7 ms·

I got a shabby and scuffed up 10 year old leather jacket cleaned recently. It cost me less than £50 and came out great. Buying a new one would have cost £250+

by vjvj 4y ago

I got a shabby and scuffed up 10 year old leather jacket cleaned recently. It cost me less than £50 and came out great. Buying a new one would have cost £250+ I wonder where the biggest opportunities are to get people reusing and repairing their things rather than buying new ones. It's satisfying, usually functionally-equivalent and cheaper once you know where or how to get it done.

supertofu 4y ago
I have a 12 year old all-season jacket from LL Bean that is full of holes. It has survived a decade of winters in NYC and upstate NY. It has a removable lining so the coat also works in Spring and Fall. In the summer I can use it as a small backyard picnic blanket. I love it so much and it is so functional that I refuse to replace it. I wish I could just mail it to a service that would fix all the holes, clean it, and mail it back. I'm sure I could find a local tailor, but local tailors aren't always easy to find, and the whole process is such a hassle. Seamstress-as-a-service? Any takers?
- jjice 4y ago
  Might be able to go to the local tailor. Definitely depends on the place, but a tailor is likely to do that kind of work for you. A lot of tailors I know also have professional cleaning equipment, so that might be the double whammy.
- 0x0000000 4y ago
  It's too bad that scumbags took advantage of LLBean's lifetime warranty so they ended it. You may still be able to send it back to them to repair, but a few years ago it wouldn't have cost you anything. Maybe worth a shot if you really love it!
  - dekhn 4y ago
    Aahaha, my parents used to abuse that service (finding old jackets abandoned by students at the end of the school year) and I told them to stop because it was taking advantage.
  - supertofu 4y ago
    So, I looked into doing that back when LLBean had the lifetime warranty, but they offered to send me a new jacket. They wouldn't repair the old one. And I wanted to keep my old jacket.
- whartung 4y ago
  I have a similarly aged jacket from Orvis. Even in Southern California, I probably wear it 300 days a year. The inner, fabric lining has some holes in it, and I just took it to the local cleaner. They managed to stitch it all up and make it...umm...whole. Are they pretty? No. Only so much you can do, I guess. But it's functional, and it's inside, so, no worries. A daily driver jacket is just like an old friend. Linus was right.
avgcorrection 4y ago
> I wonder where the biggest opportunities are to get people reusing and repairing their things rather than buying new ones. Other than submissions like this one?
Wohlf 4y ago
This is an option for a £250 jacket but not for a £50 jacket, so I guess the place to start is buying higher quality products that are worth repairing.
- stevenwoo 4y ago
  It's sentimental attachment for some objects - the daughter figured out how to repair T-shirts and sweatshirts (she learned the trade from her self taught father but he could not do these repairs prior to her breakthrough).
- hapidjus 4y ago
  Why not? If you worn it until it needs repair you’re probably fond of it.
- criddell 4y ago
  I agree with you that I probably wouldn't want to pay to repair an inexpensive item of clothing, but I can't articulate why. If an item is poorly made, it may not be worth repairing, but price doesn't always correlate to quality. I've been thinking about this lately with a wristwatch. I have a 10 year old Seiko mechanical watch that cost me $50. To get it serviced will cost more than I paid for the watch, however there's nothing about the watch that makes it less worthy of servicing than a watch that would have cost 10 or 100x more.
stinos 4y ago
It's satisfying, usually functionally-equivalent and cheaper once you know where or how to get it done. It sure is (currently wearing pants which are probably 20 years old - as such their style is also back in fashion if I see what youth is wearing these days), but only if you were raised or self-thaught to hold that in high regard. Or I could even say 'if you have common sense' but that's perhaps just bias from my part. I wonder where the biggest opportunities are I'm tempted to say 'education' and 'have politics push for it' but I honestly don't know at this point. Seeing what it takes to even get a slight notion of something being fixed for other global problems (climate, biodiversity) I'm not exactly optimistic about that.
0xbadcafebee 4y ago
> I wonder where the biggest opportunities are to get people reusing and repairing their things rather than buying new ones. Back in the day you repaired things because a really well made thing would last a lifetime with proper care. But Amazon and Walmart made it their mission to get people to keep buying clothes, so now clothes are cheaper and more disposable. I think the best thing we could do is encourage people to buy fewer things that are better quality. Maybe encourage manufacturers to have a warranty program that works with independent repair shops. You spend more with the intention of keeping it longer, and can get it repaired if needed.
- mellavora 4y ago
  And less repairable. Fabrics are more often a blend. However, we are fighting against the market on this. It is the same as the software subscription vs one-time-purchase model. The economy depends on people constantly consuming, buying new things. Trend started long before Amazon and Wallmart; they just accelerated it.
  - 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
    Well I think we can change that. There's no constitutional proclamation that says we have to be a consumer society. gen Z are much more conscious of these issues, we could help guide them towards more responsible purchases and intentional living, and the market should slowly follow
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - Annatar 4y ago
    Only the American economy depends on the constant consumption, and we can clearly see how that ended: with riots and looting in the streets, a true beacon, pinnacle of success. Other economies are much more content to pay for reuse and repair.
- coryfklein 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ww520 4y ago
Same story. I got a Ferragamo leather jacket 15 years ago that I've worn often. It has all been scratched up and tainted in places. Went to a local shop to have it shampooed and reconditioned. It's all fixed up and shines like new. I can definitely wear it for another 20 years. It only costed $80.

by vjvj 4y ago

supertofu 4y ago

I have a 12 year old all-season jacket from LL Bean that is full of holes. It has survived a decade of winters in NYC and upstate NY. It has a removable lining so the coat also works in Spring and Fall. In the summer I can use it as a small backyard picnic blanket. I love it so much and it is so functional that I refuse to replace it. I wish I could just mail it to a service that would fix all the holes, clean it, and mail it back. I'm sure I could find a local tailor, but local tailors aren't always easy to find, and the whole process is such a hassle. Seamstress-as-a-service? Any takers?

jjice 4y ago
Might be able to go to the local tailor. Definitely depends on the place, but a tailor is likely to do that kind of work for you. A lot of tailors I know also have professional cleaning equipment, so that might be the double whammy.
0x0000000 4y ago
It's too bad that scumbags took advantage of LLBean's lifetime warranty so they ended it. You may still be able to send it back to them to repair, but a few years ago it wouldn't have cost you anything. Maybe worth a shot if you really love it!
- dekhn 4y ago
  Aahaha, my parents used to abuse that service (finding old jackets abandoned by students at the end of the school year) and I told them to stop because it was taking advantage.
- supertofu 4y ago
  So, I looked into doing that back when LLBean had the lifetime warranty, but they offered to send me a new jacket. They wouldn't repair the old one. And I wanted to keep my old jacket.
whartung 4y ago
I have a similarly aged jacket from Orvis. Even in Southern California, I probably wear it 300 days a year. The inner, fabric lining has some holes in it, and I just took it to the local cleaner. They managed to stitch it all up and make it...umm...whole. Are they pretty? No. Only so much you can do, I guess. But it's functional, and it's inside, so, no worries. A daily driver jacket is just like an old friend. Linus was right.

avgcorrection 4y ago

> I wonder where the biggest opportunities are to get people reusing and repairing their things rather than buying new ones. Other than submissions like this one?

Wohlf 4y ago

This is an option for a £250 jacket but not for a £50 jacket, so I guess the place to start is buying higher quality products that are worth repairing.

stevenwoo 4y ago
It's sentimental attachment for some objects - the daughter figured out how to repair T-shirts and sweatshirts (she learned the trade from her self taught father but he could not do these repairs prior to her breakthrough).
hapidjus 4y ago
Why not? If you worn it until it needs repair you’re probably fond of it.
criddell 4y ago
I agree with you that I probably wouldn't want to pay to repair an inexpensive item of clothing, but I can't articulate why. If an item is poorly made, it may not be worth repairing, but price doesn't always correlate to quality. I've been thinking about this lately with a wristwatch. I have a 10 year old Seiko mechanical watch that cost me $50. To get it serviced will cost more than I paid for the watch, however there's nothing about the watch that makes it less worthy of servicing than a watch that would have cost 10 or 100x more.

stinos 4y ago

It's satisfying, usually functionally-equivalent and cheaper once you know where or how to get it done. It sure is (currently wearing pants which are probably 20 years old - as such their style is also back in fashion if I see what youth is wearing these days), but only if you were raised or self-thaught to hold that in high regard. Or I could even say 'if you have common sense' but that's perhaps just bias from my part. I wonder where the biggest opportunities are I'm tempted to say 'education' and 'have politics push for it' but I honestly don't know at this point. Seeing what it takes to even get a slight notion of something being fixed for other global problems (climate, biodiversity) I'm not exactly optimistic about that.

0xbadcafebee 4y ago

> I wonder where the biggest opportunities are to get people reusing and repairing their things rather than buying new ones. Back in the day you repaired things because a really well made thing would last a lifetime with proper care. But Amazon and Walmart made it their mission to get people to keep buying clothes, so now clothes are cheaper and more disposable. I think the best thing we could do is encourage people to buy fewer things that are better quality. Maybe encourage manufacturers to have a warranty program that works with independent repair shops. You spend more with the intention of keeping it longer, and can get it repaired if needed.

mellavora 4y ago
And less repairable. Fabrics are more often a blend. However, we are fighting against the market on this. It is the same as the software subscription vs one-time-purchase model. The economy depends on people constantly consuming, buying new things. Trend started long before Amazon and Wallmart; they just accelerated it.
- 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
  Well I think we can change that. There's no constitutional proclamation that says we have to be a consumer society. gen Z are much more conscious of these issues, we could help guide them towards more responsible purchases and intentional living, and the market should slowly follow
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- Annatar 4y ago
  Only the American economy depends on the constant consumption, and we can clearly see how that ended: with riots and looting in the streets, a true beacon, pinnacle of success. Other economies are much more content to pay for reuse and repair.
coryfklein 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

ww520 4y ago

Same story. I got a Ferragamo leather jacket 15 years ago that I've worn often. It has all been scratched up and tainted in places. Went to a local shop to have it shampooed and reconditioned. It's all fixed up and shines like new. I can definitely wear it for another 20 years. It only costed $80.