Fashion and textile waste are major issues. A lot of people throw clothes away once they no longer fit or are slightly damaged – in fact, over 350k tonnes of clothing are thrown away every year in the UK alone. That generates a huge amount of waste, which is not sustainable in the long-term, not least because of the rising cost of living in the UK.
But in addition to challenges, these issues foster creativity, according to the UK-based founder Josephine Philips. The rising cost of living, coupled with the desire to change how people approach to fashion, has prompted the former Depop community manager to create the app Sojo.
Repair clothes on demand with Sojo
Launched in 2021, Sojo is an app that offers door-to-door clothing alterations and repairs. It connects London residents to seamsters and seamstresses who can repair or alter their clothing. A courier picks up the garment and delivers it to the tailor, and then back to the customer.
The services offered through the platform include clothing alterations and repairs such as fastening replacements and re-attachments, hemming and shortening sleeves, rip repairs, fixing holes, taking clothing in and upsizing, etc. Users can also order customization of their items through Sojo. In addition, Sojo collaborates with brands like Ganni and Mood of Thoughts, just to name a few examples.
Sojo can integrate with the brands’ systems and offer their customers repairs and alterations at scale, thus reducing the brands’ waste and inventory costs. At the moment, Sojo is only active in certain areas of London but is looking to expand to the rest of the UK. It’s made up of a team of over 20 tailors, riders, creatives, and technology experts. In 2022, Sojo raised 2.2 million EUR in a pre-seed funding round. The main investors were Ascension and angels, including the founder of Depop Simon Beckerman.
YouTube: Why Mending is the “Forgotten” Circular Fashion Solution | with Josephine Philips of Sojo
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been done by Nenad Aksic.
Source: Crunchbase / Megan Lawton (BBC News)
