Care & Repair

Over the past twenty years, global clothing production has more than doubled, while the lifespan of garments has been halved. This has led to growing mountains of waste and increased environmental pressure. Although concepts like design for longevity and recycling receive a lot of attention, there is often little focus on how clothes are actually used, washed, and maintained in practice. Yet there are opportunities: a quarter of the clothing in our wardrobes is still technically intact, and two-thirds of discarded clothes are still perfectly wearable.

Care & Repair focuses on maintenance and repair. We develop solutions that go beyond repair itself and create space for four circular interventions: repair, refurbish, redesign, and rethink. Our goal? To design repairable clothing and systems that make repair truly accessible for users, designers, tailors, and brands.

The project is led by Elise van der Laan, Associate Professor of Fashion & Design Research at ArtEZ University of the Arts. She collaborates with the ArtEZ Fashion and Design research groups, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, and many partners from the fashion and textile sector.

A holistic approach
We bring the entire chain together: users, designers, tailors, and brands. Together, they develop strategies and practical tools to keep clothing in circulation longer. This includes designing garments that are easier to repair, new business models for brands, and ways to make taking care of clothes a natural part of everyday behavior.

Double Diamond model and co-creation
We follow the Double Diamond model: explore, define, develop, deliver, and work through co-creation with all parties in the clothing chain. We combine participatory design, behavioral research, iterative practical testing, and ecosystemic learning (social learning).

Video Care & Repair: How can we extend the lifespan of clothing and textiles, and what role does washing play in this?

Making care & repair the norm
In addition, we explore how maintenance (care) and repair (repair) can become a natural part of fashion practice. Questions addressed include:

• Why do people choose to keep or repair their clothes, or not?
• How can designers cleverly integrate repair and maintenance into their designs?
• What role can brands play in motivating customers to wear their clothes longer?
• How can we bring users, tailors, designers, and brands together in a single ecosystem?

Objectives of Care & Repair
With Care & Repair, we aim to gain insights into effective strategies that encourage users to actively maintain and repair their clothing. At the same time, this research seeks to provide a clear picture of the role of makers and designers within broader, sustainable repair networks.

The ultimate goal: to structurally embed care and repair into the fashion system, making the care for clothing a normal and valuable part of fashion practice.

Outcomes of Care & Repair
Care & Repair explores how clothing can be worn longer and in which form the outcomes are most valuable. The process is iterative: along the way it is determined which format, such as a manual, training, or consumer campaign, best fits. This could be a practical tool for designers and brands, a campaign showing how care and repair really work, or a business case providing brands with insights into the value of Care & Repair. The knowledge gained strongly informs the final choice. In addition, Care & Repair develops knowledge and tools to support designers and tailors in making and repairing clothing, while also sharing insights into what motivates people to repair their garments.

Video: Ways to make taking care of clothes a natural part of everyday behavior.

Research into co-creation in networks
In parallel, Jakomijn van Wijk (Amsterdam School of International Business) is conducting research into how co-creation in networks works: how do you successfully bring together parties with different motives, for instance financial and idealistic? This knowledge contributes to organizing sustainable collaboration within the textile sector.

NewTexEco
Care & Repair is part of the broader NewTexEco community at ArtEZ University of the Arts. Within this community, ArtEZ collaborates with the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, and around thirty partners on the transition toward a circular textile chain, with design as the driving force.

Photo by BvOF, 2025