It is estimated that European Union consumers discard 5.8m tonnes of textiles into landfills every year, but needles are small, skinny soldiers in a growing war against disposable fashion. Redress CEO, Christina Dean, and founder of The Good Wardrobe, Zoe Robinson, teamed up to raid through TRAID's recycling bin and show how clothing rendered beyond use, could easily be repaired with some basic needle and thread skills.
Before
The button on these pink shorts was hanging on by a thread. The offending button was simply sewn back on.
Before
The fabric of this dress was torn right by the seam. As it was a bit big, we took it in at the side seams and the damage was hidden in the seam allowance.
Before
When we found this beautiful beaded top, a few of the beads were coming loose. With a few hand switches to secure the beads, it was as good as new.
Before
We found this fabulous skirt, another item that had been chucked out simply because a button was missing. We decided to emphasise the nautical theme by repairing it using a shiny gold button.
Before
This lace dress needed a little patch to cover the damage. We headed to the haberdashery and found a trimming that matched and hand sewed it over the holes.
Zoe Robinson is founder of The Good Wardrobe and Christina Dean is founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based NGO, Redress
