In the UK, a repair trial for a period of 14 weeks has started in five John Lewis stores – a British chain of department stores across the United Kingdom and in Ireland – to lengthen the life of customers’ cherished items. The new service includes mending, restoring, dry-cleaning and more – from reviving a wedding dress, to restoring the zip on a luxury clutch or adjusting a pair of curtains. The trial is a partnership between the company and experts at Johnsons, – a Timpson Group company – and began last July.

The service will accept any brand allowing customers to drop off items to be fixed, altered, cleaned or restored. Research shows that extending a garment’s life by just nine months can reduce its carbon, waste and water footprints by up to 30%. Prolonging the life of clothing is a fundamental pillar of the circular economy and recent research also found that more than a third of UK adults plan to increase household repairs, rather than buying new products.

In a test and learn approach, the company will determine what customers want during the trial, such as the type of services they look for, type of garments most repaired and the demographics of customers seeking the repair service.