Producing premium women’s fashion and accessories, Jigsaw is regarded as a high-quality manufacturer, with its clothing made domestically in the UK as well as in the US and Italy. Its designs are intended to be timeless, classic, and recreational.
A firm favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, Jigsaw opened its first store in Hampstead in 1970, with the goal to produce chic and elegant clothes at affordable prices. The British brand’s ethos is based on the belief that although fashion is “temporary”, style is permanent.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for textile waste. Aware of the increasing problem of textile waste, Jigsaw’s CEO Beth Butterwick, has said “With the secondary market growing 11 times faster than the primary, sustainability is undoubtedly going to transform the fashion industry over the next 10 years”. Repairing a garment to extend its useful life avoids having to buy a new one and increases its value on the second-hand market.
In addition to setting up repair service to boost the circular fashion model, Jigsaw also sources recycled garments and materials that meet with Global Recycled Standard certification.
The Rise of Repair
In line with the fashion industry's increasing efforts to become more sustainable, resale and rental of garments have skyrocketed in recent years. However, the importance of repair, alteration and refurbishment to extend the life cycle of products and prevent them from unnecessarily ending up in the trash is still not getting the attention it needs.
For example, Ganni has announced its partnership with Sojo's bespoke alteration service to address the needs of its customers. The brand has stated that repairing a garment to extend its useful life avoids having to buy a new one and increases its value on the second-hand market. Corporate responsibility must be understood in a circular context that goes beyond the point of sale, so Ganni’s partnership with Sojo is an opportunity to reduce environmental impact.
Ganni is not the only brand that has embraced the importance of repairs: Farfetch, Manolo Blahnik and Nicholas Kirkwood have recently announced their collaboration with The Restory, an expert in luxury repair and restoration.
Jigsaw’s New Repair and Rewear Service
In accordance with the brand’s sustainable fashion model referred to as “Jigsaw Forever”, Jigsaw has set in motion a new business model that strives to encourage positive consumer behaviours.
The model was established in July 2022, and has brought along the partnership with fashion rental platform My Wardrobe HQ, which which it’ll run its new “Repair Rewear” service, having launched last January. Jigsaw already operates rental, subscription and resale services through the rental platform, and the in-house service will be free-of-charge up to a year after purchainge, and from then on each repair will require a fee.
Having monitored research from its past customers, the brand realised that they had been keeping their garments in their wardrobes for years. Jigsaw offers its Jigsaw Forever rental and resale services via its website dedicated to sustainability along with the My Wardrobe HQ’s website.