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FAQ - your questions - our answers

GENERAL

Can I order swatches?

Although we do everything we can to give you a good idea of our fabrics, we know that it can be difficult to judge online how a colour will turn out or what the feel or drape of a fabric will be like. If you are still unsure, you are welcome to order fabric samples. We offer either the complete set of all fabrics from one collection for 5 EUR or individual fabric samples for 1 EUR (plus shipping costs). You can either select the product "Fabric sample set" for the collection you are interested in or add a "sample" instead of running meters to your basket. Since we only offer deadstock fabric, your favourite might sell out. If that is the case, we are very happy to help you find an alternative.

How close to real life are the colours of the shown fabrics?

We photograph all fabrics under the same conditions with white balance and under lamps with a high colour rendering value, so that the colours correspond to reality in our estimation. However, every screen displays colours differently, so fabrics may look slightly different on your device than they do in real life. If the colour is very important, we recommend that you order a fabric sample before buying the fabric. This way you can judge the colour of the fabric yourself.

I'm not sure which fabric to choose for my project. Can you help?

We are happy to help you choose the fabric for your dream project. For many fabrics we show design examples on our website to give you some inspiration. However, feel free to send us an email with your specific wishes or a particular pattern and we will be happy to help you.

How do I care for my fabric?

We recommend pre-washing all fabrics as you would wash your finished garment (see recommendations below). To do this, sew the edges together with a large stitch to form a tube and turn the fabric inside out. This way you avoid fading and the fabric keeps its shape. In addition, fabrics can shrink by about 5% the first time they are washed. By pre-washing, you can prevent garments from secretly shrinking when you wash them sewn up.  For the different fibres that we offer, we have put together care instructions, which you can find here.
Yellow fabric folded and wrapped in a strip of brown paper with a Stoffkollektiv sticker on top. Next to it a piece of paper with a question mark and an exclamation mark and a pencil.

Do you have a physical store??

No, we are an online shop only. Our team is spread all over southern Germany. Our headquarters are in Karlsruhe, shipping in Albstadt and web/graphic design in Lindau.

SUSTAINABILTY

Which are your principles to work towards sustainability?

When we founded Stoffkollektiv, it was clear to us that we wanted to strive for ecological action as a guiding principle. But how do you define environmental friendliness when all consumption has an impact? We are aware that we cannot achieve complete ecological sustainability and we do not advertise it. However, each of our decisions is considered from a sustainable point of view and forms the basis of our actions. We know that this is an ongoing process and that we can still improve. We have implemented the following points so far:

We have implemented the following points so far:

  • We focus on deadstock materials that are waste products of the fashion industry, hoping to save some from being wasted.
  • Our fabrics are environmentally friendly, in the sense that they are easily degradable or recyclable and do not release microplastic.
  •  Our packaging is 100% plastic-free and where possible made from recycled waste paper or paper from sustainable sources.
  • We ship CO2 neutral wherever possible.
  • We have deliberately opened our business account with Ethikbank in order to choose the most sustainable option for our investments.

Areas where we can do better:


  • We are aware that the fabrics we offer are not without problems. The high water consumption for cotton, or the chemical-intensive production of viscose should not be underestimated. We will keep our eyes open for innovative sustainable alternatives. Unfortunately, the deadstock market is behind the latest developments and exciting green alternatives are still hard to find.
  • In the case of deadstock, the exact origin is often not known and there is limited transparency on the manufacturing conditions (e.g. regarding working conditions or the use of chemicals). In order to be able to control these points to a certain extent, we try to source fabric from European countries (if the country of origin is known). Most of the fabrics in our range are made in Italy.

PRODUCTS

Photograph of a roll of yellow fabric with a pair of gold scissors on top.

What is deadstock fabric?

We define deadstock fabric as textile materials that cannot be used for their original purpose in the fashion industry, be it because there was less demand for fabrics or their end products (e.g. in the days of Corona), they are sample rolls, the colour did not meet the customer’s requirements or there are small printing errors on the fabric. We distinguish here between deadstock and overstock. While deadstock has no further use in the garment industry and is typically destroyed, overstock is a deliberate overproduction of fabrics by mills with the aim of reselling them to a third party. For Stoffkollektiv, we focus specifically on deadstock fabrics. When fabrics were intended for well-known designers, they are often referred to as ex-designer fabrics. We also have ex-designer fabric in stock, but we do not advertise with the brand name but let the fabric speak for itself.

How do you define “earth-friendly fabrics”?

Selling fabrics to hobby sewers that are left over elsewhere in itself is more environmentally friendly than producing new materials. We also focus on fabrics made from natural fibres (such as cotton or linen) or bio-based man-made fabrics (such as viscose) as these break down more easily than plastic-based fabrics and avoid microplastics. The only exception is the addition of a small amount of elastane in our stretch woven fabrics for more comfort.

Where does the fabric come from?

We source our fabrics from fabric wholesalers and textile distributors who either resell remnants from fashion houses or pass on their sample fabric for customers in the fashion industry to third parties.

The fabric that I wanted is sold out. Will you be restocking it?

As all our fabrics are all remnants, we cannot always restock them. For popular fabrics we will try to get the same or similar fabrics again but in many cases what's gone is gone.
Stack of yellow and white striped fabric wrapped in a strip of brown paper and a Stoffkollektiv sticker.

ORDERS & SHIPPING

What is the minimum order?

Our minimum order quantity at no extra cost is 1 metre. From 1 metre, the fabric can then be ordered in 10 centimetre increments to avoid you ending up with too large fabric scraps. We also supply small quantities of 50 centimetres to 90 centimetres for special projects, but then we charge 3 EUR per cutting.

What is your return policy for cut fabric?

In principle, cut fabrics cannot be returned. However, should you be dissatisfied with the quality or colour of a delivered item, please contact our team and we will find a solution!

Do you ship internationally?

Yes, we do ship internationally. We cover the whole of the EU, Great Britain and other selected countries. You can find more detail under Shipping and Payment.