Deadstock options offer business solution to growing supply crisis: CFDA

April 27, 2023

During a recent virtual discussion, a panel of sustainable design experts joined the organization to talk through the financial benefits of circularity. Image credit: CFDA

By Emily Iris Degn

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is making the case that both profit and the planet can be prioritized.

As the extension of terms such as “deadstock,” “closed loop” and “circular economy” become routine, there remain many misconceptions and concerns about repurposed materials in the fashion industry. Joined by a panel of sustainable design experts who presented the realities of deadstock fabrics, defined misunderstood terms and provided insights into their own experiences in the space, the organization attempts to get to the bottom of the circular design debate during a recent virtual event.

The April 20 webinar, “Deadstock: What’s Old is New,” was moderated by Sacha Brown, director of professional development at the CFDA.

Greening the garment industry
While repurposing fabrics and putting excess inventory to use is recognized as sustainable, the business benefits of engaging in said behaviors have historically lacked the same credit.

Clarifying the economic perks while affirming the organization's conscious factor, the CFDA sparked this very conversation via a virtual chat focused on the ways that earnings and environmental efforts can go hand in hand.

Hosted by the nonprofit, panelists included Stephanie Benedetto, CEO and cofounder of Queen of Raw, Carrie Freiman, senior director of sustainability at Reformation and Tsui Yuen-Pappas, director of sustainability at alice + olivia.

The April 20 webinar, “Deadstock: What’s Old is New,” was moderated by the CFDA

Climate and fashion tech entrepreneur Ms. Benedetto kicked off discussions regarding the scope of the apparel industry’s deadstock problem. A former corporate attorney, she spoke to the historic lack of data and consumption-focused business practices that have enabled the excess.

“When I started looking at this issue of deadstock, we knew we had to start quantifying it to figure out how much is there and if this is a business opportunity,” Ms. Benedetto says.

“When we first started looking at the issue way back in 2014, [there] was a $120 billion [dollars] worth of unused fabric that sits in warehouses collecting dust or being burned or sent to landfill annually,” she said. “As I’m sure you can imagine, through the pandemic and now with the recession, there has been a crisis of supply — more unused inventory than ever before because there have been canceled orders, closed stores, missed seasons and collections.

“And so this deadstock opportunity as I like to call it, because we want to turn problems into opportunities, has grown to a $288 billion-a-year-and-growing problem.”

Ms. Benedetto's firm helps companies struggling with this issue identify how to best put the surplus to use.

“We deal with one yard to tens of millions of yards of unused fabric, a lot of times in mint condition, still sealed on rolls just looking for a purpose and a use.”

She shared her approach to quantifying the true amount of deadstock across the industry at large, working with financial advisors and research analysts to accomplish this. According to findings, 15 percent of every step in the fashion supply chain ends up as waste on average.

“I had a factory and saw firsthand the massive amount of waste and breaks in complex supply chains. There are valuable resources sitting in warehouses collecting dust or being burned or sent for combustion.” Thank you @CFDA for all the support! READ: https://t.co/nGJgauIo1a pic.twitter.com/dofCPqkXqg
— Queen of Raw (@queenofraw) April 18, 2023

Next, Ms. Freiman chimed in, adding insights from experiences pushing Reformation’s strategies forward. Today, Reformation creates pieces using sustainable fabrics, and employs practices such as deadstock and limited-edition drops.

Alice + olivia's Ms. Yuen-Pappas also detailed her own work dealing with deadstock fabrics. During the pandemic, she and her peers took into account how much fabric they had left over and categorized materials accordingly.

“We wanted to see if any of it was relevant for future seasons, so we isolated those fabrics [and] made sure design was aware... so that they can basically use those in the next up-and-coming collections,” she said.

“That was a really easy thing to do.”

Following this move, the team set aside fabrics that offered longevity, such as tweed and solid colors, for more immediate use. Finally, alice + olivia's seasonal fabrics were gathered, repurposed and reimagined into new forms.

Luxury lends a hand
Following anecdotal accounts, the panel discussion pivoted to the legalities and standards surrounding deadstock.

In agreeance with fellow panelists, Ms. Benedetto pointed out that requirements are rare in the space, thus, the infrastructure around reselling, repurposing or sustainable storage for future use internally is weak.

“There is no industry definition for deadstock, so I think that’s something that we all need to hold hands [on] and make sure we’re all speaking the same language,” Ms. Freiman said.

This runoff goes to landfills, warehouses and “middlemen” who buy the extras for very little.

Saves 10,321 gallons of water, 15 pounds of CO2, and could cause up to 23,512 compliments.https://t.co/5ZXXJ79Jc7 pic.twitter.com/3TEZGEDnTk
— Reformation (@Reformation) April 16, 2023

“At Reformation, we define ‘deadstock’ as old, leftover and over-ordered fabric from other designers or fabric warehouses,” she said. “We have a verification process in place.”

To ensure the purchase is sustainable, the executive claims that the process involves a query into the age of the fabric the company is buying, why the fabric is not selling and any accompanying documents. Additionally, the Reformation representative says the company tracks the rest of the fabric from the line that the brand does not buy to ensure the remainder is sold.

Ms. Yuen-Pappas outlined the importance of communication between all parties in the process of selling and buying deadstock fabric, as well as marketing products made with the material. She also pointed out how effective the use of deadstock is in practice.

“The newness comes from design and we really focus on design — you’ll always be able to find some fabric in deadstock that suits those needs,” Ms. Yuen-Pappas said.

All in all, the trio's experiences showcased the possibilities of turning waste into wares from a business point of view.

LVMH-owned online resale platform Nona Source launched an ambassador program recently to promote this mindset, empowering sustainable designers to try out planet-friendly practices (see story).

Italian fashion label Valentino has also approached the growing fabric excess, redirecting materials to students through a partnership with 1 Granary established in December 2022 (see story).

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