[@NiKKey411]

Omg the birthday party sorting session 😊❤that was so cute

[@user-io1lv2gb4v]

Спасибо за вашу работу🙏❤

[@citizenwulff891]

Please how can I makes shoddies (shredding) in my own small way as I have started but to get the machine in Ghana is difficult. Thanks for the great work you are doing

[@Thefrenchcrafter]

We need something like this in Montréal!

[@neliswamakhaye4879]

Loved this❤️❤️❤️ i wish we could do it in my country

[@leonarichards7771]

I use recycled fabric in my sewing. Would love to rescue some of the fabric you have. Great job

[@patientlywaiting77]

This was very informative. Thank you

[@AlejandraPerez-sv3tr]

That's amazing!

[@joanneruth1168]

Well done, really needed project 💯✅

[@shanthiindustries1654]

I tried it today ....super taste

[@AnnaG-to2ke]

This is such a great video, thanks! Does anyone know if theres something similar in the UK?

[@vnesje1981]

Anna G yes I would like to know across Europe to?

[@abdulhamid2433]

R2R TEXTILE SOLUTION LTD Leicester Le5 0bt 55 HASTINGS ROAD

[@elizabethg2715]

I would love to donate my time and to get fabric for my at home use... I'd probably be there all the time working as a at home sewer that makes clothes, bag, pillows etc. 💗💗

[@shaflower3183]

I live in Los Angeles, and would love to use your services. I use fabric scraps to make clothes, and this is exactly what I have been looking for. Are there any similar stores in Los Angeles?

[@grayonthewater]

Yes girl Ragfinders has been doing this forever!

[@frances6827]

I love the mendables and scrap fabrics, leather for sale.

[@tammiepressley2684]

This is amazing!

[@agonicole]

Love this

[@chp21600]

Awesome!!!!

[@Twistfashion]

Wow what a great idea!

[@Mochimushroom_7]

Do they have an online website? Pls lemme know. This is like heaven for a person who likes to sew small stuff like me.

[@heatherweber531]

you get to go to the most amazing places. I wish that there were fabric places like this and refill stations in my state; or better yet my town. it seams that to be able to live a sustainable life that is just as easy as a non-sustainable life one have to live in a large city or be a homesteader. :.{

[@meelamiela]

I would LOVVVEEE to volunteer here!

[@dionshah3740]

GOD BLESS YOU !!!!!!!!!!

[@Lili-ls7um]

I want a birthday party there!

[@Vecofiber]

Great job

[@johnjohnf.webber1820]

Fabscrap should "franchise" thier system overseas... It'll help keep scraps out of landfills all over the world.

[@1wizabuff1]

That's amazing

[@lindasands1433]

YOU ROCK!!!

[@ccbarr58]

There are no fabric shops around and when you do find it its uber expensive! This is a crime!

[@lnldjimmieclouff1773]

As a quilter (quarantine hobby) m'y quilts are made from 90 % of thrited fabric ... 10% left Is when i Cant find the right color....

[@carollopez3182]

can we order from this site as individuals?

[@ellenquach1766]

Besides I also have a lot of color threads and sewing supplies.

[@ByulSo]

Where can I buy the fabric insulation?!

[@rennydanston6507]

Surely if you’re working a 3 hours shift for free and they have so much excess you should be entitled to take as much as you want?? Especially if it’s a NFP?

[@melissasturgis]

How can t get some of this fabric scraps for myself to do diy projects? I hat been asking for fabric scraps for years.

[@melainemallory5384]

Awesome

[@StunningEmu]

Were is this located?

[@peanutthebird6359]

Good job to this channel we’re the place

[@jodiecleman1344]

Evan the smallest scraps can be used for craft projects like junk journal embellishments.

[@samanthawoodhull5372]

I'll take some!!!

[@poppetrurazvan3900]

Hi. By keeping the anty theft etiquete on the security, the textile can be easilly traked for recycling. My very best regards. 😀

[@janetschiffman31]

Do you have denim or canvas for tote bags for sale?