In search of sustainable fabrics for my couture label, I ended up in Enschede on 10 March, where I visited the young company Enschede Textielstad.

Enschede Textielstad

The city of Enschede has a rich tradition of textile production. I can hardly believe my eyes when I read Wikipedia on this:

At its peak was the Dutch city Enschede  one of the most important textile cities in the world. At the time, more than 50,000 people worked directly in the textile industry . (!) (Wikipedia)

It is a fact that the industry was lost in the 1960s. A few years ago a new initiative was launched under the name Enschede Textielstad :

Enschede Textielstad is an industrial weaving mill that produces fabrics for the fashion and interior industry using natural and local yarns. It is our goal to produce as locally as possible and to provide brands that are already working on sustainability and/or reshoring with high-quality fabrics in an accessible way.

For years I have been looking for sustainable fabrics and I was looking for a good opportunity to take a look here and March 10th the opportunity presented itself. I drove by car to Enschede where I was given a tour of the studio and the weaving mill. 

In Search of Sustainable Fabrics

The focus at Enschede Textielstad is on the sustainable production of fabrics for fashion, interior and projects. Some examples are:

• produce with organically grown cotton (less pesticides)
• produce with recycled yarns (made from PET bottles, old jeans and old T-shirts for example)
• commissioned production to prevent overproduction and large residual batches

It is really high time to get started with sustainable alternatives, knowing that the fashion industry is the most polluting industry after the oil industry. 

Until now I thought that I was already well on the way with my tailor-made clothing and conscious separation of waste, but lately I see that there are only more reasons to embrace sustainability. 

Textile  production

Now you should know that I still remember watching a documentary on TV about the production of jeans when I was twelve years old; the process from yarn to fabric and then to wearable garment fascinated me even then! 

After I was given a short explanation and tour of the studio, I was taken to take a look at the production hall. It was like walking straight into that documentary. BIG SMILE on my face!

Fabric Samples

And while I looked around the production hall, my fabric samples and fabrics were collected and packed. 

Fabric on Order

Do you remember when I visited Harry Bosch Maatstoffen in Eindhoven almost a year ago? There too, attention is paid to the aspect of sustainability, but in a different way. Making fabric to order is a big step. I noticed that I don’t know enough about material to make choices online. I really need explanations and examples to visualize the result. This is precisely why it was essential for me to make this visit in my search for sustainable fabrics. I am now working on a first dress made of the fabric I brought with me. I hope to be able to share the result with you soon.

Until then, I’m very curious how you deal with the whole story of sustainability within your company or making clothes as a hobby. For example, are you looking for sustainable fabrics? Would you like to work with sustainable fabrics? What have you already found in this area? Or what are you looking for? I would love to read your story below: