How the care and repair of your wardrobe items can save you money and the planet

Australians buy on average 56 new clothing each year and also throw 10kg of fashion away into landfill. See how adopting a mending mindset could save you money and the planet.

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood once said: “Buy less, choose well, make it last.”

It is advice all Australians should heed with new research showing we are wearing our clothes less than ever before.

Australians buy on average 56 new items every year, a new report from the Australian Fashion Council has found, making Australia the second highest consumer of textiles per person in the world.

The average person only wears 40 per cent of their clothes, and each Australian disposes an average 10kg of clothing to landfill each year.

The decomposing materials can take up to hundreds of years to break down in landfill while releasing methane into the environment.

The easiest solution to the issue of fast fashion is to reduce consumption.

Which is exactly why mending matters. Mending is a slow fashion practice that focuses on care, repair and rewear, instead of consumption.

Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett. Picture: Damian Shaw

Fashion designers Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales from label Romance Was Born say with more of us wanting to spend less and save the planet, making the most of what we already own couldn’t feel timelier.

“After all, the most sustainable clothes you have are the ones already hanging in your closet,” Plunkett says.

Here are the design pair’s repair and upcycle advice to bring once-loved garments back to life.

1 LEARN BASIC MENDING SKILLS

Think sewing a button back on, mending a dropped hem, or patching a hole.

Give it a go by watching YouTube videos to learn basic skills or ask handy family and friends for help.

If you’re still not confident, support your local alterationist, says Plunkett.

“Extending the life of clothes by just nine months can reduce climate impact by up to 30 per cent, research shows. An alterationist can fix niggly things such as dropped hems, change the zips on dodgy pants, or take things in and let them out,” she says.

2 RESPECT THE ITEM

If you care for the item properly in the first place, you may avoid your favourite clothing being consigned to the bin. “Look after it. Don’t pull the sleeves up or stretch it when taking it off. And please don’t hang knitwear,” Plunkett says.

She recommends keeping clothing in a dry, dark place, while seasonal garments are best stored away until needed again.

“Your future self will thank you.”

Learning to mend, such as sewing on a button, will help to repair and reuse many of your clothes.

3 CONSIDER HOW YOU WASH AND DRY ITEMS

The Romance Was Born designers are known for their whimsical maximalist designs – think sparkling sequins, ethereal lace, rainbow silk and more – so they understand how you care for reams of ruffles matters.

If washing at home, Plunkett says choosing a machine that can provide autodose programs depending on the clothes you are washing can extend the life of garments.

“Too much or too little detergent can be harmful to your garments,” she says. She also recommends using washing machine cycles such as Vapour Refresh (on Electrolux) to freshen clothes that don’t need a full wash, to help you save water.

4 ADDRESS THE SMALL THINGS

Plunkett says we have all heard of buyer’s remorse when it comes to clothing, but what about procrastinator’s remorse?

“Our biggest advice is to treat stains straight away and clean as you go. It is much harder to clean a garment after a long time of grime build up,” Plunkett says.

“If you’ve got a pesky stain, try holding the fabric wrong side up under running cold water, before mixing a solution of oxygen bleach and cool water (or use a product with those ingredients) to soak the entire garment overnight. Follow by washing as usual.”

5 RETHINK THE ORIGINAL DESIGN

If there’s something sentimental about your once-loved item, yet it feels no longer wearable, consider a customisation service.

“My oldest and most loved item is a nightgown I cropped and made into a jacket. It actually now looks like an evening jacket and it’s really warm and sentimental,” Plunkett says.

While, for Sales, he “immortalised” a vintage Madonna T-shirt he’s owned forever and was wearing the night he met Plunkett, sending it to their beaders.

“It’s now covered in clear sequins,” he says.

* Want to learn how you can break the pattern of clothing waste yourself? Electrolux ambassadors Romance Was Born are appearing at a pop-up Electrolux event called Break The Pattern in Sydney on September 23.