S02 Episode 78 | PATAGONIA'S WORN WEAR + MAKING MENDING MAINSTREAM

In episode 78, Kestrel welcomes Nellie Cohen, the Worn Wear Program Manager at Patagonia, to the show. Patagonia's Worn Wear program aims to reduce environmental impacts by encouraging people to change their relationship to stuff, through repair and reuse of what they already have, and by celebrating quality and durability.

Patagonia's largest repair center is in Reno, Nevada, and they did 50,000 repairs there in 2016.

Nellie shares some of the history on Worn Wear, and how it evolved from Patagonia's earlier roots with Common Threads. It's a pretty cool story how Worn Wear originated from a blog that Patagonia surf ambassador Keith Malloy and his wife Lauren had started separately. 

Nellie also elaborates on the scale of Patagonia's Worn Wear, and the number of employees that are dedicated to mending and building out the company's program.

For Nellie, celebrating the stories behind the pieces we wear is huge - she's especially a fan of the family heirloom stories that can be attached to Patagonia's past styles. 

Throughout this chat, Nellie brings up the below companies, ideas and projects:

  • Teijin, Patagonia partnered with Teijin in the early stages of Common Threads to recycle their capilene line, in a closed loop chemical recycling process

  • Don't Buy This Jacket campaign in the New York Times, Black Friday, 2011

  • Jay Nelson, artist behind the Worn Wear wagon

  • I Fix It, a company Patagonia partnered with to create their repair manuals

  • Patagonia's Repair Manuals

  • Yerdle, a company Patagonia invested in through their venture capital arm; they make it easy for brands to buy back and resell used items

  • Nellie gave a shoutout to the work Renewal Workshop is doing when it comes to closing the loop
    You can listen to our episode with their cofounder Nicole here >

  • The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Reports on The Circular Economy

Amazon just launched a 500 piece fast fashion collection.
What does this mean? How do you think this will impact the future of fashion? Will sustainability play a role in their upcoming endeavors?

Check out THE FASHION LAW's article to learn more.

Also, chime in on Instagram @consciouschatter and let me know how you think this move will make an impact on what comes next for fashion.

Circular Economy, Fashion Activism, Industry Insiders, Materials, Style, Storytelling, Triple Bottom Line, Transparency, Season 2Kestrel Jenkinsethical fashion, closed loop, takeback program, patagonia, worn wear, nellie cohen, fashion revolution, jay nelson, teijin, i fix it, don't buy this jacket, ellen macarthur foundation, repair manuals, mending, making mending mainstream, recycle, reuse, EPISODE 78Comment