Material litter lout occasionally scatters (5)
I believe the answer is:
tulle
'material' is the definition.
(tulle is a kind of material)
'litter lout occasionally scatters' is the wordplay.
'occasionally' means one should take alternating letters.
'scatters' indicates anagramming the letters.
'litter'+'lout'='litterlout'
The alternate letters of 'litterlout' are 'ltelu'.
'ltelu' anagrammed gives 'TULLE'.
(Other definitions for tulle that I've seen before include "Delicate netted fabric" , "Silk net fabric" , "French town" , "Thin material" , "Sheer net fabric" .)