Last Updated on May 14, 2025
You may have seen deadstock fabric on a clothing tag before. But what exactly does it mean? And is it sustainable? In comparison to using virgin materials, it is.
Most of the clothes we wear today are made using virgin materials (in fact textile production relies on 99.7% virgin materials). Virgin materials are raw materials that have never been used before, either for manufacturing or any other purpose.
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This is a problem, considering the environmental impact due to resource extraction, energy consumption, and pollution. Virgin polyester production alone emits 119.59 kg of CO₂ per 100 kg of fabric.
Opting for recycled materials in our clothing is one solution to this problem. Deadstock material is made from recycled fabrics. Here’s what you need to know about deadstock material and which brands use it.
what does deadstock mean?
Deadstock refers to leftover or unused fabric that was originally manufactured for a purpose but never sold or used in production.
This could be due to overproduction, canceled orders, or slight imperfections that prevent it from meeting a brand’s standard.
Instead of being discarded, deadstock fabric is repurposed, giving it a second chance in fashion, upholstery, and other creative industries.
Some examples of deadstock materials include:
- Surplus fabric: Excess fabric from textile mills or factories that cannot be used for other orders or collections.
- Cancelled orders: Fabric produced for a specific order that was later canceled by the brand.
- Fabric samples: Unused fabric samples from designers or brands.
- End-of-roll remnants: Small pieces of fabric left over from larger rolls.
- Slightly imperfect materials: Fabrics that don’t meet stringent quality standards but are still usable.
- Designer excess: Unused fabric from designers or brands that were not incorporated into their collections
Here are some types of clothing that utilize deadstock materials:
- Bathing suits – Some brands repurpose deadstock fabrics to create unique swimwear.
- Dresses – Many sustainable fashion labels craft limited-edition dresses from surplus textiles.
- Jackets & outerwear – Deadstock materials are often used for one-of-a-kind outwear.
- Loungewear and activewear – Leggings and sweatpants can be made from repurposed fabrics.
- Accessories – Scarves, tote bags, and hats frequently incorporate deadstock textiles.
is deadstock fabric good?
Deadstock fabric is good in terms of sustainability because it reduces textile waste. It makes sure fabric scraps that would’ve ended up in landfill get a second chance at life.
It also reduces the demand for new textile production, which saves resources. This helps promote a more circular economy and innovation through creative solutions.
However, it’s worth noting that just because a brand utilizes deadstock materials, doesn’t make them completely sustainable. You should always investigate a company’s ethics and practices in-depth to see what other steps they’re taking to help people and planet.
Also, deadstock fabrics can be natural or synthetic – so keep that in mind when shopping. Natural fabrics generally have a lower environmental impact compared to synthetic fabrics. But utilizing deadstock fabrics (be they synthetic or natural) automatically cuts down on emissions simply for being recycled content.
what is a deadstock piece?
A deadstock piece refers to any item created using deadstock fabric. Many brands craft limited-edition clothing, accessories, and furniture using these materials, offering consumers something unique while contributing to waste reduction.
Since deadstock fabric availability varies, pieces made from it tend to be one-of-a-kind or produced in small batches.
is deadstock fabric expensive?
Since deadstock textiles are essentially excess, unused fabrics, they often aren’t as expensive as virgin materials. However, some deadstock materials may utilize high-end, rare designer fabrics, which may elevate the cost of the finished piece.
Deadstock pieces are usually made in small-batch production, considering the designer can only work with the scraps they acquire. This makes them more exclusive, which can also bump-up the final price tag.
sustainable brands that use deadstock
Here are some eco-friendly clothing brands that use deadstock material in some of their garments. All of these brands try to reduce their environmental footprint through using organic materials, low waste packaging, and/or achieving eco certifications.
Keep in mind deadstock pieces tend to be small-batch and may be harder to find, even on these websites. Searching ‘deadstock’ on the brand’s website can help you narrow your search.
I’ve gone ahead and highlighted some of my favorite features of each brand, but it isn’t an exhaustive list. Be sure to check out their websites for more information.
1. reformation
- Women’s clothing
- Uses deadstock fabrics, recycled materials, and eco-friendly production methods to minimize waste
- Deadstock items: Dresses, tops, skirts, and two-piece sets made from surplus textiles
- 100% recycled paper mailers and compostable bags for shipping
2. altar
- Handmade, ethically produced apparel with a focus on unique designs
- Uses deadstock fabrics and natural dyes to create sweatshop-free clothing
- Deadstock items: Dresses, jumpsuits, and casual wear crafted from repurposed textiles
3. christy dawn
- Women’s clothing
- They support regenerative cotton farming, restoring soil health and promoting ethical sourcing
- Deadstock items: Limited-edition dresses, blouses and accessories
- Every Christy Dawn piece is made by local artisans in downtown Los Angeles
4. all the wild roses
- Women’s clothing based in Australia
- Up to 90% of their designs are made from recycled fabrics, including deadstock
- Deadstock items: Blouses + dresses
- Compostable packaging
- Small-batch production, made-to-order
- Certified B-corp
5. mud jeans
- Women and men’s denim
- Uses deadstock denim + recycled cotton to make jeans and jackets
- Deadstock items: Jeans, denim jackets, + accessories
- Offers a denim leasing program, where customers can return old jeans for recycling
- Certified B-Corp + Certified by Cradle to Cradle
So, would you give deadstock material a shot? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The post What Is Deadstock Material? Is It Sustainable? appeared first on Going Zero Waste.
Just like fashion has been overrun by fast fashion, home goods and furniture have similarly seen a rapid decline in quality. Rugs are no exception.
And similar to fashion, these cheap goods come at a high cost — namely, to the planet and to people. In fact carpet and rug production is rampant with exploitation.
On the other hand, fair trade rugs present the best of what a rug can bring to your home: artistry, craftsmanship, and heritage.
The brands featured in this guide are partnering with (and fairly paying!) skilled artisans who are using generations-old — and sometimes even centuries-old — techniques. These artisans are sustaining long lines of crafts, preserving their cultural diversity, and celebrating the richness of their time-honored crafts.
There’s simply no replacement for a timeless, quality artisan-made rug — they’re like pieces of art you can lay out on your floor or hang on your walls.
So, enjoy browsing through this guide to sustainable rug brands listed out below and best of luck on your search for the right fair trade rug!
Where to Find Ethical and Fair Trade Rugs
Note that this guide includes affiliates and partners. As always, brands must meet high standards for ethics and sustainability to be featured and all opinions are my own.
1. Obakki
Best for: warm-hued handwoven wool rugs
Categories: Area Rugs, Runners, Accent Rugs
Obakki partners with artisan weavers primarily in Oaxaca, Mexico — including individual makers like José — who hand-dyes and weaves rugs on a traditional pedal loom using locally sourced sheep’s wool and natural dyes derived from native plants. The brand also works with Rrres Design Studio, a Latin American studio dedicated to preserving traditional Oaxacan weaving techniques, and sources handwoven textiles from artisan communities beyond Mexico as well, including Morocco.
Each rug is made from 100% wool with no synthetic dyes or backing. Most pieces are made-to-order with a 4-8 week production window, shipped directly from the artisan partners.
Price Range: $460 – $4,159
Conscious Qualities: Natural Fibers, Natural Dyes, Craft Preservation
2. Kiliim
Best for: modern wool kilim rugs
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs
If you’re well-versed in rug terminology, you may recognize that this brand’s name looks similar to the word kilim.
Kiliim’s rug are made using authentic kilim rug craftsmanship by artisans in Egypt coming from generations of kilim artisans. To ensure ethical production and to support the preservation of this heritage craft, Kiliim pays living wages to all artisans.
Price Range: $95 – $4,812
Conscious Qualities: Ethical Production, Heritage Craft Preservation, Natural Fibers
3. Urban Natural
Best for: browsing fair trade rugs in lots of styles and sizes
Categories: Outdoor, Area Rugs, and Accent Rugs
This natural home and lifestyle retailer has a beautifully curated selection of sustainably-made rugs crafted with materials like jute, sisal, wool, and cotton.
Several brands on Urban Natural are also ethically hand-loomed or hand-knotted, such as Loloi — a GoodWeave partner — and Jaipur Living — a brand that partners with thousands of local artisans to sustain heritage crafts.
Price Range: $259 – $9,755
Conscious Qualities: Eco-Conscious Materials
4. LOOMY
Best for: pet-friendly and performance rugs
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs, Runners, Outdoor Rugs
Founded by a weaver, LOOMY is dedicated to crafting beautiful artisan-made rugs that will last for decades to come.
LOOMY partners with highly-skilled artisan weavers who craft quality rugs made from eco-minded materials like banana silk, jute, and recycled cotton, plus performance options made from 100% recycled polyester built to withstand whatever life brings you.
Price Range: $298 – $8,298
Conscious Qualities: Natural Fibers, Craft Preservation, Vintage Options
5. West Elm
Best for: fair trade rugs in on-trend mainstream styles
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs
West Elm is bringing ethical rugs to a broader market with their collection of Fair Trade Certified
wool and cotton rugs. While I recommend browsing the smaller shops listed above first, West Elm is supporting the movement to responsibly-made, fair trade rugs.
Price Range: $$$
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade production, Majority Natural Materials
6. Jubi
Best for: Modern rugs in vibrant prints
Categories: Accent Rugs, Circle Rugs, Runners
Jubi is a Brooklyn studio founded by textile designer Cassie Dagostino. Every rug is handmade from New Zealand wool by fourth-generation weaving families in Bhadohi, India using traditional techniques. Each rug is made-to-order, meaning no excess stock. Since everything is made to order, expect between 3 and 7 weeks for your rug, depending on the technique used.
Conscious Qualities: Pays Above Market Rates, 100% Wool, Made-to-Order
Price Range: $228 – $668
Shipping: Free worldwide shipping
7. Rejuvenation
Best for: Classic rug styles made in Fair Trade factories
Categories: Accent Rugs, Runners, Area Rugs
Home retailer Rejuvenation has a selection of rugs made in Fair Trade Certified factories. Their collection includes undyed hand-loomed rugs to geometric flatwoven wool rugs. And while I’d typically avoid synthetics, it tends to be unavoidable for outdoor rugs — so Rejuvenation’s Fair Trade 100% recycled poly rug is a good option.
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade Certified, Mostly Natural Materials
Price Range: $79 – $1,649
Shipping: Contiguous U.S. shipping for 10% of product price (add $20 for HI, AK, and US. territorries)
Liked this guide to ethical rugs? You might also enjoy:
Ethical Home Decor Brands to Curate a Beautiful, Conscious Space
Eco-Friendly Furniture to Furnish Your Home Sustainably
Fair Trade and Eco-Friendly Blankets to Cozy Up With
The post 5 Best Ethical Fair Trade Rugs to Elevate Your Space appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
As a longtime book lover, I may be biased, but I think a full bookshelf is one of the most beautiful additions to a space. There’s nothing better than seeing a showcase of your favorite reads alongside a TBR list.
A bookcase, though, can of course be used for all sorts of purposes from placing your favorite photos of family and friends to showcasing treasured vintage finds.
Whatever the case, this guide will help you find the right sustainable bookshelf for your living room, office, or wherever you like to cozy up with a good read!
So what make a bookcase more sustainable? What makes a bookshelf non-toxic?
First of all: sustainable and non-toxic are two overlapping — but distinct — criteria. And both of those terms can come with a lot of opinions and varying definitions.
When it comes to sustainable bookcases, I look for:
- Responsibly Sourced Materials: most bookshelves are made primarily with wood. While natural, unsustainable wood sourcing can be a cause of deforestation, so we want to see that the wood was from responsibly managed forests or made from reclaimed or repurposed wood. Some bookshelves may feature metal, in which case recycled materials here are important.
- High Quality Construction: sustainability includes longevity — how long will you be able to use that furniture piece before it goes to the landfill and gets replaced? Look for transparency around craftsmanship and woodworking processes. Another sign of quality is the length of warranty a company has for its products.
- Ethically Made: this one is straightforward in theory — were the people making it paid fairly and working in safe conditions? — but is unfortunately not always easy to find information. In this category, I look for transparency in practices, what relationship the brand has with the manufacturer (some produce in-house which is the best case scenario for transparency!), where it was made, and how well the makers were paid.
Ideally a sustainable bookshelf would also be non-toxic — as toxic chemical fumes aren’t exactly sustainable! But this isn’t always the case. For example, if a company prioritizes upcycled materials, they don’t necessarily have control over what inputs were part of the original materials. And sometimes a company focuses more on ethical artisan partnerships and sustainable wood sourcing, more than, say, using non-toxic finishes.
But when it comes to non-toxic bookshelves, this is what I look for. (Note that non-toxic doesn’t necessarily mean safe for all chemical sensitivities. Nor does it mean zero potentially irritating chemicals.)
- Solid Wood (where possible): MDF or pressed wood contains glue to stick the various wood pieces together, which can contain added formaldehyde. I prefer solid wood, or if it is engineered wood, I’d make sure the company is transparent around the type of glue used and/or they at least have a product certification like GREENGUARD. (More on that in a second.)
- Low or Zero VOC Finishes: most wood furniture is completed with some sort of finish to provide a protection against scratches or moisture. Many of these finishes are synthetic, and some can contain high levels of toxic chemicals. Look for a natural finish like linseed oil or beeswax or a low VOC synthetic finish.
Relevant Certifications
You’ll see a few certifications referenced throughout this guide. Here’s what each one covers:
- FSC Certified = the wood sourcing was responsibly managed; this is not a finish, foam, or textile guarantee.
- GREENGUARD / GREENGUARD Gold Certified = the finished product was tested for low chemical emissions, including VOCs, with Gold representing the stricter tier.
- Fair Trade Certified
= verifies that a factory meets standards for fair wages, safe working conditions, and ethical labor practices. - Cradle to Cradle Certified (Gold) = evaluates a product or material across material health, circularity, clean air/climate, water/soil stewardship, and social fairness.
Where to Find Sustainable Bookcases and Shelving
I’m always a secondhand first proponent, and that goes for furniture, too. While your local thrift store might not have used bookshelves, check for dedicated furniture resale shops near you or estate sales. (I use EstateSales.net to find ones near me.) You can also find gently used pieces on online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp or AptDeco.
If you can’t find something you love secondhand, and you don’t want to DIY your own bookshelf, then the next best choice is to shop from one of the sustainable furniture companies below. (If you’re simply looking for a bookstand, I’d suggest browsing Etsy for a collection of solid wood, bamboo, and reclaimed wood book stands and cookbook stands!)
Note that this guide includes affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links which helps us continue to run this website and create resources like these. As always all brands meet strict sustainability criteria and are brands we love — and that we think you’ll love too!
1. Medley
Best for: low VOC wood bookcases
Medley’s bookshelves are elegant and elevated, perfect for a living room. Each piece is made with 100% solid FSC-certified hardwood for the tops and sides, though low-VOC CARB 2 compliant plywood is used for the shelves.
Every eco-friendly bookcase is handcrafted in the US (California or North Carolina) and completed with a low-VOC wood finish.
Price: $2,395 – $2,995
Materials: White Maple, American Walnut Wood
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-Order, US-Made, FSC-Certified Wood, Natural Finish