Fabricare professionals know what happens to garments after the sale. That experience could help the entire clothing industry reduce waste. 

By Linley McConnell 

Earlier this year, Gibson’s had the pleasure of hosting the leadership team from Fashion Takes Action (FTA), at our new facility. FTA is Canada’s leading non-profit working to make the fashion industry more sustainable and reduce textile waste. Their work helps consumers, students, businesses, governments and industry partners find ways to make clothing more sustainable and less wasteful. 

I sat down with Laura Cristinzo, FTA’s Circularity Program Manager, to learn more about their work and how fabricare fits into the conversation.

Tell me about your role at FTA.

I lead and support national projects focused on reducing textile waste and finding better ways to design, make, use and reuse clothing. A large part of my role involves managing the Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium, or CCTC, where I bring together people and organizations from across the textile industry to identify gaps, share knowledge, and develop practical solutions.

What role do you feel fabricare professionals play in extending the life of clothing or within the textile space? 

Fabricare professionals play a much larger role in reducing clothing waste than they’re given credit for. They can help customers see clothing as something worth caring for, rather than something disposable. At Fashion Takes Action, we use a “7 Rs of Circular Fashion” hierarchy.

It starts with “reduce”, because the most effective way to lower fashion’s impact is to buy and produce less in the first place. After that, keeping existing clothing in use becomes essential. Professional cleaning, stain removal, alterations, and repair can prevent garments from being discarded too soon and support several of the other ‘Rs.’ 

“Textile circularity” is being mentioned a lot these days, what does it really mean? 

Textile circularity means moving away from the traditional pattern of taking resources, making clothing, using it briefly and then throwing it away. 

A circular textile system is designed to prevent waste from the start by making clothing to last, keeping it in use for as long as possible, and supporting it through the 7Rs. 

When a product can no longer be used, its materials should be recovered responsibly. Recycling is important, but it should come last, after every opportunity to reduce, reuse, repair, resell, rent, or repurpose has been exhausted. 

With the goal to keep clothing in use longer, it feels like fabricare professionals could be part of the conversation earlier. I know FTA works with a lot of clothing brands; do you see a world where clothing brands and fabricare professionals can work together? 

Fabricare professionals have direct insight into how garments ‘behave’ after they reach the customer, which is information many brands do not receive or consider. One opportunity is product testing and feedback. Fabricare professionals regularly see which fabrics shrink, bleed, pill, delaminate, lose coatings, and deteriorate. Sharing this information with brands could improve design, material selection, construction, and care instructions. 

There are also opportunities to collaborate on things like brand-supported repair and cleaning programs, resale and rental garment preparation, take-back programs, tracking garment use, cleaning, and condition over time and specialized services that help brands take better care of their products after they have been sold. 

During our visit to Gibsons, we saw how garment barcodes and cleaning and repair data could provide brands with information about how garments are used, cared for and how long they last. That kind of data could be extremely useful for rental businesses and brands trying to better understand the real lifespan of their products. 

This sounds promising, in theory. But it doesn’t seem to be a top priority. Why do you think that is? 

Cost, logistics, data ownership, potential inaccuracy, and miscommunication come to mind to start. Brands may be hesitant to share information or take responsibility for problems that arise during use. On the fabricare side, smaller operators may not have the time or technology required to participate in complex programs. 

Your work with the CCTC helps bring diverse types of textile professionals together, can you expand on that?

The CCTC, is a national initiative convened by Fashion Takes Action. It brings together people from different parts of the textile and clothing industries to find practical ways to reduce waste. The idea is to keep people from duplicating each other’s work, share what we’re learning and work together on issues such as repair, reuse, better clothing design, recycling infrastructure, government policy and public education. 

Fabricare professionals have an important place in all of this, and we’d love to have more voices from the industry. 

Businesses get involved through: 

• Sharing their experience through interviews, discussions or consultations 
• Contributing data or observations about garment damage, cleaning frequency, common material issues, and product longevity
• Taking part in pilot projects involving repair, resale, rental, uniforms or tracking how long garments last 
• Helping educate customers about clothing care and repair through our Love Your Clothes campaign
• Joining the CCTC and taking part in projects where their experience can help 
• Adding their business or service to our Circular Ecosystem Map  (Do that here: circular ecosystem map.)

Businesses can participate as much or as little as their time and resources allow. 

Are there other resources our readers can consider if they’re just starting out in their sustainability journey? 

A great place to start is Fashion Takes Action’s Love Your Clothes platform, which fabricare businesses can share with customers. Through the CCTC’s ecosystem mapping project, FTA is also building a national directory of repair, collection, sorting, recycling, and circular textile services. 

Fabricare Canada readers can complete the mapping form to make sure their services are included and help build a stronger network of clothing care and repair services across Canada. For deeper industry learning, FTA’s resource library and Circular Business Models report, developed with Deloitte, are both worth exploring.

Let’s jump into the consumer’s mindset for a second. What are you drawn to when it comes to choosing a fabricare professional? 

Transparency is key. I want someone who can clearly explain the process. Because of my background, I like to discuss the details of a garment with a fabricare professional, including its material composition, construction, condition, and the best approach to cleaning or repair. 

I also see it as an opportunity to expand my own knowledge of garment care and better understand how to keep clothing in use for longer. Environmental practices also influence my decision, including responsible solvent use, professional wet cleaning where appropriate, reduced, or reusable packaging, and repair services. 

What should consumers look for from a clothing brand? 

Always research a brand’s claims first. I also encourage supporting small, independent brands that are transparent about how and where their products are made. Look for ethical sourcing, durable materials and clothing designed to last. 

What’s your favourite clothing item you own? 

My favourite clothing item is my Osei-Duro jumpsuit! I wear it to most speaking engagements because it makes me feel confident. It’s a good example of both physical and emotional durability. Physically, it is well made and has held up beautifully over time. Emotionally, I value the story behind it: Osei-Duro garments are hand-dyed and sewn by small scale artisans and manufacturers in Ghana. Knowing how it was made, combined with how I feel when I wear it, makes me want to care for it and keep it for as long as possible.

What are you most excited about at FTA right now? 

I’m most excited about our Value Recovery Pilot, which looks at whether clothing rejected by secondhand sellers can be made saleable through inexpensive steps such as cleaning or minor repairs. The goal is to find out which approaches can keep more clothing out of the waste stream and make it saleable without adding too much time or cost to the process.

We’re currently looking for partners, including fabricare professionals and repair and cleaning experts. Fabricare professionals can bring valuable experience into which stains, damages, materials, and garment types are practical to treat, and where the cost or effort no longer makes sense. If any fabricare professionals would like to get involved, feel free to contact us.

Is there anything you’d like to add? 

Fabricare professionals are already helping keep clothing out of the waste stream every day: cleaning, caring for, restoring, and repairing clothing keeps products in use and protects the resources and labour that went into making them. 

The next step is to make that role more visible and build stronger connections with brands, policymakers, consumers and other organizations working to reduce textile waste. They need the practical knowledge this industry already has. 

If readers want to get involved in the Value Recovery Pilot or the CTCC please visit our website.

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