Patagonia, the sustainable/ethical outdoor apparel specialist, has dived deeper into circularity with a new online Repair Portal, “putting the power of repair into the hands of customers” and “calling on the apparel industry to do the same”.
The company said it has “a long-standing commitment to repair” and has therefore “entered a new phase for its initiatives in Europe, as [it] makes it easier than ever for customers to get their broken gear back into play”.
The new portal will allow customers to request a repair directly, 24hrs a day, and track the status of their repair. It’s also expanding its European network of fixers and bringing increased repair tools and services to stores, “with the ambition of increasing repairs four-fold, to 100,000 per year, in the next five years”.
In support of the launch, it said simply keeping a product in use for an extra nine months, saves 20 to 30% in carbon, waste and water footprints, compared to buying something new.
The firm’s Worn Wear programme has educated customers on why, and how, they should prolong the lifetime of their clothes for the last 12 years. And even before then, the company was launching campaigns asking people to consider the impact before buying new.
Last year, it partnered with Makers Unite, with support from the Amsterdam Economic Board to launch the United Repair Centre (URC). A new repair provider set up to service multiple apparel brands that also trains and offers guaranteed work to experienced clothing makers who have challenges in finding employment.
The URC has seen strong demand and had to move to larger premises as it signed repair contracts with other brand partners, such as Decathlon. The initiative plans to open a second location in the UK in 2023, with other European destinations planned next year.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.