 for a broken zip, or €25 (£21.46) for leather soles. Support for the scheme, which is part of wider legislation aimed at reducing waste, has not been universal. Artisan tailors point out that consumers are unlikely to embrace repair culture while new garments can be bought for less than the cost of even subsidised repairs. Meanwhile environmental campaigners argue that the Government should force clothes manufacturers to repair their products, rather than placing the responsibility on consumers. Some manufacturers already do this: in 2021 the Spanish fashion chain, Zara, launched in-house repairs, while the haute-boho clothing and homeware company, Toast, introduces its repairs with an uplifting aphorism: 'Mending is about the journey travelled, not reinstating the impossible perfection of the new.' That inspiring sentiment says a good deal about the current status of mending. With the heady rise of throwaway fashion and the demise of traditional domestic science lessons, everyday mending skills became as o){kind=link}
We should celebrate the revival of clothes repairs – but it won’t patch up the French leader’s presidency
In France, a whole lot of repair work is going on. Last week, six immense oak trusses were brought by barge to the cathedral of Notre-Dame, where they will replace the ancient “forêt” of roof beams destroyed in the devastating fire of 2019. Meanwhile, the process of making good the damage caused during last month’s riots has begun across the country.
Alongside these grand reconstruction projects, President Macron has not neglected to keep an eye on the fine detail of the nation’s repairs, from downtrodden shoes to split seams. Visiting La Caserne, a “responsible fashion hub”, Berangère Couillard, the resoundingly named Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, announced a new initiative, aimed at reducing the 700,000 tons of clothing annually discarded in France.
From October, citizens who take their threadbare garments or sole-destroyed shoes to tailors or cobblers for rejuvenation will be able to claim a repair bonus of around €15 (£12.88) for a broken zip, or €25 (£21.46) for leather soles. Support for the scheme, which is part of wider legislation aimed at reducing waste, has not been universal. Artisan tailors point out that consumers are unlikely to embrace repair culture while new garments can be bought for less than the cost of even subsidised repairs. Meanwhile environmental campaigners argue that the Government should force clothes manufacturers to repair their products, rather than placing the responsibility on consumers.
Some manufacturers already do this: in 2021 the Spanish fashion chain, Zara, launched in-house repairs, while the haute-boho clothing and homeware company, Toast, introduces its repairs with an uplifting aphorism: “Mending is about the journey travelled, not reinstating the impossible perfection of the new.”