Fashion Repair Services Gaining Momentum As Part Of Circular Fashion
Today we are exploring the topic of circular fashion and in particular the growing focus on repair service and solutions. As a fashion photography studio in London, it is interesting to see how major brands are collaborating on these services as it shapes the approach to photography and marketing.
Whilst there is a growing focus among consumers on the sustainability of fashion, many pre-loved brands have struggled in recent months. It is no surprise then that other aspects of circular fashion are being explored and for two major brands, Visa and Patagonia the aspect in question is repair services. So let’s look at each of the initiatives in question and what they will offer consumers in the coming months.
Visa collaboration with COS and United Repair Centre
Payment giant Visa is creating a partnership as part of a new initiative looking at how businesses can engage their customers within the circular economy. This initiative is called the ‘Recommerce Behavioural Insights Lab’.
COS, a brand owned by the H&M Group, which focuses on sustainability will take the lead on understanding the motivations and attitudes of consumers when it comes to purchasing pre-loved items. Whilst the vast majority of a recent report stated consumers wanted to be more sustainable with their fashion choices, less than half bought from a resale store more frequently than once per year.
The other partner, United Repair Centre will provide repair services to fashion brands across Europe. The aim here is to understand and remove barriers for consumers wanting to repair existing clothing items.
As the experiment progresses other major brands will join including Mindworks, Twig and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Patagonia launches new online repair portal
Moving to a major outdoor clothing brand now, Patagonia has designed a web portal where consumers can request a repair for their clothing items and also track the status of their request. It is part of Patagonia’s garment repair initiatives that are being run across Europe.
To coincide with the launch of the repair portal, they have expanded their network of repair services and offerings in-store. With an ambitious target of providing 100,000 repair jobs per year, sometime within the next 5 years, it is clear they are aiming for a transformation in the circular fashion industry.
Patagonia has a long history of focusing on sustainability and keeping clothing for longer periods of time, with marketing efforts going back over a decade. They have also partnered with repair services including Makers Unite and will be looking to open more locations across the UK and Europe in 2023 and 2024.
Final thought
We are frequently told about a brand’s commitment to circular fashion and sustainability, but it can be hard to judge where trends will go in the coming months and years. As a fashion photography studio, we do believe more solutions are required to allow ideas such as repair services to flourish. If brands can get these services in more places and put the time and money into collaborations then the future is bright for our favourite items of clothing.
