SproutGround

SproutGround is an excess materials platform to help fashion brands discover, implement, and track the environmental impact of using excess material over virgin production. The Fashion Industry is the second largest polluter, responsible for 10% of the global carbon emissions and 20% of the industrial waste water. Textile manufacturing is the most environmentally demanding part of the production process, attributing to 60% of the overall carbon and waste water. Even worse, as high as 15% of textiles produced are discarded (incinerated or put into landfill) due to (1) minimum order quantity requirements, (2) inaccurate demand forecasting, and (3) poor industry practices (cheaper to produce excess than a separate batch). The result is overproduced materials (aka pre-consumer, post-industrial waste) that sit in a suppliers' warehouses until room needs to be made for new production orders. Most of this waste is happening behind closed doors. The carbon footprint of a footwear or apparel item is actually more than that material used to create the item. SproutGround’s mission is to bring waste due to overproduction to zero. We are creating a market for this excess material by sourcing materials from our network of Tier 2 suppliers (textile rolls). Brands benefit from providing more environmentally friendly practices/products at an affordable price, and at scale. Additionally, we guarantee no waste/excess by holding the material and not requiring a minimum order - brands can take what they need, when they need it. Lastly, the material lead time is significantly lower than made-to-order produced virgin material.