Our Eco Fabric Boutique

 

Our Eco Fabric Boutique manager, Carolin, poses in front of our collection of fabric and notions!

 Photo credit: Kathleen Reichelt, United Way East Ontario

Our Eco Fabric Boutique is one of EcoEquitable’s main social enterprises. We accept and resell over 10,000 pounds of fabric every year, and the proceeds raised through this initiative help to support the sustainability of our programs and operations.

This initiative benefits both the environment and our community. We provide all of our students with fabric from the Eco Fabric Boutique, while also offering our community an alternative through standard and premium fabrics and notions at accessible prices. 

Boutique hours are Monday to Friday from 10AM-2PM. No appointment necessary. We look forward to seeing you! Our holiday hours may vary. Please check our Contact page for more details. Please do not leave donations outside if we are closed.

If you would like to donate fabric and/or notions, see our guidelines below!

The Eco Fabric Boutique is made possible by generous donors in our community, as all the fabrics and sewing supplies are donated by local sewers and businesses. Our aim is to keep textiles out of the landfill by putting them in the hands of enthusiastic and creative sewists in our community who will repurpose them. Thank you for supporting us!

Donating Fabric and Sewing Materials

All donated items must meet all our donation guidelines. If you have questions about your donation, please contact us, we'll be happy to assist you.

 

DONATION GUIDELINES

We accept: 

  • Non-used fabrics of all kinds that are at least 1 meter in length 
  • Fabric must be clean, non-sewn and in good condition. We ask that all fabric is free of pet hair and unscented. 
  • Sewing related supplies: rotary cutters, cutting mats, scissors, quilting materials, rulers, etc.
  • Notions
  • Dress-forms
  • Complete patterns 
  • Portable/industrial Sewing Machines (great working condition)
  • Serger / Overlock machines
  • Embroidery machines

Please review our guidelines below: 

1. Machines must be in great working condition and should come with all their main parts (power cord, foot pedal, bobbin case and bobbin)
2. Provide a sewing sample showing the stitches that it can make
3. Owners manual if still available, and accessories if some
4.  Due to lack of space, we cannot accept any machines that are in cabinets.
What we cannot accept:

It's hard to say "no thank you" to a donation when those donations would help to support our sewing programs. However, we do turn away some items which do not fit within our boutique program or which we cannot use for our sewing programs.

We do not accept:

  • Clothing (new or used)
  • Partially assembled projects
  • Bedding, tablecloths, towels or curtains
  • Scrap remnants (including upholstery samples)
  • Dirty, stained or smelly fabric 
  • Incomplete patterns
  • Weaving, macrame materials and tools
  • Craft materials (pipe cleaners, glue, construction paper)
  • Sewing cabinets or other sewing furniture
EcoEquitable is a small organization. Please be mindful of our requirements when donating.

EcoEquitable is a registered charity and can offer tax receipts for in-kind donations. For donations of over $1,000, the CRA requires an independent third party appraisal to determine the fair market value of the donated gifts. Please contact us before dropping off the donation to ensure that we get everything in order if your donation is estimated over $1,000. For more information visit the CRA guidelines.

Charitable tax receipts will only be issued if the donation meets our requirements for usable textiles. All donations will be checked by staff before donation will be accepted.