For every 5 items repaired, 4 fewer new purchases are made. That means fewer clothes in landfills and fewer sad, abandoned T-shirts.

Learn why mending is the ultimate zero-waste power move – and how a few small stitches can make a big impact!

Is mending worth the time?

Fast fashion makes new clothes so cheap that repairs often don’t feel worth it. Why spend 10 minutes sewing on a button when buying new is so cheap?

But mending is worth it – because the cost of clothing goes far beyond the price tag.

Beyond the price tag

The cheap clothes we buy come at a high cost:

• $400 billion worth of clothes are prematurely discarded each year
• This waste clogs landfills and releases emissions as it breaks down
• Water and other resources are wasted on unnecessary production
• Production often uses exploited workforces

The power of repair

Mending does more than just save your favourite pieces – it actively reduces demand for new clothing and the resources needed to make them.

For every 5 items repaired, 4 fewer new items are bought.

The statistics on why mending is so worthwhile

Fixing a cotton T-shirt instead of buying a new one saves 7.5kg CO2-eq*. That’s enough energy to iron clothes for 25 hours.

Fixing your waterproof jacket instead of buying a new one saves 45kg CO2-eq. That’s enough to run 300 washing machine cycles.

Fixing a hole in your wool jumper instead of buying a new one saves 16kg CO2-eq. That’s enough to power a lightbulb for 50 days.

*CO2-eq or carbon dioxide equivalent = a metric used to compare the global warming potential of different greenhouse gases by converting their emissions to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Small stitches, big impact

You don’t need to be a sewing pro to start repairing your clothes. Try:

• Sewing on a missing button
• Fixing a loose seam before it rips further
• Taking worn shoes to a cobbler

Not sure how? YouTube has mending tutorials for almost everything.

Second chances

Resale has a big positive impact, too:

• For every 5 second-hand buys, 3 fewer new purchases are made
• Buying jeans second-hand instead of new saves 30kg CO2-eq – that’s enough to make 600 cups of tea

Zero waste wardrobe

30 March is the International Day of Zero Waste, and this year the focus is on fashion.

Take a step towards a zero-waste wardrobe:

• Repair instead of replacing with new
• Buy second-hand when you can

This keeps clothes out of landfills and reduces unnecessary production.

Sources

• British Vogue
• EOS Intelligence
• WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme): Displacement Rates Untangled
• WRAP: Fast fashion could be left on the peg as preloved and repair displace new sales
• United Nations International Day of Zero Waste

Credit

• Main image by Muhammad-Taha Ibrahim via Pexels
• Read more of our Explainers here