One way to save money is to save things you own, like clothing.
"Fix It Friday," which is scheduled for Oct. 7 in Uptown Normal, is a cooperative effort at Illinois State University between Fashion Design and Merchandising students and the Office of Sustainability. During selected Fridays, a sort-of pop-up clothing repair station appears somewhere in Bloomington-Normal, offering basic clothing repair work at no charge. Another is planned for October 21 in downtown Bloomington.
ISU student and "Fix It Friday" coordinator Lauren Barker says the idea is a spin-off--pun intended--of a national concept.
"Our organizing professor, Elisabeth Reed, and the other professors really put an emphasis on sustainability," Barker said during Sound Ideas. She said the idea was borrowed from others in the profession, including Patagonia's Worn Wear truck.
"They've always offered free fix-it, mend-it services, but now it's in a truck and they drive around repairing specifically Patagonia products. Another professor was offering clothing repair services to the homeless. We took both of these ideas and melded them together," Barker said.
It's a food-truck concept, except for clothing repair and it's free. If you have an old sweatshirt with a rip in it or have lost some buttons on a shirt, or need a zipper repaired, you can get the work done free of charge.
"We want to increase the value, increase the cost per wear and keep it out of the second-hand market, because that's not any more sustainable than throwing it in the trash," said Barker.
The first "Fix It Friday" was held last month on the ISU quad. Barker said it was a success and if enough people use the service, it could become a weekly event by early next year.
See the "Fix It Friday" Instagram page.
