What if one website could help you fix a zipper, rethink fast fashion, and cut your closet’s carbon footprint—all in one click? Enter LoveYourClothes.ca, the brand-new digital hub from Fashion Takes Action that’s putting circular fashion at your fingertips. Backed by the Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium, the platform is packed with repair tips, donation guidance, and easy-to-digest education that empowers Canadians to keep clothes in use and out of landfill. We caught up with Fashion Takes Action founder Kelly Drennan to talk about the movement, the mission, and why loving your clothes is the most fashionable thing you can do right now. —Noa Nichol
What inspired the creation of LoveYourClothes.ca, and why is now the right time to launch it in Canada?
Over the years at FTA, we have received hundreds of emails or comments and messages on social media about clothing repair, donation, recycling etc. It was clear to us that citizens have a lot of questions or that there is a great deal of misinformation out there. In order for citizens to actively participate in a circular textiles economy (ie keeping their clothes in use for as long as possible) it is essential that they have the facts. Through our work convening the Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium (CCTC), we identified Citizen Awareness & Education as a key action area that was necessary to advance circularity in Canada. Thus, our CCTC partners collectively decided to build an educational website to act as a one-stop shop for the average person.
Now is the right time because there is momentum happening – from brands and retailers, innovators and policymakers. Without citizen awareness and participation, many of these efforts will not succeed. Rather than the “build it and they will come” mentality, we felt it was crucial to educate and engage citizens ahead of these industry and policy shifts.
What does “circular fashion” mean in a practical, everyday sense—and how does this new site help Canadians embrace it?
In the context of fashion, circularity refers to a system that is designed to keep clothing in use for as long as possible, minimize waste and reduce reliance on virgin resources. It is a sustainable alternative to the traditional linear model of “take, make, use, waste”.
For citizens, taking a circular approach to their wardrobe uses a 7R’s hierarchy approach – reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose, rent, resell and lastly, recycle.
Loveyourclothes.ca helps citizens not only understand what each of these 7R’s mean, but it provides useful information and everyday guidance on how to participate.
From fixing zippers to donating clothes, the site is packed with helpful tools. What are some of your favourite features on LoveYourClothes.ca?
There are several garment care and repair tips on the site which are our favourites. Oftentimes people shy away from doing this because they feel they are not skilled enough, or they simply do not understand the importance of how something as simple as getting to a stain right away can prolong the life of a garment.
There are also some really practical tips for those who are into reselling their garments through platforms like poshmark or facebook marketplace. Many people get discouraged if their items do not sell, and then stop using these platforms as a result. But with these tips in mind, there is a much higher chance that they will have success in selling the items.
We also have a form on the Take Action page that invites users to suggest their favourite resources!
Fast fashion has taught us to see clothing as disposable. How does Love Your Clothes aim to shift that mindset?
Focusing on the social and environmental impacts of “wasted” clothing can go a long way in helping citizens feel more connected to how their actions have a reaction somewhere else. There is no such thing as “away”, so when you do not practice circular fashion and you throw your clothes away, they end up in landfill where they either emit greenhouse gases or stay there forever. And unbeknownst to most, this is not limited to developing countries, but it is also happening in our own local communities. We created a separate page on the website just for this topic named Beyond Donation. Understanding how our clothes are made and learning to buy better quality long-lasting pieces (the antithesis of fast fashion) is one way to minimize this global problem.
The site talks about a “waste hierarchy.” Can you break down what that is, and why it matters when it comes to clothing?
As previously mentioned, our waste hierarchy introduces 4 more “R’s” to the traditional reduce, reuse, recycle approach. With reduce still being the most important because we simply buy too many clothes, and recycling being the last resort because we should try our best to give clothes a new life before they become insulation, under padding or eventually a new garment. Furthermore, textile to textile recycling, where one garment is turned into another garment, is not at scale in North America, let alone in Canada.
You mention that extending the life of clothes by just nine months can cut carbon, water, and waste by up to 30%. That’s huge! What small habit changes can make the biggest difference?
Get to stains right away! Don’t let them set in. Many people have this idea that they will get to it later on, but oftentimes it is too late to save a garment.
Learn to sew on a button! It’s a simple and easy way to repair a garment that may otherwise be disposed of.
Host or attend a clothing swap – even with your friends, family or neighbours. This is a really cost effective and easy way to give clothes a longer life – just because one person no longer wants to wear a garment doesn’t mean that nobody else will!
LoveYourClothes.ca also addresses donation myths and best practices. What are some common mistakes people make when donating clothing?
The most common mistake is that you can’t donate garments that are in need of repair, or items that nobody will want (ie undergarments). While these items might not sell in the traditional thrift retail model, they can be sorted out and made into downcycled products like insulation, underpadding, and shoddy. To save the charity or retailer time and reduce the ick-factor associated with sorting through undergarments or damaged clothing, simply label it in a bag with “not for resale”.
How can parents, educators, and students use this site to become advocates for circular fashion in their communities?
On a larger scale, they can organize clothing swaps in their schools and communities, and on a classroom level they could learn repair techniques or how to upcycle an old t-shirt into something new and practical like a tote bag or macrame plant hanger.
FTA runs a school program called My Clothes My World for students in grades 4-12 that incorporates many of these activities, empowering students with the tools and resources they need to feel like they are contributing to the solution.
What role do you see brands, municipalities, and other organizations playing in supporting and promoting this platform?
At the end of the day, most brands, NGOs and governments recognize the role that citizens play in accelerating circularity in fashion. Rather than doing this work in isolation, and duplicating the effort with similar or slightly different resources, our hope is that this site can be widely promoted as a solution toward educating the average person on all things circular.
If someone visits the site today, what’s the first action you’d recommend they take to begin their journey toward more sustainable fashion choices?
For anyone who is not familiar with the “why” – why do we need to be circular with our wardrobe or why it matters, then start with reading up on what circular fashion is, learning what happens beyond donation and visiting our FAQs (which we have gathered from our community over the years). Once there is a solid understanding of the why, then it becomes easier to adopt some of the practical tips in our Take Action section!
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