Social Fabric

Social Fabric Independent atelier in Zürich, combining local production and social inclusion under one roof.

There is a group for Social Fabric community on Facebook, please join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/socialfabriczurich

We also have a group on Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Social-Fabric-Zurich/ – please join! Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/social_fabric_zurich/

Meet Annette.In 2022, she was looking for opportunities to volunteer.Luckily for us, she found Social Fabric and joined ...
09/09/2026

Meet Annette.

In 2022, she was looking for opportunities to volunteer.

Luckily for us, she found Social Fabric and joined on Thursday mornings to guide the participants of Offener Nähkurs with their sewing projects.

During the one and a half years, she made significant improvements to the course: from designing the course plan with step-by-step sewing projects, to creating a memory game for sewing vocabulary in German.

These improvements, of course, didn’t go unnoticed by the team, who knew Annette had a background in textile design, with a long career working in the sportswear industry.

Thus, in 2023, as we were looking to improve the design of Social Fabric’s own products and build up a more consistent brand, we asked Annette if she could imagine working with us on that project.

Under her supervision, the kitchen collection was born, featuring sustainability concepts like the use of dead-stock fabrics, zero-waste patterns, and 100% Zürich-made production.

In addition, our bag collection has been getting yearly updates, too.

Today, she continues to work for Social Fabric as a designer at 20% capacity, and is present on Fridays.

What started as a Thursday morning commitment has become a lasting creative partnership. 🙏

Today, Social Fabric received the SDG Award for Companies 2026 at the Swiss Green Economy Symposium. 🎉We are incredibly ...
04/09/2026

Today, Social Fabric received the SDG Award for Companies 2026 at the Swiss Green Economy Symposium. 🎉

We are incredibly honoured that our work towards the Sustainable Development Goals is being recognised, and that we have been selected as a role model.

As a social enterprise, our impact always comes first. It’s important to us to show how local initiatives connect to the global goals.

From the beginning, we have oriented ourselves around the following sustainability goals:
🎓 Quality Education (SDG 4)
🤝 Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)
⚖️ Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10)

Since opening our doors in 2016, we have successfully achieved:
🎓 Two EBA certifications
🎓 Four Vorlehre (pre-apprenticeship) certifications
🤝 25 employees with a refugee background
🤝 14 work integration completions
⚖️ 1,142 textile enthusiasts from 61 nations are part of the Social Fabric community

These numbers may seem small at first glance. But we’re just one small sewing atelier in Zurich.

It shows what’s possible when more companies — even in small ways — commit themselves to the SDGs.

Then, the impact is significant.

Thank you to the Swiss Green Economy Forum for this recognition and many thanks to Mirjam Toews from MusikSpitex for the beautiful laudatory speech.

In the photo, from left to right: Ruth Knipping, Adna Warsame Jamae, Saidou Jallow Sowe, Lisa Marti, and Senait Adhanom.

02/09/2026

Meet Martina.

She first joined Social Fabric for a two-week internship during her further education. She was considering opening a similar space in her hometown, Lucerne.

Her calm, good-humoured character, combined with her vast expertise in textile crafts quickly convinced the team that she should join us here in Zürich instead.

While teaching textile crafts continues to be her primary occupation, she joined the team at 20% capacity in 2023.

Today, all production processes start with her: she is responsible for material calculations and cutting.

She works on Mondays and is often assisted by Lis (also seen in the video). Lis volunteers with the production team and brings in her valuable pattern-construction skills.

Together, they give the production team a good start to the week. 💪✨

26/08/2026

SAVE THE DATE

We’re ready for another round of Tag der urbanen Produktion. How about you?

On 26th September, we’ll open our atelier doors to the public with a programme surrounding textile crafts and sustainability, including two workshops.

If you’re interested in sewing, are already sewing, or simply want to get to know more about us as Social Fabric, come by. 💖

While we have a production unit in our atelier, we’ll let the production team rest and instead focus in on sewing as a craft everyone can engage with.

🍸 and yes, there will be an Apéro too

We look forward to seeing you, so remember —
26th of September ⏳ 11 to 17 o’clock

For full programme and workshop registration, visit the website of

See you then!

ps! ✨ We’re giving away two 6-month memberships during the event. So if you’ve been thinking about joining our community, come by and try your luck.

24/08/2026

WE’RE BACK!

After 7 weeks of summer holidays, we’ve resumed all regular sewing sessions in our atelier. These include:

🧵 Thu., 9:30 – 12:00 Offener Nähkurs (for refugees)
🧵 Thu., 13:30 – 16:00 Offener Nähkurs (for refugees)
🧵 Thu., 16:00 – 18:00 Independent Sewing (for members)
🧵 Thu., 18:00 – 21:00 Social Sewing Course with guidance (for members)
🧵 Fri., 13:00 – 17:00 Independent Sewing (for members)
🧵 Sun., 11:00 – 14:00 Independent Sewing (for members)

We’re also quite often open on Saturdays. If you’ve been thinking of joining our atelier, the beginning of the semesters is always a good time!

In addition, there will be a couple of events this semester that are worth noting down:

🗓️ 26 Sept – Tag der urbanen Produktion
🗓️ 24 Oct – Stofftausch
🗓️ 21 Nov – Weihnachtsmarkt

We look forward to seeing you in the atelier!

💭 Should we offer beginner sewing courses again?

II Semester 2026 ✨We’re slowly but surely returning from the summer holidays and easing back into our usual rhythm. The ...
17/08/2026

II Semester 2026 ✨

We’re slowly but surely returning from the summer holidays and easing back into our usual rhythm. The production team came back last week, and this week we’re getting ready to welcome our community home.

On Thursday, the second semester of 2026 officially kicks off with Social Thursday!

Our amazing volunteers will run two open sewing courses – free of charge for refugees – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

From 16:00 onwards, we’ll welcome members and stipendiats for independent sewing. Then at 18:00, our Social Sewing Course – a guided lesson with an expert teacher – will run until 21:00.

If you like sewing and would like to become part of our community too, check out our website under the “Community” page or send us a DM with your questions. We’d be happy to explain how everything works.

This semester, there are also two great opportunities to visit our atelier and get to know us at upcoming events. Here are some dates to save:

🗓️ 26 Sept – Tag der urbanen Produktion
🗓️ 21 Nov – Weihnachtsmarkt

We can’t wait to see you all in the atelier! 💕

04/08/2026

Here’s Svitlana, working on the Nuria Rüschentasche for our own collection.

Svitlana is a biomedical engineer from Ukraine.

She came to Switzerland in 2022.

In 2023, she joined the Open Sewing Course as a participant and instantly impressed all the volunteers with her sewing skills.

It turned out she had completed a tailoring education in her teenage years and had been an avid sewist her entire life.

She is no beginner indeed.

In 2024, she finished the Open Sewing Course and joined the production team.

Since then, she has been supporting production at 40% capacity while building up her German language skill.

In the team, she’s known for her positive attitude, precision, and high-quality craftsmanship.

She’s also known for having more hobbies than anyone else on the team: sewing, dancing, drawing, ceramics — you name it.

Her hands are never idle, and she’s always on her way to the next thing.

She is a core part of the production team and has especially contributed to our kitchen collection, after which we now call all mitred corners “Svitlana Ecke.”

28/07/2026

Here’s Ali, working on the TreeBag Crossbody Spatz for , a sustainable Swiss apparel company.

Ali is a highly skilled tailor from Afghanistan.

He arrived in Switzerland with his wife and two daughters a couple of years ago, bringing with him professional experience from Afghanistan, Turkey, and Greece.

He is currently studying fashion design at Schweizerische Textilfachschule while building up his own brand, ALIAMO (www.aliamo.ch).

In August 2025, he joined our team for an internship as part of his education, and is currently in the atelier on Tuesdays, working at 20% capacity.

In the team, he’s known for his precision in sewing, his ability to tackle difficult techniques, and his good humour.

While the team is divided along the lines of who drinks (a lot of) coffee ☕️ and who drinks none, Ali is firmly part of the coffee club, along with Ruth, our production lead.

In the past year, he has become a steady part of the production team, working on product development and producing custom orders.

21/07/2026

While we’re on our collective holiday, we thought it’d be the perfect time to start introducing ourselves and share some of the projects we’ve been working on lately.

Here’s Ruth, our head of production and education, packing a finished order for .handmade a Zürich-based bag company.

Ruth is a textile and apparel engineer with a long career as a product and material developer in the denim industry.

She’s been part of Social Fabric almost since the beginning. First as a volunteer for the Open Sewing Course, then as a board member bringing vast textile expertise to the table.

In 2021, she stepped down from the board to take over the lead of production, after a recruitment mishap left the role unexpectedly open.

That surprise switch turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Used to the fast-paced environment of the international textile industry, Ruth brought an ambitious energy with her. Soon both production capacity and the team started to grow.

In the team, she’s the go-getter. Always on her feet, juggling multiple tasks with ease, and bringing a force that moves Social Fabric forward.

She’s also not afraid to speak up when necessary, and her quote “Just relax and fight [for a better world, of course], it’s easy” quickly became the team’s favourite. 💕

Today, she’s joined by three more production managers, Marina, Martina, and Annette, but remains the first point of contact for both customers and suppliers.

17/07/2026

BETRIEBSFERIEN
collective holiday

20.07 - 9.08

We hope you’ll all have a cool 🧊 summer and we look forward to seeing you after our holidays. ☀️

Adresse

Eichstrasse 29
Zürich
8045

Öffnungszeiten

Montag 09:00 - 18:00
Dienstag 09:00 - 21:00
Mittwoch 09:00 - 18:00
Donnerstag 09:00 - 18:00

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