Marks and Spencer (M&S) has partnered with clothing repair service SOJO to offer its customers a way to mend their clothes.

From August, customers can book the repair service through a new online hub. Repairs include zip replacements and invisible knitwear mending. M&S said its clothing can be sent, repaired by SOJOs in-house repair team and returned directly to the customers doorstep within seven to 10 days.

The partnership is part of the retailer’s efforts to give clothes a renewed lease of life and reduce textile waste, which is part of M&S’ roadmap to drive the circular economy.

M&S said its research revealed that only 10 per cent of the UK population is confident enough to repair clothing themselves and 60 per cent of consumers are looking for retailers to offer more services which enable them to lower their carbon footprint.

The new partnership with SOJO is supported by M&S’ Plan A Accelerator Fund. Launched in April, the £1 million fund aims to take rapid action to climate change through a series of innovation projects.

Earlier this year, the fund was used to support an online postal trial with Oxfam which enabled customers to donate their unwearable clothing directly to Oxfam to be resold, reused, or recycled.

“At M&S, exceptional quality products are at the heart of everything we do, and we want to ensure that all our clothes are too good to waste,” said Richard Price, managing director of clothing & home at M&S. “Through the launch of our repair service, we’re making it even easier for customers to give their clothes another life, whether they are using our new repair service or long-standing clothes recycling scheme.”

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