Repairing things is better than buying new. It’s great that my kit’s going to last because it’s been re-enforced, and it’s helpful that I can keep prolonging its life.

They are my absolute favourite trousers, and I can no longer buy that particular model, so I want to keep them going for as long as possible! 

Many adventures around Wales! 

These trousers went to Everest base camp in 2012. I’ve got a real emotional attachment to them because I’ve had so many adventures wearing them. 

Definitely, it stops less items being sent to landfill. You also get to keep the items that you’ve been on so many adventures with. For example, the colour of my jacket isn’t sold anymore so I’ve actually been wearing it less because I was conscious that I didn’t want it to wear through. It’s amazing that Patagonia offers the Worn Wear service, so my bit of kit gets to keep going!  

It really depends on how much the garment will be used – if it’s worn a lot then it might need further repairs. Often the repairs we do out on the road during Worn Wear are semi-permanent but keep kit in use for longer – for more permanent repairs and if the item is from Patagonia the garment can be sent to one of our repair partners to be externally repaired as all Patagonia products come with an Ironclad Guarantee. You can start a repair request here.

I’ve been doing these repairs for 8 years and we still get people coming back who have garments from our first tour that are in great condition. It really depends on what activities people are doing in their clothes, but I’d say at least 5 years or more if it’s repaired well. 

We're over-using our global resources – we’ve got more product in the world than we need or know what to do with. The product that you’ve got in your wardrobe already, is the most sustainable product there is. So, using and repairing it is the most environmentally friendly thing we can do. 

We can be subconsciously wasteful. A lot of people will get rid of clothing when it’s partially broken but it might just need one repair, like a zip. The garment isn’t broken, and the mentality needs to shift. We can’t afford to be blind to the landfill issues that we have because it’s caused so many problems. If we can do our bit, then hopefully that will increase awareness around these issues. A big part of this is educating and encouraging people to get things repaired or repair it themselves.

We had a family come through earlier today who were on holiday in Betws-y-coed from Cornwall. The mum had brought her favourite waterproof trousers to be repaired – she’d bought them in this Cotswold Outdoor store in Betws-y-coed 10 years ago. They no longer make those trousers anymore, so she was thrilled because we’ve given those trousers another 10 years of use. 

There was a lady whose jacket was caught in a fire – thankfully, she was fine! She came to us to recycle the down as she thought the jacket couldn’t be repaired as it had melted, but we managed to repair it for her, and she was so happy! 

At Cotswold Outdoor, we’re committed to minimising our impact on the environment, actively protecting the places we love, and helping everyone to enjoy the outdoors in a responsible way. Discover more ways to support our mission through recycling your kit or exploring the Our Planet range.