Why isn’t repair a common sustainable alternative to fast fashion?

Nowadays many want to buy more consciously and find alternatives to fast fashion. The most common ways to do so seem to be by buying second hand or from sustainable brands. But something about this still sounds wrong. Can you guess?

It’s the very present word of “buying”. And this comes to no surprise, as the fashion industry is a highly lucrative business. Although brands might become more conscious about their behaviors, they still want to sell clothes. In this blog post we will dive deeper into the repair culture and see if this could be a good solution for a circular fashion future.

Jos van den Hoogen, Workshopmanager at Denimcity in Amsterdam embodies the repair culture through and through. We talked about his role at Denimcity and if repair could be a big part in our fashion industry one day. 

How did you get involved in the circular fashion industry?

I got involved with the foundation house of denim, six years ago when they started denim city as a hub and they asked me to become the workshop manager. The house of denim foundation works together with the whole denim industry to make denim more cleaner and smarter. We have collaborations with brands, mills, factories and laundries.

We are working on the most sustainable way to make denim. I have been involved in the fashion industry since the day I started working. And I have always been concerned about where my clothes are made, how they are made and who sells them. Those three things are the most important aspects when it comes to sustainability within fashion. Since the last 10 to 15 years I have been working on my sustainable wardrobe. I haven’t thrown anything away and for example still got jeans from when I was 16 years old. If I buy something it has to be very special and made in the most sustainable way. In the last 10 years I probably bought around only 10 new pieces. I always repair everything I have. I make the garment smaller, wider or use techniques like shaving or pressing if the surface of the fabric looks used. But in general I just try to be very gentle with my articles. 

What are you focusing on right now?

The house of denim foundation started a denim deal with brands. In this collaboration the brands have to use 5% of recycled garments. If all brands do only 5% it is already a huge change. Next to that we teach students to live and produce as sustainably as possible. The fabrics from our mills, which we use here are only sustainable fabrics like 80% recycled hospital blankets or 20% recycled post consumer recycled cotton or fabric made out of plastic bottles which are collected from the canals in Amsterdam.  

How do you see the repair sector impacting the fashion industry?

Repair is huge nowadays, because now it’s cool to repair something.

When I was young when you would repair something you were poor and dirty and now it’s hot and cool. Here at denim city we have a repair artisan and repair denim in the most beautiful way. We have 30 to 60 repairs a week. There’s a whole culture now coming up around repairs.

Do you think a circular fashion industry is a realistic goal? 

I hope it’s realistic.

These days still only a few people know how to be circular. Therefore we need to explain and show to consumers how dirty the industry is. Nobody knows that you need 8000 liters of water to produce a pair of jeans. That’s why repair is not a common sustainable alternative to fast fashion yet. So if we start teaching that to students, but also to the customer, then they start changing but it’s too little what’s happening at this point. 

One final thought on the topic of circular fashion?

People need to learn how we at hubs like denim city can repair their clothes, so they actually start liking it. For example, we have a cooperation with Levis, where we bring in repair artists to the stores which teach the brands and their staff how to repair so it becomes a common practice. It’s amazing how the young generation wants to wear vintage clothes, because it’s cool and hip, so we have to support them in order to see a big change in the fashion industry. 

Conclusion on repair as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion 

As Jos van den Hoogen explained, repair has become cool. This is a very important transformation, as it is essential for us to start loving and wearing our clothes more often and for a longer time. Hubs like denim city offer repairs, which makes it possible also for people who do not have any experience with sewing to fix their garments.

Nevertheless, one issue does arise. If we continue buying from fast fashion brands, repairing is often not possible as the quality of both the fabric and construction is very poor. If consumers choose to pay extra for well produced garments they might as well be more careful with handling them and willing to repair the clothing if damaged. In conclusion, a repair culture within the fashion industry could be a great initiative if we learn to appreciate our clothes more and give them longer lifetimes.