A new repair centre has opened in London

Patagonia, the outdoor apparel giant, has opened a new repair center in London to continue its mission of cleaning up the clothing industry.

The Californian brand has long promoted instead of buying new garments, and offers free postage repairs for repairs beyond the abilities of novice seamsters.

The company collaborated with the United Repair Centre in Amsterdam to create an innovative program that trained and employed refugees to repair damaged clothes. Now, the two have extended the model to London with the help of Fashion-Enter, a garment manufacturer.

The United Repair Centre London, located in the London Borough of Haringey at Fashion-Enter’s factory, opened on Wednesday. This facility will protect 15 UK jobs. Refugees and people facing barriers to employment will be employed at the United Repair Centre London. The initiative will initially repair clothing for Patagonia UK customers. Three more brands are expected to join in the coming year.

Alex Beasley is Patagonia’s UK, Ireland, and Nordics country manager. He said: “With United Repair Centre London we are looking to drastically scale our impact and empower others clothing companies to move from disposability and waste and weave circularity in their business models.”