The Truth About Deadstock Fabric: Sustainability or Marketing Buzzword?

A few weeks ago, at a Friday SEW-CIAL at FABCYCLE, one of our participants struck up a conversation with me about deadstock fabric and textile waste. This is a topic very close to my heart—I talk about it a lot to anyone who will listen. But as we chatted, I realized something: I’ve never actually put all my thoughts down in writing.

So, I figured it was time to change that.

It’s a question we hear often, and honestly, it’s a great one because there’s a lot of confusion around it.

The term deadstock has become a buzzword in sustainable fashion—brands use it, designers flaunt it, fabric stores love it—but what does it actually mean?

Here’s the thing: deadstock fabric isn’t new. It’s been around as long as the textile industry itself. The difference? It wasn’t always such a fashionable term.

So, let’s break it down—what deadstock fabric really is, what it isn’t, and why it exists in the first place.

What Is Deadstock Fabric, Really?

The simplest definition? Deadstock fabric is leftover, surplus, or unused fabric that was originally intended for production but never got used. Maybe a brand overestimated how much they needed, a manufacturer had excess rolls, or a textile mill discontinued a fabric line.

These unused fabrics, instead of being tossed into a landfill (which happens more often than you’d think), get sold off to other companies, designers, or fabric retailers. That’s where the term deadstock comes from—it was stock that was considered “dead” to its original owner but still had life left in it for someone else.

However, not all deadstock fabric was ever at risk of being discarded. Many businesses proactively resell their surplus inventory as part of their standard operations—not necessarily as a sustainability effort, but as a way to recover costs and manage excess stock. While this prevents some waste, it doesn’t change the fact that the industry consistently produces more fabric than it needs.

💡 A common misconception: Many people assume deadstock fabric was saved from a landfill, but that’s not always the case. While some textile mills may produce extra fabric knowing they can sell it later, most apparel brands don’t intentionally overorder fabric for resale—it’s often the result of miscalculations, canceled orders, or production changes. And even when deadstock fabric is genuinely leftover, selling it isn’t always easy.

If a brand has a few rolls of fabric left over, who’s going to buy them?

Large-scale manufacturers require consistent, high-volume fabric sources for production. Buying small quantities of leftover fabric comes with risks—inconsistencies in color, texture, or availability—making it a tough sell for brands that need uniformity across their collections.

This is why so much pre-consumer textile waste exists—because excess fabric is difficult to move.

At FABCYCLE, we work directly with designers, brands, and local makers, ensuring that fabric that might otherwise go to waste is actually put to good use—whether it’s deadstock fabric, pre-consumer textile waste, or secondhand fabric.

The Jobbers: The Original Deadstock Dealers

Long before deadstock became a sustainability trend, jobbers were quietly doing this work behind the scenes. These fabric traders have been around for centuries, buying up excess textiles from manufacturers and reselling them to smaller brands, independent designers, and fabric stores.

If you’ve ever stumbled across a fabric shop with an amazing deal on high-end designer fabrics, chances are a jobber sourced it from a manufacturer’s surplus stock. This practice has been integral to the textile industry for generations, but it’s only recently been rebranded as ‘sustainable.’

The Bigger Issue: Deadstock and Overproduction

Because sustainability sells, deadstock fabric is often framed as an eco-friendly solution.

But while using deadstock is better than letting fabric go to waste, it doesn’t address the root problem—it’s a symptom of a broken production system where the industry creates far more fabric than it needs.

Most brands rely on forecasting to estimate demand, but these predictions often lead to excess fabric that later gets rebranded as deadstock.

💡 The real question isn’t just, “What happens to deadstock?” but rather, “Why does so much excess fabric exist in the first place?”

Instead of waiting until fabric becomes deadstock, the bigger goal should be shifting towards on-demand or flexible production models that reduce waste before it even starts.

✅ Should we celebrate deadstock because it’s being reused?
Absolutely! Finding ways to repurpose and circulate existing materials is always a good thing.

❌ But is deadstock really solving the problem?
Not really. It’s more of a band-aid solution to overproduction.

So, if deadstock fabric isn’t the perfect sustainability solution, where does that leave us?

The truth is, deadstock is just one small part of a much bigger conversation. If we really want to tackle textile waste, we have to look beyond leftover fabric rolls and dig deeper into the way fabrics are produced, sold, and discarded in the first place.

In Part 2, we’ll explore the difference between deadstock and textile waste, the role of secondhand and thrifted fabrics, and what we as consumers, makers, and industry professionals can actually do to create real change.

Because understanding the problem is just the first step—the real power is in what we do next.

[Stay tuned for Part 2!]