SETU Library encourages mending for a number of reasons.
SETU Library supports students to mend their own clothes because doing so supports a culture of sustainable fashion, reduces waste and pollution, and challenges the ecologically and socially destructive fast fashion industry. In her book 'The Art of Repair' Molly Martins writes:
"To repair something (anything) in the modern world is a defiant act."
Martin, M. (2021). The art of repair: Mindful Mending: How to Stitch Old Things to New Life. Short Books.
There is also a community and wellbeing aspect to this project: handcrafts are enjoyable and can help to reduce stress, and working in a community of practice is an enjoyable way to share skills and build community in SETU.
But most importantly, mending is a way to make our loved textiles last - be it a hand-me-down denim jacket, your childhood soft toy, or a comfort blanket that has been "worn to a ravelling" (as was Beatrix Potter's poor exhausted Tailor of Gloucester). Taking the time to mend something special makes it even more special. In 'Well Worn' Skye Pennant writes:
"I really believe our favourite pieces of clothing can become a wearable scrapbook for us. The wear and tear that our clothing collects tells a story of the lives we have lived in them, and will always be unique to us." Pennant, S. (2024). Well worn. Ilex Press.
The skills we use to repair clothes can also be used to decorate and personalise newly bought or made items - again like the Tailor of Gloucester, we can make a beautiful thing even better with embroidery or other handstitched decoration. 'Simple Hand Sewing' by Laura Strutt includes some lovely projects to do this. If we make the effort to embellish our clothing like this, we are more likely to value it for longer, helping us to reduce our impact on the environment.
University life can be stressful, with exams and looming deadlines as well as all the pressures of a busy student life. Making and mending gives us an opportunity to slow down, unwind, and connect. Textile artist Claire Wellesley-Smith describes the Slow Movement and how her work gives her space to think, to master skills, and to be in community with other makers:
"The idea of the slow movement has been applied to many things, but all look at slowing the pace of life and making a deliberate decision to do so.
It is a philosophy that embraces local distinctions and seasonal rhythms, and one that encourages thinking time. In craft terms, I see a slow approach as a celebration of process; work done that has reflection at its heart and skill that takes time to learn.
In the community-based stitching projects I run I have noticed the benefits that this way of working can give to participants. Simple, contemplative activities can be convivial too, creating non-verbal conversations through making."
Wellesley-Smith, C. (2015). Slow Stitch: Mindful And Contemplative Textile Art. Rizzoli Publications.
This book is part of the Make and Mend book collection.
Mending our clothes and making them last longer is a small step towards challenging the negative human and environmental impacts of fast fashion.
Fast fashion is unsustainable in many ways, causing physical and economic harm to people at all stages of the garment lifecycle, from farm workers who are exposed to poorly regulated pesticides and herbicides, to textile weavers and machine sewers working in garment factories. These themes are explored in Sofi Thanhauser's book 'Worn.'
The harm to people continues after we are finished with our clothes – most clothes donated to charity shops in European countries end up flooding the market in less affluent countries, damaging local enterprise and development and causing devastating levels of pollution. Greenpeace call this ‘fashion waste colonialism.’ You can read a Greenpeace article about it here.
The podcast Haptic and Hue have a very informative episode about textile waste, called “Textile Waste and the Catastrophe at Kantamanto” click the link to listen.
The Guardian have reported about the environmental and economic devastation caused by textile dumps in Ghana, you can watch the report here.
Greenpeace Africa. (2023, November 21). How fast fashion is fuelling the fashion waste crisis in Africa - Greenpeace Africa. https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blog/54589/how-fast-fashion-is-fuelling-the-fashion-waste-crisis-in-africa/
Thanhauser, S. (2023). Worn: A People’s History of Clothing. Penguin Press.
This book is part of the Make and Mend book collection.