Congratulations to Coreen Callister, 2019 Summer Stipend Recipient

Coreen Callister and her “RepairCycle” team are providing garment mending services at community events in Seattle, WA to help dissuade people from disposing of clothes that, with a simple repair, could continue to be worn.

From Coreen’s proposal: “Our relationship with clothing is out of balance. The average life cycle for an article of clothing (in the U.S.) is less than one year. With no straightforward way to recycle textiles, this disposable mindset is creating massive solid waste.”

And here are some of our panelists’ positive comments:

“The RepairCycle project takes on a global, pervasive, and ingrained problem — consumerism/throw-away society — in a charmingly local, tangible, and achievable fashion.”

“I think that the funding they are requesting is commensurate with their goals, and I like that they have a concrete partner and audience already designated. My only suggestion is that they promote tailors and garment repairers who already exist in Seattle. Many immigrant communities already practice this.”

“This project tackles the huge problem of the excessive amount of damaged clothing being thrown away by teaching people how to repair their garments. The RepairCycle addresses the issue through the promotion of creative mending while reframing of the issue of clothing repair. This could be aestheticized like Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken porcelain with gold dusted lacquer.”

“In times of a throw-away culture, it is refreshing to see a project focused on repair, particularly for items of self identity, like clothing.”

“Too often we take resources for granted. RepairCycle challenges our assumptions and forces us to look at our relationship with clothing, changing it from disposable to long-term.”

RepairCycle will be participating in the King County Sustainability Fair (CHOMP) on August 17, and the Seattle Design Festival on August 24 and 25.