Through the years, you've probably looked at many pieces of worn, torn, or otherwise tired clothing and other textiles, figured their time was up, and automatically tossed them in the trash. We've all done this and may continue to do it. But what if there was a better way?
Next time you're faced with this scenario, consider how you can creatively mend, repurpose, or redesign the piece. It's much easier than you might initially think.
A Reddit user shares this mindset, as shown by their post in the Visible Mending forum, which is meant as "A home for those fixing clothes. Mending garments, learning how to patch and repair fabric and other everyday items."
The poster's header, "[Every where] there is now a pigeon there [was] once a moth-hole" sits above two photos showcasing their handiwork that creatively covers up moth holes in a sweater with decorative felt pigeons.
The photos are captioned, "The pigeons are needle-felted. For the holes that were larger than one or two knitted loops I used extra strong thread to sew them shut before starting the felting process."
When you mend your clothing instead of replacing it with new items, you're personally benefiting and giving back to the planet and other people.
You'll save money, and you're also abstaining from supporting the textile and fast-fashion industries, which, unfortunately, are responsible for about 1.3 billion tons of carbon pollution annually.
Also, more than 90% of apparel companies don't pay workers a living wage, and, adding fuel to that fire, many of those workers have reported unsafe, dirty working conditions.
Whether they're aware of these compelling reasons to mend clothing or not, other Reddit users love the idea, too. They commented on the updated sweater, saying, "Oh this is SO CUTE!" and, "Perfect. I did that with sheep. Now I will think of birds too, or bats," and, "That's super cute I'm going to try this on my sweaters what a great idea!"
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