Textile reuse and recycling solutions for fashion brands in New York city
Sharing my experience for when visiting FABSCRAP in Brooklyn, New York.
What’s Fabscrap about?
During my visit to New York City at Christmas 2019, I took the opportunity to volunteer for a day at FabScrap in Brooklyn. Founded in 2016 by two young women, Jessica Schreiber and Camille Tagle, FabScrap has grown into a passionate team of ten.
What is its purpose? FabScrap collects and manually sorts fabric scraps, toiles, leftover fabrics, and yarns, making these materials available for reuse by students, artists, and local designers. The organization collaborates with over 600 fashion and textile brands in New York and serves as a platform for individuals, organizations, and institutions interested in working with unwanted textiles on various projects.
The thousands of cut-offs received from these brands that aren't suitable for reuse are instead recycled. At a textile recycling plant in New Jersey, various materials—such as 100% polyester, 100% cotton, and 100% wool—are mechanically recycled. When possible, fiber-to-fiber technologies are also utilized. Unfortunately, fabrics containing spandex, Lycra, or elastane cannot be mechanically recycled, as these materials tend to get stuck in the shredder and melt during processing.
A Zero Waste New York City by 2030
In April 2015, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a goal for NYC to achieve "zero waste." In 2020, a plan was introduced, which included legislation to expand residential textile recycling programs and required separate textile collection for certain large commercial generators. Potential bans or Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies for specific materials could also be included.
Currently, if textiles make up more than 10% of your business’s waste in any given month, you are required by law to separate and recycle or repurpose all textile waste, including fabric scraps, clothing, belts, bags, and shoes.
The goal for textiles is to “divert textile waste from landfills for reuse and recycling” by focusing on the following initiatives:
Divert all household textile waste from landfills
Expand Refashion NYC to all eligible buildings
Recycle or reuse all commercial textile waste
Create textile sorting and storage facilities
