Re-use is a way of extending clothing lifetimes by keeping them in use for as long as possible. High turnover of fashion items is now a widespread practice and it is estimated that within the last two decades the number of times a garment gets worn before disposal has decreased by a worldwide average of 36%.(1) Large quantities of valuable clothes are regularly discarded and because only a small fraction can be recycled, most are destined for incineration or end up in landfills.(2-4) Re-use, on the other hand, encourages long-lasting relationships with clothes through sustained active use and careful clothing care, including repairs and alterations that can give unused items a new lease of life. Contrary to the current logic of disposability in fashion, ample empirical evidence confirms that people can draw deep satisfaction and pleasure from such resourceful ways of re-using and looking after old and familiar clothes.(5-7) Where use by the original owner is no longer possible, clothes can be given second and third lives through gifting or swapping with family, friends and local communities, upcycling, sharing, rental, re-commerce or charity donations. Many of these practices have been gaining momentum in a range of emerging business models.(8,9)
RE-USE
