Repair and Re-wear: The Benefits of Upcycling Your Wardrobe

By Ameena Ghori-Khan

How many times have you wanted to plan an outfit, opened your wardrobe and thought, “I have nothing to wear”? Two hours later you’re sitting on top of a mountain of old clothes staring at empty hangers and drawers.

A quick solution for many of us is fast fashion. Around 23% of UK shoppers admit to regularly buying clothes that they only intend to use for a short amount of time. The arrival of fast fashion has promoted  a buy-and-toss culture that is damaging our planet through carbon emissions, pollution, and waste. Impulsively buying poorly made clothes isn't good for the planet or our overall style and self-esteem. In a year, a quarter of our wardrobe goes unworn and the number of times we re-wear our clothes has plummeted by 35% over the last 15 years.

However, something interesting happens when we are more intentional with our clothing choices. We cherish our second-hand clothes longer than we do our new clothes and when we repair our clothes, we keep them for 5.3 years vs the 4 years we keep new items.

Clothes are deeply sentimental. They hold memories of first dates, birthdays, and nights out — or they used to, at least. With the pressure of relentless new trends, our clothes no longer reflect what we love but instead, our need to keep up. But it doesn’t have to be that way. What if we simply cherished our older, better-quality clothes more and repaired them instead of constantly buying cheap replacements?

The benefits of repairing your clothes

Volunteer Kemi repairing a pre-loved dress

Repair is stylish

Repairing your clothes is an easy way to create unique pieces and cultivate a signature style. If you’re tired of uninspired high street and fast fashion styles, upcycling helps to tap into your creativity and design something solely for you.

Repair is activism

In a world that encourages you to buy, buy, buy, choosing to repair your clothes rather than buying more is an act of resistance against brands and corporations who want to perpetuate a mass consumer culture. By participating in slow fashion and mindful consumption, you are participating in a vital cultural shift to change how our clothes are produced and bought.

Repair slows down climate change

Around 300,000 tonnes of clothes (worth over £140M) end up in landfills every year. The fashion industry is responsible for an estimated 20% of global waste water and releases up to an estimated 500,000 tonnes of micro-plastics into the oceans each year. Extending the life of your clothes helps to keep them out of landfills for longer and cuts down on harmful waste.

Repair empowers women and builds community

Repairing clothes supports a circular economy, which is a rapidly growing sector in the UK. However, women seem to be losing out on benefiting despite contributing essential skills that are helping the sector thrive. By the 20th Century, repairing clothes became a domestic task that fell to women and in some cases deemed to be a lesser contribution to the running of a household. Taking your clothes to be repaired helps transform these skills from invisible labour to a viable source of income for many people. It is also a great way to build a strong community. Repair cafes and workshops are gaining popularity and many encourage a social environment to meet other people interested in sustainable fashion.

Give Your Best has launched GYB Repair, a clothing repair service that celebrates the beauty of mending, empowers the community to preserve their clothes and support those experiencing clothing poverty. From January, you can bring an item for repair, shop our preloved collection, and join free workshops and socials, all from our gorgeous Islington Square location.