Donna Sikyta, founder of The Sustainery, discusses a solution for diverting material waste from landfills and incinerators. The Sustainery is a B2B marketplace offering solutions that support a circular economy by connecting fashion designers with sustainable and unused materials. Environmentally conscious designers can rely on the Sustainery as a new way to handle materials in the manufacturing process. Donna’s work through the Sustainery creates a more effective system for unwanted and wasted deadstock textiles.
Originally, Donna worked in corporate social responsibility and sustainability making sure people have safe and fair working conditions. After many years working in the garment industry, Donna says she decided to do something about the material waste she saw happening. She describes the Sustainery
as a solution to reduce surplus fabric waste in the textile supply chain; alongside this, managing the surplus of fabric helps companies recover economic losses. How involved does the Sustainery need to be to create an impact in the fabrics ecosystem?
There’s no official data about the amount of deadstock or surplus material floating around the fashion industry. It’s not accounted for after the manufacturing process. In this conversation, Donna explains the general life cycle of fabrics during the manufacturing process. She starts by giving the perspective of the garment industry. In the garment industry, makers usually buy 15% extra fabric to cover any mishaps that may happen during the manufacturing process. Anything left over after the process is done gets sent to a landfill or incinerator in most cases. A marketplace became a fitting solution to form a closed-loop cycle of materials.
The Sustainery works as a marketplace without holding any inventory. Donna compares the business model to Airbnb or Etsy. She shares her insights into starting the adventure of this initiative, and what it’s like working with the fashion industry from this angle. Companies like the possibility of making a profit off wasted fabric, while some like the idea of knowing the continuation of the fabric’s lifecycle. For designers, they are able to get a better deal on fabrics, which also makes it easier to fuel their sustainable designs. The marketplace is the center for this communication and exchange that benefits multiple sides of the fashion industry.
This episode encourages any person interested in fashion to think about the front and end of material management. End of life for garments can be contained in a closed-loop where all deadstock is accessible to emerging or established sustainable designers. With the fashion industry being the second top polluting industry, conversations like this one with Donna open room for supportive innovation. She even mentions that the Sustainery also works with interior decorating/ furniture companies that have waste fabric or want to buy fabric. Listen as Donna talks about the industry’s typical fabric usage, fashion education building awareness of fabric waste, and the need to tackle the waste issue with policy and consumer demand.
If you would like to learn more, you can visit the Website or connect on Instagram and YouTube.
