Learning how to mend your damaged clothes is a wonderful way to gain practical skills, save money on fashion, and keep torn items out of landfills.
However, as one stitcher pointed out in a r/InvisibleMending post, some fabric types are considerably more mendable than others.
"I hate 'fast fashion' fabrics," they wrote.
The original poster attempted to stitch a dress that ripped in the back but found it challenging due to the cheap materials and low thread count.
"From a distance, the mend is invisible, but up close... ick," the stitcher shared. "Has anyone else noticed that it's much easier to mend higher-quality stuff?"
Fast fashion is an issue because of its low quality, which gives it practically no longevity and makes it nearly impossible to repair. Despite the affordable price tags, fast-fashion wearers find themselves having to replace items very quickly, spending more money in the long run than they ever expected.
Fast fashion also comes with impossible-to-ignore social and environmental problems.
Production of these cheap, throw-away items uses over 20 trillion gallons of water annually and heavily relies on polyester made from planet-warming resources. There are also serious ethical concerns associated with fast fashion, including unlivable wages and unsafe working conditions.
Shopping at thrift stores is an excellent way to reduce fashion waste and keep gently used clothes from landfills. However, fast fashion is now starting to dominate thrift store racks because so many people buy and quickly donate fast-fashion pieces when they go out of style.
Therefore, crafty menders like the original poster run into trouble when they try to salvage even thrifted clothes because of their low quality.
r/InvisibleMending followers empathized with the OP's sewing dilemma and shared their words of agreement and encouragement.
"I love thrift shopping, but nowadays, almost everything is Shein/etc., and it's all garbage!" one Reddit user wrote in the comments.
"Even if you can sew/mend the materials, the construction is so cheap, they're not worth the time," a Redditor wrote.
Another commented, "I know it's been said, but you get what you pay for."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
