Repair Week 2025: FC / FEL CEO Jenny Holloway Speaks at Mend Your Ways Webinar
18-03-2025
Highlighting the start of Repair Week, 3rd March, FashionCapital / FEL CEO Jenny Holloway, was invited to speak at a ‘Mend Your Ways’ webinar organised by the Northern Ireland Resources Network (NIRN).
Jenny was joined by guest speakers Mary Fleming from Change Clothes and Angeline Murphy from Angeline Murphy Design, along with Eimear Montague from NIRN and a welcome and introduction by Louise Cullen.
Repair Week was introduced in London in 2020 by ReLondon and has gone on to expand as an annual event in various cities across the UK. This session organised by NIRN for Belfast Repair Week, was open to all with the aim to encourage a repair and reuse culture.
The recent WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) report ‘Displacement Rates Untangled’ revealed up to the minute data and facts, such as:
- For every 5 items repaired, 4 displace a new purchase – 82.2%
- For every 5 preloved items bought, 3 displace a new purchase – 64.6%
- Buying a second-hand pair of jeans online instead of buying a brand-new pair could save over 30kg CO2e, equivalent to making 600 cups of tea.
Mary Fleming from Change Clothes discussed the various options for clothes that are in good condition, in need of TLC or at the end of life. These included repair and reuse workshops, repair cafes, large clothing reuse events, community programmes and production using upcycled items. She went through the challenges and opportunities and how repair is gaining momentum with councils and communities.
Angeline Murphy, a former Sewing Bee contestant, explained how she has gone on to develop a multifaceted career spanning TV appearances, public speaking, workshops and design. She talked about the power of bringing communities together with initiatives such as the NI Big Community Sew – producing reusable masks and collaborating with other designers on projects using waste and end of line materials.
The webinar then introduced Jenny Holloway and Fashion-Enter’s three mission statements in manufacturing, education and support. She talked about the 6Rs she has integrated into the business to act now on how apparel is produced, consumed and discarded.
The 6Rs of Fashion Sustainability are:
- Repurpose
- Repar
- Reprocessing
- Recycle
- Reduce
- Recommercialise
She rounded off her segment to discuss the London branch of the United Repair Centre, and presented a video of the repairs underway at the Haringey site.
The three guest speakers provided a great overview of repair initiatives within the fashion and textile sector, from what individuals can do to those working within the industry. The session rounded off with questions and discussions from attendees and the webinar will be available to view on https://www.ni-rn.com/ in due course.
With thanks to the NIRN, next this Repair Week we are hosting a free drop-in Repair and Upcycle session at our shop: FC Designer Collective on Fonthill Road on Tuesday 4th March.
#RepairWeek #FixItDontDitchIt
