Dive into the world of sustainable fashion, textile recycling, and the impact of thoughtful design. Explore what's new, what's next, what we're learning, and what people are saying about FABSCRAP.
Resources
2024 Annual Report
Smarter Swatches
Fabric headers comprise a significant portion of the pre-consumer textile waste stream. Redesigning fabric headers is a practical and immediate way to reduce waste, costs, and inefficiencies at the source.
GENERAL FAQs
-
We receive fabrics because we offer our textile recycling service to solve the textile waste issue in the industry. The recycling fee for individuals is $2.00 per pound of material. The service fee helps us cover the cost of processing and recycling material, as FABSCRAP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
Fees are waived for readily usable materials such as fabric yardage or trims/notions—this is completely at the discretion of FABSCRAP staff at the time of drop-off. Any items that FABSCRAP accepts for FREE may be valued as an in-kind donation of by your team for tax purposes.
For brands who are looking to recycle, learn more here.
-
FABSCRAP does not accept post-consumer waste, such as used clothing, bedding, or linens. Used textiles pose the risk of contaminating our products. Please help us keep these items out of our recycling stream. Many organizations, such as Wearable Collections and DonateNYC, work with post-consumer materials and are great options for previously loved items.
-
Eligible organizations looking to partner with FABSCRAP should fill out and submit FABSCRAP’s Textile Recycling Interest Form. After filling out the form, a team member will be in contact with you within 1-2 weeks.
-
Our Brooklyn Warehouse is located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. You can find our address, and directions with photos to our Brooklyn Warehouse on our Contact Page.
-
Free, secure on-site parking is available at the Pier 4/NYC Ferry parking lot.
-
We always need volunteers to help us sort fabric at our warehouse! Visit our Volunteer page to learn more and register for a specific volunteer session.
-
Creating an account allows us to better capture our community but more importantly ensures that our waivers or Code of Conduct are being acknowledged. Most importantly for you, it’s how you track or cancel volunteer sessions or events that you registered for.
In your account portal you can manage your upcoming volunteer sessions (i.e. how many hours you've volunteered with us & your upcoming sessions). You’ll love that it allows you to see all their interactions with FABSCRAP, including their donation history, event attendance, and more!
-
You can shop with us either in-person at our Brooklyn Warehouse or online via our Online Store!
-
Whether fabric scraps or cuttings, yardage, leather, embellishments, trim, or cones of yarn, FABSCRAP separates all reusable materials during the sorting process and offers them to the public at thrift-store pricing!
-
We are partnered with over 800 fashion and interior design brands in NYC that recycle their textile waste and remnants to be downcycled or resold at FABSCRAP. We get new material every day, with an average of at least 5k pounds every week.
-
We aim to be as accessible a resource as possible for our creative community. We sell some materials by pound, and others by the piece or by the yard, but always aiming to be heavily discounted at thrift-store pricing!
-
We do not offer wholesale discounts at our Brooklyn Warehouse, however, please see the Wholesale category of our Online Store to shop the specific fabrics we’re able to discount further beyond our thrift-store pricing.
-
Yes! We have options for large volumes of scrap or shoddy under the Wholesale category of our Online Store.
-
Yes! We gift fabric and clothing samples to fellow nonprofits, charitable organizations, and K-12 programs. Please fill out our Fabric Gift Form.
-
Bring FABSCRAP’s fabrics and materials to your school or organization! Complete our Pop-up Request Form with essential details like potential dates and times, location, contact info, transportation and equipment, etc. Please note, not all locations may work for a pop-up sale, but taking a moment to submit the inquiry form starts the conversation where we can figure out options together!
-
Please email press@fabscrap.org and we’ll be happy to connect with you! You can check out our recent press here.
Fabric recycling FAQs
-
If you are not with a brand, our Brooklyn warehouse is open for drop-offs from Tuesday to Friday. Please note that we do not accept used clothing, bedding, or linens. You can schedule a drop-off at the warehouse by visiting fabscrap.org/drop-offs.
The recycling fee for individuals is $2.00 per pound of material. The service fee helps us cover the cost of processing and recycling material, as FABSCRAP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Fees are waived for readily usable materials such as fabric yardage or trims/notions—this is completely at the discretion of FABSCRAP staff at the time of drop-off.
-
We accept all types of fabric including: swatches, headers, cuttings, production scrap, and yardage. We also take notions, trims, leather hides, and yarn cones. FABSCRAP accepts all pre-consumer fabric and textile material. If you have fit or development samples that have not been worn, you may also include those in your bags as well.
-
FABSCRAP does not accept post-consumer waste, such as used clothing, bedding, or linens. Used textiles pose the risk of contaminating our products. Please help us keep these items out of our recycling stream. Many organizations, such as Wearable Collections and DonateNYC, work with post-consumer materials and are great options for previously loved items.
-
Yes. FABSCRAP charges both individuals and businesses to recycle textile waste. The service fee helps us cover the cost of processing and downcycling material into Shoddy, a mixed-fiber insulation and filling.
-
FABSCRAP service fees are not tax deductible as a service is provided in exchange for the payment. Any items that FABSCRAP accepts for FREE may be valued as an in-kind donation of by your team for tax purposes.
FABSCRAP can provide a donation receipt quantifying how many rolls and how many pounds of fabric you donate for reuse. We DO NOT provide a value for the material. The valuation of the material is for your team to determine and report on your own. -
FABSCRAP does not accept shipped fabric. All fabric shipped without prior consent will be refused and returned to the sender.
BRAND RECYCLING FAQs
-
FABSCRAP offers our pick-up recycling service to organizations in NYC and Philadelphia ONLY.
FABSCRAP is unable to provide pick-up services for individuals. Individuals are encouraged to schedule a drop-off appointment.
-
Eligible organizations looking to partner with FABSCRAP should fill out and submit FABSCRAP’s Textile Recycling Interest Form. After filling out the form, a team member will be in contact with you within 1-2 weeks.
During the onboarding process, your brand will need to sign our Service Agreement that outlines sorting material into Brown or Black bags, keeping the bags safe, and complying with our service processes.
Your brand will then receive a login to our Partner Portal for managing your recycling service needs!
-
FABSCRAP provides two colors of service bags as a free “laundry bag”-style container for packing your material. Each bag holds up to 50 pounds of material. Black bags are for proprietary materials (not for reuse), and brown bags are for everything else.
Pickup is on call, so if it takes you two days or two months to fill your bag(s) that's no problem! FABSCRAP charges service fees for materials that need to be downcycled or recycled. We pick up non-proprietary apparel fabric rolls for FREE. Brand partners are invoiced after pick-ups.
-
Black versus Brown colored FABSCRAP bags are how everyone can distinguish which materials are proprietary and which are not. FABSCRAP bags come in Black and Brown so that your team can sort the materials into their correct category.
BLACK BAG – For sensitive items with proprietary logos or patterns
BROWN BAG – For all other non-proprietary materials
-
No! Our staff and team of volunteers assist with removing swatches, staples and tape from any paper which also will get recycled as we process materials. Cardboard or paper on/in the scraps is okay.
-
Yes. FABSCRAP provides a Certificate of Destruction to clients recycling proprietary material. CODs are uploaded to the Partner Portal once the material is processed.
VOLUNTEERING FAQS
-
Visit our Volunteer page to explore and register to help sort fabric. All volunteers are required to create an account in order to register for volunteer sessions. We cannot accommodate walk-ins at this time.
-
Creating an account allows us to better capture our community but more importantly ensures that all volunteers acknowledge our Volunteer Waiver and Code of Conduct. Most importantly for you, it’s how you cancel volunteer sessions that you registered for.
Additionally, in your account portal you can track and manage your upcoming volunteer sessions (i.e. how many hours you've volunteered with us & your upcoming sessions). You’ll love that it allows you to see all their interactions with FABSCRAP, including their donation history, event attendance, and more!
-
Yes! Please note, your friend or family member needs to register for an additional volunteer slot. Volunteers between 12-17 need to be accompanied by an adult.
-
Anyone over the age of 12 is welcome to volunteer. For minors (12-17), an adult or chaperone is required.
-
Volunteers are given an intro to FABSCRAPs operations, and an orientation on how to sort and deconstruct fabrics correctly for reuse or recycling. The remainder of the session, volunteers sort and deconstruct materials with the guidance from the FAB team when applicable. Following this, volunteers are welcome to shop the Reuse Room to choose the 5lbs of fabric they are gifted as a thank you for their time.
-
Currently, we do not have a waitlist for volunteer sessions. If a date you are interested in is sold-out, we recommend checking back the evening before to see if there have been any cancellations.
-
If you are unable to attend a volunteer session, we strongly encourage you to cancel through your account portal.
To cancel, select “Events” in your account portal, then select the session you wish to cancel. Finally, click “cancel” (in blue, to the left of the event. You can also follow these Step-by-step instructions to cancel your ticket.
*FAB team members cannot cancel for you via email or by phone.
-
Yes, we can host group volunteer sessions! Visit our Volunteer page to explore and submit a group volunteering inquiry form.
-
Reuse volunteers are invited to take on a larger role in our operations after demonstrating deeper understanding of FABSCRAP operations. To ensure this, we require volunteering at least 15 days within 1 year and attending at least 1 FABSCRAP 101 webinar. If selected, you’ll go through a half day training to prepare you for this new role!
-
Our Brooklyn Warehouse is located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. You can find our address, and directions with photos to our Brooklyn Warehouse here.
-
Free, secure on-site parking is available at the Pier 4/NYC Ferry parking lot.
In-Person Shopping FAQS
-
FABSCRAP is open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm.
-
Walk-ins are very welcome! You no longer need to schedule an appointment to shop.
-
We aim to be as accessible a resource as possible for our creative community. We sell some materials by pound, and others by the piece or by the yard, but always aiming to be heavily discounted at thrift-store pricing!
-
We strongly recommend bringing your own bag to shop, but we do offer paper bags for 70¢/bag!
-
Our Brooklyn Warehouse is located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. You can find our address, and directions with photos to our Brooklyn Warehouse on our Contact Page.
-
Free, secure on-site parking is available at the Pier 4/NYC Ferry parking lot.
-
Due to our limited space and how quickly our inventory changes, we do not hold fabrics.
-
Yes! Our Gift Cards are perfect to give to a special someone who loves to sew or craft and can be used for online store and for in-person purchases.
Online Store Shopping FAQS
-
New fabrics and materials are uploaded on a weekly basis, keep checking back!
-
Unfortunately, the fabrics can not be viewed in person before purchasing online. All inventory is separated from in-person shopping. We do our best to ensure the fabrics and materials are accurately described and photographed, however, if you have additional questions you can always email us at onlinestore@fabscrap.org.
-
We do not ship internationally as a way to minimize our carbon footprint and maximize the offset we are making through our work.
-
We can’t wait to hear from you so that we can help correct any issues with your Online Store order! Please email us at onlinestore@fabscrap.org and be sure to include your order number in the subject line of the email.
-
Opt for a virtual appointment with the FAB Team! Perfect for larger orders, these one-on-one, 30 minute video appointments with the FAB Team are convenient for those who can’t make it in-person to the Warehouse.
-
Yes, we offer an affiliate program. To sign up please click this link Affialiate Sign Up Program. If you are having issues signing up please send an email to onlinestore@fabscrap.org to let us know.
-
Yes! Our Gift Cards are perfect to give to a special someone who loves to sew or craft and can be used for online store and for in-person purchases.
EDUCATION FAQS
-
In addressing textile waste and climate change issues, we know education and spreading awareness are critical to our work, so we love opportunities to speak to students, groups, clubs, and more!
Kindly complete our Presentation Request Form. Then, our team will reach out to coordinate and schedule the presentation + Q&A. We’re available to present via zoom or in-person*.
In-person presentations require an honorarium.
-
Bring FABSCRAP’s fabrics and materials to your school or organization! Complete our Pop-up Request Form with essential details like potential dates and times, location, contact info, transportation and equipment, etc. Please note, not all locations may work for a pop-up sale, but taking a moment to submit the inquiry form starts the conversation where we can figure out options together!
EVENT FAQS
-
Everyone*, newbies to know-it-alls, everyone’s welcome! Our workshops, mending clubs, and discussions are designed for community members with all skill and experience levels. All we ask is you bring your curiosity, patience, love for community, and (for the BEST time) a friend!
*18 & over, though attendees from 12-17 can join, accompanied by an adult.
All attendees are required to create an account in our portal, this allows us to better capture our community but more importantly allows you to track and manage all your interactions with FABSCRAP!
-
FABSCRAP hosts several events each month from hands-on activities like workshops or Sip & Sorts to knowledge-building panel or book discussions. No skills, experience, nor background knowledge needed! Just bring your interest in reducing textile waste (&, we suggest, a friend too)!
You can find and learn more about our upcoming events on our calendar. You are required to create an account in our portal, this allows us to better capture our community but more importantly allows you to track and manage all your interactions with FABSCRAP!
-
We host a mix of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, so no sweat if you’re not nearby!
In-person event locations will be clearly detailed on the registration page for the events (where you sign up for the event). Venues range from the FABSCRAP warehouse in Sunset Park, to our clients’ stores in SoHo, to our college partners’ auditoriums in Brooklyn, and event venues around NYC! Outdoor events will also be clearly detailed!
Virtual events typically take place on Zoom. Links to these events are sent in the confirmation email immediately after registering. We suggest you save and/or star that email for quick and easy access once the event starts.
-
Nearly once a week! While the schedule is subject to change, the follow is a good guide:
First Monday of the month: Workshop
Second Tuesday of the month: Mending Club and/or Makers Show & Tell
Third Wednesday of the month: Panel or Book Discussion
Last Tuesday of the month: Sip & Sort
Once a month (dates & time change to accommodate all): FABSCRAP 101
April & September: Sort-A-Thon
Randomly here & there: Sales & Special VIP Shopping!
Though most events take place in the evenings (6-8p), the times will be clearly detailed.
-
These events are an extension of our mission to end commercial textile “waste” and maximize the value of unused fabric. Just like volunteers help us sort through and collect data of the material we receive and donors help keep our operations running, event attendees learn and share the skills and knowledge to reuse the textiles that we divert from landfills.
-
The best way to grow our community is to work together! A great way to partner is by hosting or getting involved with our events:
Please complete this form if:
You have a space (with tables and chairs) you want to donate
Want to support our events with in-kind donations (refreshments, materials, instructing, etc.), and/or sponsorships
-
Creating an account allows us to better capture our community but more importantly ensures that our waivers or Code of Conduct are being acknowledged. Most importantly for you, it’s how you track or cancel volunteer sessions or events that you registered for.
In your account portal you can manage your upcoming volunteer sessions (i.e. how many hours you've volunteered with us & your upcoming sessions). You’ll love that it allows you to see all their interactions with FABSCRAP, including their donation history, event attendance, and more!
Form 990
Make your inbox a little more FAB
Stay in the know - receive our email newsletter with upcoming event information and special announcements.