REPAIR REVOLUT ION THE LOST ART OF MENDING AND IT'S POLITICAL FUTURE
TABLE OF CONTENTS 02
03
05
editors letter
Mending: An
Sewing Kits:
Invisible
Objects of
History
love
07
09
11
The Garment
Modern
Repair as a
Industry: The
Mending: A
Political Act
Numbers
Lost Art
15
18
27
A Toolkit
Gap research
Results,
Redesign for
Testing
findings and
the modern age
conclusions
EDITORS LETTER We spend billions on the clothes we wear, but less than 2% repairing them. We love
DIY
an outfit for a season and discard it when it shows wear and tear. We get drawn in by
DIY as sustainability activism
fashion trends and corporate consumption, buy cheap clothes that break after a few
Repair
wears, waste our time, money and the planet's resources. We deserve to be able to fix our possessions, to take control, to
Garment Repair
find value in our clothing, and to stop unsustainable consumption. It's time for a
Barriers
repair revolution! FOCUS Repair is an important aspect of “end of life management” (Bennet et al. 2012, p.12), an aspect of sustainable consumption so often forgotten in academic literature, but vitally important A growing number of organisations and community groups have
RESEARCH QUESTION: What basic tool and
been emerging over the last decade, such as repair cafes, with a vigilante ideology about repair, taking back control of their
knowledge set would be required to overcome
possessions from corporate planned obsolescence and unsustainable manufacturing practices.
Inspired by the concept of ‘D.I.Y’ as part of Lo-Fi design, I undertook a path of research over the semester that uncovered a rich, hidden history of mending, and opened up the potential for a plethora of design responses. Taking on the redesign of the humble, but outdated, sewing kit, I undertook research on why mending has fell out of fashion, and how it can be made relevant in the modern world.
barriers to garment repair, and encourage a more mainstream appeal of mending? What would the effects on the user and their lifestyle be?
MENDING:AN INVISIBLE HISTORY
Acts of mending are far from trivial pursuits, and an examination of mending history highlights interweaving stories of gender, class, fashion and consumerism that are full of cultural significance. Mending has typically been associated with a private, feminine domestic realm, with Konig claiming that “the feminine ideal in the nineteenth century […] was that of
currency, and even when mass
an industrious, domestic woman, her head
manufactured clothing and linen became
bowed over her pile of mending.” (2013, p.
available, goods were not regarded as
575). A large part of women’s social lives
disposable. As textile manufacturing
from the 1600’s to the 20th century was
blossomed, so did the clothing repair
spent chatting while darning socks or
industry (Konig 2013). Those of higher
patching shirts, and knowledge of textiles
socioeconomic status began to pay
was valued and praised in women of all
professionals to mend textiles, possibly
socioeconomic backgrounds. In the pre-
indicating the beginning of the cultural
industrial era textiles were valued as a kind
knowledge of textile mending decline,
of alternative
but the rich still valued their garments and thought them worth mending, even if they could afford to replace them. The 1940’s marked a particular turning point for mending in the UK, as war time scarcity and frugality sparked a nationwide ‘MakeDo-Mend’ campaign, encouraging mending of household goods by people of all classes tosave resources and help the country. BBC radio broadcasts featured the character ‘Mrs Sew and Sew’ who gave textile knowledge, and government issued instructional pamphlets were commonplace (Bl.Uk 2018). The economic prosperity and the consumerism boom of the 50’s, as well as second wave feminism bringing women out of unpaid domestic duties and into the working world, saw a major decline in mending practices. Clothing repair fell out of fashion, women were reluctant to perform the unpaid domestic duties they saw as oppressive, items became disposable, fashion became seasonal, and the world moved forward, leaving most of the cultural knowledge of mending that used to be so commonplace to be lost in generations past (Konig 2013).
“the feminine ideal in the nineteenth century […] was that of an industrious, domestic woman, her head bowed over her pile of mending.”
SEWING KITS: OBJECTS OF LOVE The first sewing kit, the ‘Hussif’, dates back to the 1700’s, and was hand assembled for relatives leaving home or going on long journeys (Burgess 2013). Women pre-20th century were given no legal rights over family finances or possessions, but sewing kits and supplies were something overlooked that women were able to pass down to their daughters, meaning sewing kits often had a rich family history, and became treasured possessions.
In times of war, families would pool together what resources they had and hand craft sewing kits to send to family members on the field (Thom 2015). These kits were valuable practical objects, both for fixing clothing and stitching wounds, but also were sentimental objects for soldiers, often engraved with messages from loved ones.
The sewing kit, pre-1950's, was an object of family heritage and cultural significance significance. For lower classes, passing handmade tools down the generations allowed them to repair what textiles they had, and teach daughters how to do the same. For the upper classes, sewing kits were items of wealth and luxury, and an item that allowed mothers to pass some of their personal history on to their daughters.
"Kits were valuable practical objects, both for fixing clothing and stitching wounds, but also were sentimental objects for soldiers, often engraved with messages from loved ones"
GARMENT INDUSTRY: THE NUMBERS
The average consumer buys 60% more clothing now than in 2000 It takes 2700 liters of water to Fast fashion now operates in 50 different cycles, rather than the traditional 2
make one 20% of
cotton shirt;
freshwater
Enough for
pollution is
2 1/2 years
caused by
of drinking
textile
water for
treatment
one person
and dying
CARBON EMISSIONS FROM A PAIR OF JEANS Other 8%
Raw Materials 9%
Washing 37%
Production 35%
Transport 11%
420 KG OF CARBON EMISSIONS .
Based on a medium pair of jeans, worn once a week and washed every 3 wears for 4 years (Levi Strauss and Co. 2018)
MODERN MENDING: A LOST ART Mending is no longer a major part of the social or economic culture of the modern world, and textile knowledge has been lost in the last few decades to all those except enthusiasts or industry professionals. Mending, darning and making your own clothes are considered ‘retro skills’, skills of a bygone era of housewives and poverty, and have little to no place in the lives of modern Australians. Norum claims that “less than two percent of what we spend on clothing goes to their repair and cleaning” (2013, p.130), clearly highlighting the lack of interest in taking care of our garments.
A study from Bennet et al. found that consumers were much more willing to mend clothing that was expensive, but showed little interest in fixing everyday items, indicating that it was not worth the expense. The study showed that when people did mend clothes, they were able to perform simple tasks like hemming and button replacement, but rarely ventured out beyond these simple skills (Benet et al. 2012). From studies compiled from Norum (2013) and Bennet et al. (2012), the list on the next page features identified barriers that have led to the decline of modern mending, allowing us to analyse why mending has declined, and potentially how the decline can be remedied with a design solution.
"LESS THAN TWO PERCENT OF WHAT WE SPEND ON CLOTHES GOES TO THEIR REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE"
FACTORS HINDERING MENDING Planned Obsolescence - clothing made to break, with no buttons, fabric patches etc. provided by the companies the garments came from Lack of appropriate tools - simple needle and thread kits readily available, but other items needed are not common household goods Cheap clothing - very inexpensive garment options available, making replacement often cheaper than mending, and providing very little economic incentive to mend Lack of cultural knowledge - knowledge no longer handed down from parents Lack of inclusion in formal education - only sewing machine skills taught, with no relevance to actual real world mending techniques or textile knowledge taught Domestic tasks seen as gendered - women reluctant to undertake tasks associated with oppression and unpaid labour Lack of online resources - online resources mostly marketed to older women, and usually require textile knowledge and vocabulary to understand. Often outdated styles and unfashionable outcomes
REPAIR AS A POLITICAL ACT All of these barriers to mending as a modern practice leave very few incentives to mend, except those who see mending as a political act. Konig sees mending as reminding us “of the materiality and the temporality of the thing. The delicate patchwork of repair is the narrative of its suffering and endurance. Each new darn declares the thing’s power; humans think it worth mending, it should not be thrown away” (2013, p.582). This kind of narrative inspires a community of menders all around the world, who find value in taking time to fix and take care of their objects, removing themselves from the unsustainable and unethical consumerist patterns encouraged by large fashion brands.
With a needle and thread in hand, they undertake an act that, in the modern context, is revolutionary, taking care of things we’ve all been told to throw away, setting themselves up outside of corporate ideologies and the constant pursuit of “the new” that advertising perpetuates (Ifixit 2018; Visible Mending 2018). The growing movement of politically and sustainably motivated menders and fixers can be seen in such community groups the “repair cafes” that have been popping up globally (Repair Café 2018; Balwyn 2018), in websites such as Ifixit, and in the initiatives of a small handful of brands such as Patagonia.
GAP RESEARCH TESTING After examining what hinders people from
Once mending was completed, I asked
mending, and redesigning a toolkit that I
them
believed would encourage mending in the modern world, I designed a workshop to
- Did you enjoy mending the clothing? Are
test the "product" and discover more about
you proud of or surprised by the end result?
peoples relationship to their clothing
- Were there any tools you felt were missing, or were unnecessary, in the toolkit?
I asked four friends to bring in an item of
- Would you be more likely to mend in the
clothing that was in need of repair, and
future if you had this toolkit and
began by interviewing them with questions
instructional booklet at home? Why/Why
such as...
not? - Did the workshop make you reconsider
- How likely are you to mend an item of clothing that is broken? if you do mend, what items would you be mending? - How confident are you in your textile and mending abilities? - How do you decide when you no longer want an item of clothing? What do you do with it? - Would you say you had a sustainable relationship to clothing consumption?
I then presented them with the toolkit, and the visible mending inspiration poster found in the center of this publication. I asked them to mend their items in whatever way they preferred using the tools given, and made my self available to help them if necessary.
the potential of old clothing? if so, how?
MADDIE
"I feel fairly confident in my sewing abilities, we made pencil cases and stuff in high school and I've done embroidery. I very rarely repair anything though"
"Probably wouldn't use the toolkit if I had it, but would definitely do something like this workshop again!"
JAMIE
"I've got a pile of 'repair clothes' in my room that I never get round to repairing. I love op shopping, and often buy things I like even if they need patching, but I never fix them"
SAM
"I occasionally sew a button back on a shirt or something, I'm pretty open to spending time fixing things."
"I might use the toolkit, but I'd 100% be keen to mend again like this"
VIOLET
"I guess I know how to sew, we learnt in high school, but if I need anything repaired I usually ask mum to do it. I don't repair things often, when I was younger she'd repair my uniform and stuff for me"
RESULTS The second aspect to my research question related to the affects a more modern toolkit could have on the user, what it could inspire them to create, and whether it could change their behaviour. The toolkit was tested on four test subjects, who were interviewed before and after the workshop
4/4 felt successful in mending
with questions relating to their relationship to clothing, their confidence in their mending ability, and how often they mended their clothing. Most of the participants felt they had an average mending ability, claiming that they all learnt basic sewing in school (even the male participant), and they were able to identify around half the items in the toolkit.
1/4 felt they would use the product
When clothes are in need of mending, they said they often just stop wearing them or donate them, but will occasionally call on their mother to rehem or sew a button. This demonstrates that, despite claiming to have sewing abilities, participants were not confident enough to mend clothes themselves. On beginning the workshop, the visible mending inspiration poster
4/4 would do workshop again
featured in this publication was presented to them, as well as an explanation of the main ideologies of radical mending culture.
They all claimed it had changed their
Participants struggled to know where to
perspective, and made them realize how
start on the garments they brought in for
enjoyable and creative mending could be,
mending but, upon quick consultation with
but only 1 of them said that having the
me, were able to complete the rest of the
toolkit in their house would change their
mending task on their own. Upon
behavior. All participants claimed they
completion, all subjects expressed a great
would mend again in a similar context, and
deal of pride in their work, and were
all claimed they felt inspired by the content
surprised at the quality and the uniqueness
presented to them, but only 1 felt they
of the finished garments.Â
would use the toolkit in their usual life.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The user testing of the toolkit provided invaluable insight into how mending might be encouraged in the modern day. While the toolkit alone was not enough to change behaviour, the social setting of the workshop, looking at inspiration and chatting about their work encouraged and inspired participants. Going forward in addressing this research gap, further work should be done around the design of unique and inspiring workshops, potentially using similar resources as created for the design publication. A market-ready consumer item, despite market research,
" Mending textiles has always been a social affair in the past, and the research conducted for this essay provides evidence that the future of mending lies in the
has not proved enough to spark a mending culture in participants, but combined with
social realm"
a social atmosphere it was a powerful change making tool. Mending textiles has always been a social affair in the past, and the research conducted for this essay provides evidence that the future of mending lies in the social realm. The toolkit did provide valuable resources for more creative types of mending, but this is
The design publication that is the outcome
proved nothing without people to
of this task is a blueprint for further
encourage, inspire and keep you company
research, making visible a topic that has
while you work.Â
been given little academic thought in the past. It attempts to make the case that reinvigorating mending is a vital part of changing consumer/product relationships for more sustainable consumption patterns on a dying planet, and that the future of this practice lies in growing a community of people who mend together, as we used to.
THE PUBLICATION PROCESS The process of documenting the semesters work was a daunting one, and many hours were wasted mucking around on adobe software before anything coherent was made. Putting hours of research into something that anyone can understand and enjoy was tough, but I'm happy with the way it's turned out, both in visuals and in content
Pictured are excerpts from some first paper drafts, documenting the journey from jumbled thoughts to finalized, coherent pieces.Â
REFERENCES Balwyn, K. (2018). Can we fix it? The repair cafes waging war on throwaway culture. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/15/can-we-fix-it-therepaircafes-waging-war-on-throwaway-culture [Accessed 12 May 2018]. Bennett, M., Rucker, M, Savageau, A, & Verba, Su 2012, Fix, Darn, Mend: An Interpretation of Clothing Repair in the Context of Sustainability, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Bl.uk. (2018). Make Do and Mend. [online] Available at: http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item106365.html [Accessed 10 May 2018]. Burgess, K. (2013). The Housewife Sewing Kit and Comfort. [Blog] Woodrunners Diary. Available at: http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/the-housewife-sewing-kit-and-comfort.html [Accessed 20 May 2018]. iFixit. (2018). Self-Repair Manifesto. [online] Available at: https://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto [Accessed 13 May 2018]. König, A 2013, A Stitch in Time: Changing Cultural Constructions of Craft and Mending, Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research, [online] Vol 5, No 4, pp.569-585. Available at: http://www.cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article.asp?DOI=10.3384/cu.2000.1525.135569 [Accessed 1 Apr. 2018]. Norum, P 2013, Examination of Apparel Maintenance Skills and Practices: Implications for Sustainable Clothing Consumption, Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, [online] Vol 42, No 2, pp.124-137. Available at: https://onlinelibrarywileycom.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/doi/full/10.1111/fcsr.12047 [Accessed 27 Mar. 2018] Rattalino, F 2017, Circular advantage anyone? Sustainability-driven innovation and circularity at Patagonia, Inc., Thunderbird International Business Review, [online] Vol 1, No 9, pp.1-9. Available at: https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/doi/epdf/10.1002/tie.21917 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018]. Repair Café. (2018). Home - Repair Café. [online] Available at: https://repaircafe.org/en/ [Accessed 13 May 2018]. Thom, D. (2015). A Stitch in Time: Home Sewing Before 1900. [Blog] Victoria and Albert Museum Blog. Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/network/a-stitch-in-time-home-sewing-before1900 [Accessed 11 May 2018]. visiblemending. (2018). Visible Mending. [online] Available at: https://visiblemending.com/ [Accessed 5 May 2018].