#FashionRevolution

A display of jeans showing a beautiful array of decorated repairs. Text reads "Customise. Personalise. Repair."
Photo by Luba Glazunova on Unsplash
Ethical Living / Sustainability Guides

The Joy of Darning & Visible Mending

Repairing Clothes as an Act of Radical Care

Fast fashion teaches us to replace.
Mending teaches us to care.

Darning and visible mending are more than old‑fashioned skills — they are powerful, practical tools for reducing waste, saving money, and reconnecting with the clothes we already own. Repairing garments slows consumption, challenges throwaway culture, and turns wear and tear into something meaningful. Darning and visible mending offer a creative and sustainable approach to repairing clothes.

This guide explores traditional darning, visible mending, and modern surface darning techniques, inspired by both historic repair practices and contemporary makers such as Ministry of Mending, who actively champion joyful, approachable clothing repair.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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May 11, 2026
Clothing on a rail
Ethical Living

🌊 Fashion’s Hidden Impact on the World’s Oceans

Microplastics, Toxic Chemicals & Why Fast Fashion Is an Ocean Emergency

Fast fashion doesn’t just harm people and the climate — it’s quietly poisoning our oceans. The issue of fashion microplastics ocean pollution is now a major environmental concern linked to the fast fashion industry.

From microplastic fibres released every time we wash our clothes to toxic dye runoff turning rivers into dead zones, the fashion industry has become one of the world’s most destructive — and least regulated — polluters.

At Zero Waste Llama, we believe understanding the problem is the first step toward dismantling it.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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April 23, 2026
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash fabric
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash fabric
Ethical Living / Zero Waste Swaps

#PlantBamboo for Fabrics, Yarn & Fashion

“35% of all micro plastics in the world’s oceans are from synthetic textiles”

International Union for Conservation of Nature

There are over 1600 known species of Bamboo across many parts of the tropics and subtropics, with thousands of uses – including for the production of fabrics and yarn for the fashion industry.

Why Bamboo Is Being Promoted in Fashion & Textiles

Bamboo has become a popular material in the sustainable fashion conversation because it grows extremely quickly, requires no replanting after harvest, and can thrive without large amounts of pesticides or fertiliser. As a plant, bamboo has a relatively low land footprint and can absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide during growth.

This has led to bamboo being marketed as a climate‑friendly alternative to conventional cotton and petroleum‑based synthetic fibres.

However, the environmental impact of bamboo fabrics depends less on the plant itself and more on how it is processed.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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September 20, 2021
Photo by Merve Sehirli Nasir on Unsplash buttons speaking
Photo by Merve Sehirli Nasir on Unsplash buttons speaking
Ethical Living

Become your own Brand: Sustainable sewing

In sewing an item from scratch – either using purchased materials or upcycling old items – you will experience the time, skill and patience it takes to create an item of clothing or accessory. Your journey to self sufficiency moves forward, and mending, fixing, upcycling and creating new, bespoke/tailored and exciting items becomes an enjoyable hobby: you become your own sustainable sewing brand!

If you are interested in sustainable sewing projects, or maybe have been motivated to look into this more during COVID-19 lockdowns, here are a few ideas, patterns and links – I just hope that in inspires just one other person to replace one item which they usually buy, with a home-made / upcycled item:  By sewing your own clothing and/or accessories, you are choosing a leisurely, more sustainable lifestyle and, at the same time, making a stand against fast fashion.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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5 Comments
September 19, 2021