Australian fashion brand Spell used 13,490 metres of leftover fabric in FY24 to make 25 different styles for its Renew ranges.
This is according to the brand’s recently released Impact Report for the FY24 financial year.
According to report author and Spell’s sustainability manager Angie Menghini, it is the largest quantity of deadstock fabric usage in a single year, representing a lift of 143 per cent compared to FY23.
“Our design process prioritises precise fabric estimation, and our suppliers often use a ‘cut to finish’ method to ensure we are not left with any excess,” the Impact Report read. “However, when unused fabric does remain, we’re committed to ensuring it never ends up in landfills or incinerators.
“Instead, our Spell Renew collections breathe new life into deadstock fabric, transforming waste into opportunity and embracing a more thoughtful use of resources.”
For FY24, Spell implemented a “proactive approach” in which the team works with suppliers immediately following bulk production to assess any excess and find a use for it straight away, “rather than storing it away for use in the future.”
The deadstock initiative forms part of a wider goal for Spell to embrace circular strategies to reduce textile waste and overuse of natural resources.
This also involved expanding its Spell Salvage ‘loved to death’ garment takeback program from a pilot project that launched at its Byron Bay store to the whole of Australia.
As part of the recycling program, past purchased items from Spell can be returned to store at its end-of-life in exchange for a gift card. Based on condition, the returned items are either repaired, donated, upcycled, or sent to Upparel.
“As little as only 20 per cent of clothing donated to charity shops actually makes it onto the racks for resale,” the Impact Report read. “The rest often ends up as rags, sent to landfill, or shipped overseas—passing on the responsibility and creating significant waste and environmental challenges.
“In Australia alone, 800,000 tonnes of textiles are discarded into landfills every year.”
The next step is rolling out the Salvage program to Spell’s United States market in FY25.