How to make your clothes last longer

Repair

• Do it yourself if you have the skills or if its small and can be done by hand. Or you can look for guider or videos online to see how you can fix something yourself even if you haven't done it before
• Get a professional to do it. Support your local tailors.
• Opt for visible repair, partially because you don't have to worry about the mending looking perfect but it also adds to encourage fixing what's broken. Let's make it a trend!
• Remove pilling to make your garments look like new again. Rent, borrow or buy a pilling machine, or try using a razor to see if that works.
• Repair as soon as possible, so it doesn't get worse and therefore harder to fix.
• Dye bath when colours are faded instead of buying new
• Cover stains instead of throwing away if they won't go away with any tricks. Another version of Visible Mending. Maybe use iron-on pads or find other creative ways to cover those stains.
• Snip loose strings and threads as soon as you see them (I know it may be tempting to pull in those loose threads, but that can actually make the problem worse. Snip the thread off as soon as you notice it.)

Laundry

• Wash less often. Washing adds wear and tear to your clothes. While necessary when clothes are dirty, unnecessary washing shortens the life of your garments.
• Always check label guidelines to make sure you are following instructions
• Liquid laundry detergent wears off the fabric less than a powdered one
• Wash with colder water
• Skip the fabric softener/conditioner
• Hand wash if possible
• Use a lower spin cycle
• Wash your garments inside out
• Air dry. If you have the time, drying in natural sunlight and air is usually best. Dry whites outside and dark colours indoors, because direct sunlight can fade colors.
• Always wash similar colours to keep the garments colours as long as possible
• Use delicates bags for your extra sensitive items, like lace underwear

Day to day

• Hang or fold correctly. Try to fold along the seams of the garment.
• Airing your clothes can be enough for several uses with natural fibered clothing
• Use a steamer instead of an iron - or hang garments in the shower room when using the shower or spray with water, hang up & let wrinkles unfold with the help of gravity.
• Spot clean small stains instead of washing the whole garment
• Invest in good hangers as the thin ones can cause the shoulder parts of your clothing to misshape
• Store clothes in a dry space
• Fold your knitwear. The weight of jumpers can cause them to lose their shape.

Buy quality

• Materials that don’t smell, can me aired out. You can read our guide on materials here.
• Quality that stay in shape and don’t lose colour etc
• Also holds a better second hand value

Check out this video on Youtube, giving tips on how you can recognize quality clothing.

For more posts about fashion and sustainability, check these out:

• What is fast fashion?
• Guide to sustainable textile materials
• Not buying any new clothes? Here's what you can do instead
• How to make your clothes last longer

This post was written by Evelina Utterdahl.