Repair What We Wear

  During October 2025, we have focused on how to repair clothes as a way of reducing clothing waste. Look back over all the posts that have been made during the month. We have covered a wide range of topics. 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 have focused on what individuals can do to reduce clothing waste. But, more needs to be done by clothing manufacturers and governments to reduce clothing waste. One scheme to watch is Seamless Australia , which aims to deliver a program to support a coordinated national clothing collection, sorting, reuse and recycling system for Australia. It is supported by the Australian Government. It is initially funded by a 4 cents per garment levy paid by clothing brands that become members of the scheme. You can check out which companies have joined Seamless Australia here . Nina Gbor from the Austral...

The following examples of repaired clothes have been provided by Jill Whittaker from the Hawker Community Repair Cafe. It shows what is possible with repairs. Kids are hard on their clothes but luckily this small person loves the mended look. For double clothes-saving, the yellow knee patch is from an odd sock! An expensive linen shirt somehow landed with a bleach stain. The stain was cut out and a decorative patch applied to keep the shirt wearable. Not all repairs need to be visible. This vintage wool cloak was invisibly repaired at the Hawker Community Repair Cafe. A section of the hem was removed to patch a moth hole. Delicate stitching was used to sew down the outside edges of the hole with stitches so tiny you can't see them in the outside, which is why the first picture is from the wrong side, taken part way through the process.

  When: Quarterly, 10am to 1pm (check their Facebook page for dates of next repair café) The next repair café (and last for 2025) is on Sunday 14 December 10am to 1pm. Where : Hawker Softball centre, Walhallow Street, Hawker The Hawker Men’s Shed host a repair café at the Hawker Softball Centre every 3 months. You can get a clothing item repaired at the café. In addition, volunteers can help repair small electrical items, small furniture, small household items, toys, jewellery, leather goods, bikes, lawn mowers, small motors, garden/shed tools as well as getting tools/knives sharpened. Back in September, one of the amazing volunteers did some creative upcycling by combining old frayed ski pants with a broken umbrella. Now that is creative! If you have read the other earlier posts on this website, you will notice that there are six repair cafes in Canberra and they do things slightly differently. The Hawker repair café is run in conjunction with a Made Local Market. At t...

  What happens if you have clothing that no longer fits you and fixing them still won’t make them fit? What about clothes that you simply don’t like to wear at all (and you have decide you will never wear). The first option that we think of is to donate to an op shop. Just remember that op shops don’t want rubbish – it costs them lots of money to send rubbish clothes to landfill. Also, don’t just leave clothes on the street outside an op shop – they go straight to landfill. Another option is to donate to groups and distributors which upcycle, distribute goods directly to charities such as Givit, or distribute clothes which they know will be used in our local community. Upparel.com.au   will sort through your clothes and reuse, repurpose or recycle. The recycling involves turning clothes into other products. Another option is to sell your unwanted clothes at a second-hand market or online. You can also contribute garments to a local Facebook clothes exchange. What happens...

  We are now entering the last week of Repair What We Wear month. Repairing is great and we have been celebrating ways of repairing all month. If we are serious about reducing clothing waste, then it starts by buying less. 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. One way to buy less is to ensure you wear your existing clothes more so you don’t need to buy clothes. The most sustainable garment is the one you already own. One s tudyhas shown that the most impactful action we can take to reduce our environmental footprint in the fashion world is to wear our clothes until they are worn out. Researchers found that an item of clothing usually lasts between 100-200 wears. However only a small amount of clothing gets that amount of use. We need to reduce our desire to spend, and try to get the most use out of the clothes we have. Studies show that 30% of the cl...

  A capsule wardrobe is a limited selection of interchangeable clothing pieces that complement each other. These are often classic pieces that do not go out of style and are primarily composed of neutral colours. A capsule wardrobe allows you to create a variety of different outfits with a small selection of clothes. This idea is not new having been around in the 1970s. A capsule wardrobe results in less clothing waste as clothes are worn multiple times. It means that you can focus your repairing to a smaller set of clothes. It saves you money and time. There is less stress and fatigue in making a decision on what to wear. Building a capsule wardrobe starts with doing an audit of your current wardrobe (see day 2). Identify the items that you really enjoy wearing as this will be the beginning of creating a capsule wardrobe. You then need to decide on the number of clothing item you want (e.g. two dresses, three sweaters etc). The number will depend on your climate, your lifestyl...

  When: Last Sunday of each month (Feb-Nov) 1pm to 4pm. The next repair café is on this Sunday, 26 October . Where: Impact Community Hub, 200 Clive Steele Ave, Monash The Tuggeranong Repair Café is a great place to get a clothing item repaired. The only cost would be for any parts required although donations are welcome. It is a friendly place to be with refreshments provided in the café for a small charge. Clothing is only one of the many items that can be repaired. Check their Facebook page for a full list of repairers at upcoming repair cafes. It might include repairs to electrical, jewellery, laptops, garden equipment, lawn mowers, toys and bikes. The Tuggeranong Repair Café is also the location to get and swap your Lids4Kids Swap’n Go Zero Waste Warrior tub. If you are not familiar with this Lids4Kids tub, it allows you to drop in a wide range of hard to recycle items including plastic lids, rubber bands, toothbrushes, pens, metal rung pulls, corks, aluminium, batter...

When : Last Saturday of each month (Feb-Nov) 2pm to 5pm. It does not operate in January and December or on weekends where there is a public holiday. The next repair café is on this Saturday, 25 October. Where : Community Toolbox, 76 Federal Highway, Watson (enter from Aspinall Street at the moment) The Community Toolbox repair café matches you and your broken items with volunteer repairers. Repairers offer their skills for free so you only need to pay for any significant parts that might be required. You save money by keeping the item, having it repaired for free and learning something about diagnosing issues and resolving them. This repair café is run by the Community Toolbox. If you are not familiar with the Community Toolbox then make sure you check it out when you attend the repair café. Community Toolbox Canberra is a community-led, volunteer-run tool and equipment library in Canberra. The Toolbox is membership based. For less than it would cost to buy a drill, members can...

Patagonia is one of very few companies that guarantee their products with a lifetime guarantee. Patagonia have an “Ironclad Guarantee” – “We guarantee everything we make. If you are not satisfied with one of our products at the time you receive it, or if one of our products does not perform to your satisfaction, return it to the store you bought it from or to Patagonia for a repair, replacement, or refund.” To send a Patagonia product in for repair, you need to complete an online form, providing details of what repair is needed. Patagonia provide an information screen on what can be repaired. For example, they don’t repair stains, threadbare items and more than three broken zippers. Once an item is accepted for repair, Patagonia will repair free of charge. Patagonia will ship the item back to you with the return shipping covered by Patagonia. They do expect the item to be washed before being sent to Patagonia – a not unreasonable expectation! As part of Repair What We Wear month, I...

 What do you do when you have an upcoming special event and you don’t have appropriate clothing for the event? You have thought about upcycling but that won’t address the need. Most people would then consider going out and buying something new. But before you do that, consider second hand. Sourcing second hand is better than buying brand new clothes for several reasons. It extends the life of clothing and delays it going into landfill. It saves you money. It is better for the environment in that it reduces the oil, water and other resources required to make the new clothing. You can often find items that are unique when you look for pre-loved clothes. There are now many places where you can purchase pre-loved clothing. We know that one person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure. Charity shops immediately come to mind as one place you can purchase second hand clothes. In some cases, you can find clothes that have never been worn! But there are many other shops (both online an...

  Being able to repair clothing starts with buying quality clothing. If you buy rubbish clothing, then it is likely that any repairs you make may only mean that the clothing lasts a short time before it has to be disposed. It is better to buy quality rather than cheap clothing. If you have tried upcycling, you will know that it is much better if the clothing you are upcycling is made from quality material. But, buying quality clothing typically costs more. It is estimated that Australian “households are spending about the same amount of money on average that we spent 20, 30 or 40 years ago, but we’re buying four times as much clothing for that money … consumers have been trained to expect clothes to be extremely cheap” (ABC News, 12 February 2023), and to be thrown away. There are many parallels between buying ethical and quality food, home and beauty products, and buying quality clothes which are sourced from sustainably-produced natural fibres and animal products. There are m...

  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...

The following set of photos illustrate how a jumper was repaired at the Community Toolbox Canberra Repair Cafe.

  As a result of an accident, the bottom section of the zip on this rain jacket was separated from the rest of the jacket. I knew I didn’t have the skills to fix it. My sewing skills are limited to sewing on buttons. My partner said that she didn’t have the skills to fix it. Her sewing skills were considerably better than mine but would not take on reattaching a zipper to a rain jacket. The jacket was in good condition with the exception that the zip was separated from the rest of the jacket. The rain jacket is at least 10 years old. I was looking at having to send the jacket to landfill and buying a new rain jacket. The rain jacket is one that I regularly use on bushwalks and is waterproof. The rain jacket is made of Goretex, which provides excellent protection when it rains. It would cost me more than $200 to replace the jacket, possibly a lot more.   I decided to take it to the repair café run by the Community Toolbox Canberra ( https://www.communitytoolboxcbr.org/ ) he...

  To avoid having to repair your clothes, it is important to take care of your clothes. The following are some ideas on how to care for your clothes Sort your clothes before washing into whites, pastels, brights and darks, to prevent any unwanted dye transfer. Follow the care labels on your clothes Treat stains right away e,g, blotting the stain with a clean sponge Wash clothes in cold water – reduces shrinkage A garment doesn’t need to be washed after every wear Wash jeans infrequently and inside-out Hand wash woollens, delicates and small items. Water can be tipped on to the garden. Regularly clean your washing machine Air dry washed clothes instead of putting them through the dryer Iron specific fabrics at their recommended temperatures Hang up clothing with wooden and padded hangers instead of wire ones Store out of season clothing in plastic boxes, keeping them in a cool, dark, and dry spot Protect clothes from silverfish and moths using mothballs or cedar oil blocks. Clean ...

When: Second Saturday of the month 10am – 1pm The next Hughes Repair Café will be on this Saturday 11 October. Where: Hughes Community Centre, Whittle Street, Hughes At the Hughes Repair Café, you can bring along clothes for repair. They can also repair a wide range of other goods as well, including electrical, photograph, jewellery, bike, soft toys and general handy repairs. Check the website for the exact list of repairers that are volunteering at the upcoming repair café session. In 2024, there were 326 items repaired which meant that 339kg of waste was deferred from landfill. That is quite an achievement from a single repair café operating just one day a month! One satisfied customer: “I went, hard to find. No street identifiers, but its the Hughes Community Centre. I can't speak highly enough of the fantastic service they offer. I have been trying to get lamps fixed for 2 years. It was done very ably by delightful guy, not naming, while l sat & had a cup of coffe...

  Do you have clothes with a stain that you can’t remove? Do you have clothes that you no longer like the colour? Then don’t through them out. Dye them! Natural fibres like cotton, linen, silk, wool, and rayon take dye best. Cotton is the most commonly dyed fabric. Synthetic fibres such as polyester do not absorb most dyes well. Before discarding a stained item, try using a home-made recipe from readily available products. Combinations of diluted white vinegar, lemon juice, washing soda (sodium carbonate), borax, or even baking powder (which is different to washing soda), ammonia, hydrogen peroxide or undiluted laundry detergent may work. Use trial and error, explore the internet or ask friends to get ideas on what works best with different clothing. Try a patch-test first; perhaps allow the treatment to sit overnight; use gloves as some products are alkaline and may irritate your skin; don’t breathe in any fumes. Make sure you read directions on the product container, an...

  Check out this website: https://repairwhatyouwear.com/core-mending-skills/ This webpage provides links to some useful videos for anyone wanting to improve their repair skills. The videos explain the method and then demonstrate the method mending on real clothing. The first set of videos cover survival sewing skills. The website states that learning these core skills will mean you can mend 90% of clothes that need fixing. The survival sewing skills include: Threading a Needle Tips on fixing a button Mending a seam, learning Backstitch Mending a hem, learning Herringbone Learning Ladder Stitch  ·       There are also some video tutorials covering mending sportswear: Mending big holes in Lycra Mending Running Shoes Mending Small Hole sin Sports leggings Plus many more Use these videos to improve your sewing skills so you can mend your own clothes. Give it a go. Remember that if you find these too difficult, you can always go to a repair café wher...

  Clothing the Loop is a sustainable fashion festival. When: Saturday 18 October from 10am to 10pm . See the website below for more details of he three sessions being run during the day. Location: The Vault, Dairy Road Precinct Clothing the Loop  is a collision of fashion, art, design and activism presented by Australian Dance Party and circular and sustainable designer KELI Studio to inspire and activate textile and fashion circular economies. SEE Change will be there running a repair café from 10am to 1pm. Volunteer repairers will be there from some of the six repair cafes that operate in Canberra. Bring along an item of clothing that needs a repair. At the same time as the repair café is being run, there are a variety of workshops you can attend. A highlight of the afternoon session is a clothes swap as well as a panel discussion on Waste Not! Want Less!. A highlight of the evening session is a fashion parade following a panel presentation. The SEE Change WasteL...

  When: First Sunday of the month 1pm to 3:30pm The next Ginninderry Repair Café will be on Sunday 2 November. There is no event in October as the first Sunday in October falls on a long weekend.  Where: The Link, 1 McClymont Way, Strathnairn The Ginninderry Repair Café holds free events where specialist volunteers help repair all sorts of things including clothing, lamps, toasters, kettles, and toys. Even if you have nothing to repair, you can still learn some handy skills.  The Ginniderry Repair Café is a fun place to be – relaxing, social, saves you money and makes you feel good to be looking after your things and reducing waste. All welcome, just drop in. The Ginniderry Repair Café is always looking for new volunteers. If you want to help others repair, or would like to assist in other ways, then drop in and have a go. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/RepairCafeGinninderry

 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...