Sew it, don’t throw it! Clothes mending starter guide
- Tuesday, September 3, 2024
- Posted By The Growth Company
Many of us have clothing hiding in our wardrobe that are in need of repairs, whether it's a hole in a pair of jeans, a stubborn stain on a T-shirt or a missing button on a coat. These items take up space and cannot be sold or donated to charity.
The easiest option would be to throw them away, but have you considered repairing or upcycling them instead?
Globally, the fashion industry produces 100 billion garments a year and 87% ends up in a landfill. Here in Britain, we throw 300,000 tonnes of old clothes into household rubbish bins, and all of this waste goes to landfill. And once in landfill, it can take hundreds of years for some textiles to decompose.
Repairing is a crucial way to extend the lifespan of clothes to stop them from ending up in landfill and has been identified as the most significant intervention in reducing the impact of the clothing industry. This Zero Waste Week (2nd – 6th September), why not give some simple repairs a go?
The first thing you will need is the right tools to carry out repairs. You can pick up a beginner's sewing kit from many hobby stores and these will have most of the tools you will need to complete basic repairs. You could also pick up a secondhand kit on eBay, Gumtree, or even Olio.
Here are some essential items to add to have in your starter repair kit:
Now that you have all the tools you need it’s time to start making repairs. It can be daunting when you don’t know where to start, but there are lots of resources and support available if you want to start your upcycling journey.
There are lots of resources available online, from blogs to YouTube videos that can help you carry out basic repairs to clothing. Here are some examples to help you get started:
If you’re not quite ready to attempt a repair by yourself, you could consider attending a Repair Cafe to access additional support.
Repair Cafes are regular community events that you can attend with your items, including clothing, furniture, electricals and more, and access the tools and materials you need to make repairs, you can also meet experts with the skills you need and access their support.
There are Repair Cafes in many places across the UK, take a look at this map to find one near you. You could also consider taking your item to a local tailor, although this may be more costly.
There is also the option to use a door-to-door tailoring and repair service, such as SOJO, which allows you to send your items off and have them delivered back to you.
If you can’t repair your item back to a condition where it can be used for its original purpose, you could upcycle it into a new product. Some examples include turning old T-shirts into cleaning cloths, turning old fabrics into stuffed toys or using scraps to make pet beds. There are lots of ideas online so get creative and see what you can do.
If your item has truly reached the end of its use and is beyond repair, then the next best thing is to recycle.
Simply place the items in a bag, find a recycling point which accepts clothing and drop them off, this could be a recycling centre or a bin at a supermarket or community hub. Use this tool to find a recycling point near you.
You can find out more information about recycling textiles in your area from your local council/authority, by searching ‘clothes recycling’ and your location.