Material is exploited, having turned up (5)
I believe the answer is:
denim
'material' is the definition.
(type of fabric)
'exploited having turned up' is the wordplay.
'exploited' becomes 'mined' (mining is a kind of exploiting).
'having turned up' is a reversal indicator.
'mined' backwards is 'DENIM'.
'is' is the link.
(Other definitions for denim that I've seen before include "maker of jeans" , "Hard-wearing clothing material, twilled cotton" , "dark blue material" , "Cloth for jeans, etc" , "Hard-wearing cotton fabric" .)