World less worn
If you want to get ahead in fashion, make it sustainable. Stephanie Smith finds out how three brands are cutting our clothing burden on the planet.
This is the year of renewal and repair, and it starts with what we wear. Some of us might joke that we have items in our wardrobe older than those lesser-spotted bobbies on the beat, but if indeed we have, and we still wear those items, we are to be congratulated for our good sense, our thriftiness and our excellent garment husbandry – and, not least, for still being able to squeeze into them ( just about).
Some apparel brands are old hands at sustainability. Barbour is celebrating 100 years of making clothes that last and renew, and this was marked by a visit in November by the Prince of Wales to the factory in South
Shields where he opened its Wax for Life Workshop, a new facility for those famous jackets to be rejuvenated.
Originally established by John
Barbour in 1894 to provide outerwear for fishermen, sailors and mariners, Barbour says re-waxing has become more important than ever as customers increasingly look to make sustainable choices. Dame Margaret Barbour said: “If a Barbour wax jacket is rewaxed at least once a year with regular use, it can last a very long time and be handed down to future generations.”
Barbour Re-Loved is another sustainable initiative, a recycling and upcycling programme introduced in
2020 whereby customers can return