Why So Many Sewing Companies Are Failing

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Many sewing companies and craft related businesses are failing. Here are some of the common reasons and what it means for us as a community.

World Events

In March of 2020, the United States went into lockdown. During these lockdowns, fabric stores were deemed “essential businesses” needed for fulfilling mask mandates. The mandates overwhelmed fabric stores as they scrambled to buy inventory for the drastic increase in customers.

However, many businesses were unable to move extra inventory once everything went back to normal. The extra inventory problem caused many sewing shops to go out of business. But, this wasn’t the end of troubles for sewing related businesses.

Online Competition

Lockdowns caused a shift in consumer buying habits. Since customers minimized trips outside of the home, they turned to online shopping. This caused an entire new market to discover the convenient of online shopping. Once the world reopened, they did not return to buying things in store. Instead, they continued making purchases online. This shift was good for online sellers. But, it hurt brick and mortar sewing and craft businesses a lot.

Lockdowns were followed by supply chain disruptions.

Many ports were closed during the lockdowns. This caused a backlog of merchandise that took years to clear. In addition, port workers went on strike to protests rising automation, low wages, and lacking benefits. The supply chain disruptions caused prices to rise. Since prices increased, consumers cut back on non-essential purchases. This was a blow to many craft and sewing related stores because they weren’t selling food, water, cheap ready-made garments, or fuel.

Sanctions & Tariffs

Prior to 2023, the 20% of USA cotton was sourced from China. But, sanctions were placed on Chinese cotton because of forced labor concerns in Xinjiang. The sanctions caused cotton prices to increase, which in turn caused increases in fabric costs. Also in recent years, the United States has worked to impose tariffs. Contrary to popular belief, these tariffs were imposed long before the widely known 2025 tariffs. I speak more at length about prior tariffs in “How Will Tariffs Affect The Sewing Community?“

These tariffs were put in place to encourage companies to start making products in the USA. Unfortunately, tariff costs often get passed off to the end consumer and the overwhelming majority of sewing and craft stores (as of 2025) source their inventory from overseas. Since price increases influence how often crafters shop, sewing and craft related businesses have been impacted.

Private Equity

Many sewing companies were bought out by private equity firms. PE firms saddle companies with debt and strip businesses down to their bear bones to increase profitability. PE firms are yet another reason why so many sewing companies are failing.

The reach of PE firms far exceeds the sewing and crafting community. Hence, I have left a number of articles and news stories about private equity firms down in sources section below.

What it means for the sewing community

Companies are going out of business. But, the situation doesn’t stop the love we all have for sewing. It simply means everyone must work to become more self sufficient. Self sufficiency can be earned by upcycling materials, learning how to make fabric, and becoming a handy repair person. It’s very sad to see fabric stores and other places we love go out of business. But, it isn’t the end of sewing or the community.

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