Taking part in the mend in public event from left are Masande Ntshingana, Sethu Wethu, Jenine Allen, Fashion Revolution SA country coordinator, Safiyya Karim and Holly Kane.
Image: Wesley Ford
Scores of people came to the Arderne Gardens in Claremont on Saturday April 26 to mend and repair their old clothes to promote sustainability in the clothing industry
The Fashion Revolution South Africa non-profit organised the mend in public event to share tips on how to repair clothes and to educate the public on the clothing and textile industry.
Fashion Revolution SA country coordinator, Safiyya Karim says the mend in public day is part of a global day of protest against fast fashion. “Fast fashion is a process of making clothing really cheaply, using cheap fabrics and exploiting cheap labour,” she says.
Ms Karim says fast fashion clothing comes at a cost. “If clothing that would normally take four months to make takes four days to make, we must determine what kind of costs were cut, and fast fashion rips off designers,” she says.
By mending in public, Ms Karim says they are trying to get consumers to repair their clothing and wear it for longer. “We are trying to break that mindset where people are throwing their clothes away regularly, if fast fashion is what you can afford. We ask the consumer to repair and wear their clothes longer and you can reduce the carbon footprint as well,” she says.
Gemma van Heerden, 16, who repaired her backpack at the event, says she is glad that there is an organisation raising awareness on this matter. “Today I came to fix the strapping on my backpack and sew a button onto my shirt,” she says, adding that she hopes more youth would get involved with sustainable fashion.
To find out more about Fashion Revolution SA you can visit https://www.fashionrevolution.org/africa/south-africa/ or follow their Instagram page on fash_rev_southafrica
Mel Lippert, left, and her daughter, Gemma van Heerden mending clothing at this event.
Image: Wesley Ford