Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately and I know there are ethical problems associated with fabric production (if the fibers are grown sustainably, how the textiles are manufactured, fair trade, etc). Usually I buy fabric from the craft store and most of that fabric is made in China and the cotton is probably not very eco-friendly. Unfortunately, a lot of the places I've seen that sell supposedly ethical fabric are ridiculously expensive and my budget is pretty small. Plus, I don't know how much of this is genuine cost and how much it's marked up to rip people off.

So can anyone refer me to a place that sells ethically sourced fabric for a reasonable price? Online is great, also storefronts in CA would be cool too! Thanks!

I guess it depends on what you are making. Are there project that you could you second hand stuff and repurpose it for?

One of my baby shower gifts were receiving blankets that a friend made from old sheets, and little duck stuffed animals from the same fabric. It was so cute.

Recycling is great for things that don't require large, uninterrupted swaths of fabric. Hit the thrift store.

Yeah, recycling fabric is a great idea! I'm in the process of making ribbons out of my old t-shirts so I can knit some big all-purpose tote bags. I don't have old sheets but I bet they're easy to find at goodwill and stuff. I like making quilts so those would work really well!! I can't believe it didn't occur to me...d'oh!

I am also making my own skirts and blouses so I don't know where to find fabric for clothing (mostly cotton, I guess). I wonder, does anyone have experience repurposing old clothes fabric for more workplace-oriented clothes, or can you direct me to a good place to read up on it? I'm pretty lousy at making clothes and I'm used to working with fresh swaths of fabric that I can cut my patterns out of.

If you like to thrift shop, look at the clothing racks for fabric too. The prettiest fabric I own came from a thrift shop home sewn blouse.

Organic fabric is available online though in limited designs. I've mostly bought natural colored fabric for lining bags etc.

I'd search Google for both fabric and tutorials to re-make clothing.

our co-op is purchasing organic cotton to make reusable produce bags, I believe this is our supplier: http://www.organiccottonplus.com/ but whether that's affordable or not I can't say.

meanwhile regarding recycled clothes, have a look at this collection, it's great for inspiration. Maybe not so much for workplace, but fun nonetheless.
http://www.metamorfixx.com/

It is really hard to find and when I have found something ethically sourced, it wasn't the right sort of fabric. It's pretty limiting and frustrating, I also hate shopping online.

Kind of a shot in the dark, but maybe craigslist? Or email parkandvine.com. I'd bet they'd have some ideas.

I'm sure my local co-op will continue to allow any reusable bag but I ran into this road block about a week ago: Western U.S. grocery chain no longer allowing customers to reuse plastic produce or bulk items bags secondary to contamination worries. Got this info from the check out person as I went through with obvious reused plastic bags from other stores.

I too had been considering making produce bags. Now I'm afraid this will become a trend with most stores. Took the wind out of my try to use less sail. :(

ugh, this is insanity. I hope people refuse to shop in places like this. And sorry for the hijack, back to fabric and making things!