A second life for garments
Every year, we save more than 4 million garments by repairing them. Approximately 250,000 pieces of them are repaired in Székesfehérvár, our Hungarian business unit. Thanks to repairing, we generate 1.8 million kilos less textile waste every year and fewer natural resources are required to produce fabric and manufacture new garments.
Many of our employees and customers have not really thought about the significant environmental act they are doing by repairing and using repaired garments. We had a chat with Zsuzsa Pereces from our service center in Székesfehérvár and Schmidt Attila from Schmiti Kft, a Hungarian Car service and repair shop, about their thoughts on repaired garments.
Zsuzsa Pereces, Lindström Hungary
How many garments do you repair daily?
I repair 45–50 pieces of workwear every day.
How do you feel about it?
Repairing garments is a good way to keep workwear longer in circulation. It is inevitable that some tears and holes might appear on the workwear when someone is working. These can be nicely repaired so that the garment still fulfils all quality criteria and functionality requirements. This way, there is no need to add new workwear in circulation since the workwear is still safe to use and the general look of the garment still complies with user group requirements.
Have you ever considered repairing as an environmental act?
Naturally, it feels good that I can contribute with my work to environmental sustainability. We have talked about the importance of lengthening each garment’s lifecycle by repairs and how it affects our environmental footprint. These are facts that I will keep in mind when doing everyday repair work.
Schmidt Attila, Schmiti Kft
What does your work role include?
I do car repair works.
What does it feel like wearing a repaired garment?
There is absolutely no problem with repaired garments. I can do my job just as well by using repaired workwear.
Have you ever considered a repaired garment as an environmental act?
Yes, this is also important to me. Nowadays when there is a lot of waste around us, it is good to see that there are companies who also care and strive to find solutions for a cleaner and waste-free environment.