US' Hemster launches garment rescue kits to reduce fashion waste

In line with Hemster’s mission to add 20,000 years of life to garments by the end of 2022, the kits will include a recycled shipping bag that customers can fill with items that need to be repaired. They’ll use Hemster self-service portal to simply place their repair order, ship their labelled Rescue Kit to Hemster, and its team of Garment Experts will repair all items for free, including patching holes, repairing seams, replacing snaps, and replacing buttons – all with sustainable materials. Orders can be placed via Hemster’s website, the company said in a media statement.

Hemster’s continued sustainability efforts are a direct response to the market and where the fashion industry is headed. To understand consumer trends around how people are donating, recycling, re-selling, and throwing away garments, Hemster polled about 5,000 active Hemster users. 56 per cent of users surveyed report they have at least 3-5 damaged garments in their closet. Over 60 per cent of users don't know of another option other than throwing these garments away.

“So many people want to be more sustainable but have no idea where to start. Clothes will sit in people's closets with broken zippers or buttons, and end up getting donated, recycled or thrown away, filling our landfills with garments that could have been given another life. We launched rescue kits to help encourage shoppers to look into their own closets to repair the items they love that they may have thought were long gone. Every time a garment is repaired, 3.5 years are added to its lifespan. Our goal is to expand the lifespan of as many garments as possible,” Allison Lee, CEO and founder of Hemster, said in a statement.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)