Welcome to the Repair What We Wear blog

 


During the month of October 2025, the SEE Change WasteLess group will be regularly publishing articles on this blog related to repairing clothes.

When we hear the word repair, one immediately thinks about bringing out the sewing machine or the needle and thread. But, repairing is much more than that. Repairing covers any strategy to prolong the life of your existing clothing so that it doesn’t end up in landfill. Repairing includes dealing with a stain, dyeing clothes, repurposing an outfit, upcycling as well as mixing and matching items in your wardrobe.

We are doing this to help reduce the amount of clothing waste. Did you Know? On average, every Australian buys 56 items of clothing, including socks and underwear, each year, most of which are made from non-sustainable, non-durable materials. This makes us among the biggest purchasers of clothing in the world. Each Australian disposes an average 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill, either here or overseas, each year. This equates to about 227,000 tonnes of discarded clothing. This amounts to an enormous amount of clothing waste.

So, come back to this website regularly during October 2025 for ideas on repairing clothes. The items shared will include how to … ideas, links to video instructions, great online articles, case studies as well as where you can get help in Canberra with repairing clothes.

We would love to get your feedback on the articles published during the month. You can provide feedback by sending an email to wasteless@seechange.org.au or by making a comment on a particularly relevant article.

Enjoy and learn.

From the SEE Change WasteLess Group

Additional Reading: ABC tips on fixing your clothes - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-29/how-to-fix-clothes-budget-eco-friendly/102525310

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Know what is in your wardrobe

Image
 Do you know what clothes you have in your wardrobe? Do we have clothing that has not been worn for 12 months? Do we have items that we rarely wear? Many of us have clothes that we no longer wear as often as we used to. This might be a wide variety of reasons for that including we are not so keen on the colour. It might be that you have forgotten you had it. Environmentally, it is always better to use the clothes you have than buying new ones. Buying new ones means more resources are consumed and more carbon emissions are pumped into the atmosphere. When you are dressing, you can be creative with the clothes and accessories you already have. Try mixing shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses, suits with different scarves, brooches, ties, socks and whatever else has been languishing in your cupboard for a while. It will seem like a new wardrobe. It will mean that you wear everything you have for longer. If you haven’t done it recently, make an inventory of all the clothes you h...
Read more

Upcycling

Image
  When we think of repairing, we often just think about using a needle and thread to fix an item of clothing. Another way of thinking about repairing is upcycling. Some people have been upcycling for years without having an identifying word to cover the process. What is upcycling? One definition of upcycling is: The process of transforming waste materials and discarded or unwanted products into something of a higher quality or value, often using crafts or artisanal knowledge as tools . (National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme, Clothing Data Report, 2022.) In other words, re-style and love again what you already have. With a little imagination, any piece of clothing can be upcycled. Someone’s husband is a great up-cycler and placed a patch over his McDonalds cap golden arches to create a different look. If you aren’t confident to upcycle garments, you might enjoy learning to sew. Otherwise, take them to a tailor or seamstress for their skills. Experts at repair cafés can gi...
Read more