Fix it

Tackling textile waste through sewing workshops

What is Fix it?

Fix It is a free community repair initiative, helping people across Merseyside fix broken items, learn new skills, and reduce waste - all at no cost.

The goal of the project is to reduce waste, give people skills and show that if something is broken, that doesn’t mean it should be binned.

The project has been running for over a year, delivering workshops in Knowsley, Liverpool city centre, St Helens and Birkenhead.

The Fix it project is possible thanks to funding through the Zero Waste Fund from Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority and Veolia.

As part of the Fix it project, we have partnered with Zero Fashion CIC to deliver sewing workshops at the Zero Fashion shop in St Helens.

These sessions have been a great opportunity to learn how to sew, save old items of clothing from going to waste and even creating brand new items by repurposing an old piece.

Fix it - Sewing workshops

The goal of the Fix it project is to reduce waste and give people new life skills. By delivering sewing workshops, we have been able to help people learn how to sew at home
and prevent items going to landfill.

The statistics below show the issues that the UK faces every year when it comes to sewing waste.

Why Sewing Workshops?

350,000

Tonnes of clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year

10%

Of global greenhouse gases are caused by the textile industry

35

Items of clothing are thrown away per person, per year in the UK

Some ways to prevent textile waste at home

  • Similar to projects like ours, many groups often put on free events and workshops where you can learn to sew and learn techniques to repurpose clothing. Sign up to one and find out more about what you can do.

  • Have an item of clothing that you love but has picked up some damage? Why not try and bring it back to life by fixing it before throwing it away.

  • Just because that piece of clothing is damaged, doesn’t mean it’s no good. We’ve seen blankets turned into dresses and the other way around. Why not try creating something new?

  • Rather than buying something brand new with cash, why not refresh your wardrobe without breaking the bank by going to a swap shop? Get rid of some old clothes, free up wardrobe space but still come home with something new to wear.