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Patagonia Worn Wear - Repair program for clothes

Last updated: Apr 14, 2023

Summary

Patagonia is an outdoor clothing brand headquartered in the United States. In autumn 2015, the company started its Worn Wear program under the motto “Repair is a Radical Act,” an initiative started by CEO Rose Marcario. The program aims to explain to customers the value of preserving clothes by repairing them instead of buying new. Patagonia’s environmentally friendly campaign aims to counter fast fashion trends and increasing demand for new clothes, by encouraging quality standards that produce clothes designed to last.

Problem

Many clothing items produced today are barely worn before they are discarded, posing a significant burden on the world's resources. In order to balance out the environmental and social resources needed to create garments, clothes need to be used more and disposed of less. However as clothes are worn for longer, and succumb to natural wear and tear, consumers are less inclined to repair them (either by themselves or using a service) due to lack of sewing skills and low prices of new clothing. Today, it is often more affordable for consumers to buy new than repair old.

Solution

To prevent clothing being discarded before their lifespan was up, Patagonia's Worn Wear programme extends producer responsibility beyond the purchase phase, and asks their consumers to join them in mutual responsibility to take care of their clothes.

The repair programme encourages consumers to attempt repairs themselves, through a partnership with iFixit, a platform dedicated to free repair guides. There are over 100 Patagonia-specific guides on the platform, ranging from darning a hole to replacing a zip. If the repair is too complex, the customer can take their item to their nearest Patagonia store, or send it in to Patagonia's repair facility, one of the largest in North America.

The programme also includes Worn Wear repair tours, where specially equipped vans carrying sewing machines and notions drive around to various Patagonia stores, where customers can bring in their broken garments and have them fixed for free by Patagonia repair ambassadors. Patagonia emphasises that all brands of clothing can be brought to be repaired, in order to strengthen product longevity.

Outcome

415,174 Patagonia items have been repaired at Patagonia repair centres and roving tours in North America since 2005, with the repair centre mending up to 50,000 garments a year. As of March 2021, the Patagonia Worn Wear vans have visited 1354 locations in 14 countries, spanning North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.