Damaged cycling clothing, do you throw or repair?

[thirdcrank]

... So why call it Invisible mending then

I didn't think up the name. Actually, I think it is as good as invisible which is why it was once relatively common, especially in a textile centre like Leeds, but I suppose you need a get-out clause for the people who are expecting magic, especially when considering the price. Since I posted, I've found this:-

Invisible mending is a sophisticated weaving method consisting in rebuilding the fabric of a damaged garment or upholstery, following damage caused for example by a snag, burn, or accidental scissor cut.
In such an incident, both the warp and the weft of fabric may have been damaged. Invisible mending is the reconstruction of both the warp and weft using a long needle. The mender garners the material for the repair by picking all the necessary weft from the hem, and the warp from the extra fabric on the inside of longitudinal seams. The mender will reconstruct the warp and weft to match the original weave exactly. After this is done and the garment has been pressed, the mended part will be undetectable on the outside of the fabric, though on the reverse side the restored area will be marked by long hanging threads where the re-weaving was done. These hanging threads occur because (unlike in darning work) invisible mending is done without tacking, in case it deforms the fabric.
Up until the 1970s, invisible mending was common practice, but has now become a fine craft associated with tapestry weaving. However, it is a service that is still provided by quality dry cleaners.
Invisible mending is labour intensive and very time consuming and it may sometimes be cheaper to replace the garment.[1]
Menders were mostly women until the craft started to disappear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_mending

[horizon]

Lots here on recycling:

https://www.patagonia.com/recycling.html
https://www.patagonia.com/recycled-polyester.html

My question would be, if Patagonia can do it, why not the others? The answer is probably cost/price but tax on virgin plastic (already proposed AFAIK by the government) should neutralise that. That funny Attenborough fellow might have views on this but I would hope by now we would all be aware of the issues.

[100%JR]

Lots here on recycling:

https://www.patagonia.com/recycling.html
https://www.patagonia.com/recycled-polyester.html

My question would be, if Patagonia can do it, why not the others? The answer is probably cost/price but tax on virgin plastic (already proposed AFAIK by the government) should neutralise that. That funny Attenborough fellow might have views on this but I would hope by now we would all be aware of the issues.

You still haven’t answered my question
So what exactly was your point earlier?

[Sweep]

Hi,
Sewed up gloves, patched cycle top (bit of a mess if you look to closely) duct tape on inside of water proof jacket and been through washing machine several times the tape is still stuck

Ditto here on a karrimor pertex. Never got round to applying the pertex patch the duct tape worked so well. Through several washes until I eventually and sadly lost it.

[Vorpal]

... So why call it Invisible mending then

I didn't think up the name. Actually, I think it is as good as invisible which is why it was once relatively common, especially in a textile centre like Leeds, but I suppose you need a get-out clause for the people who are expecting magic, especially when considering the price. Since I posted, I've found this:-

The get out clause was also needed because the repair threads were often taken from places that were exposed to less wear & sun fade, so the repair threads did not always exactly match the area around it. My mother had an expensive dress that was repaired that way. The dress was blue, and the outer fabric had faded a bit, so the repair was slightly darker than the rest.

[thirdcrank]

I wonder how much recycling is a sort of green mirage? I suspect we are often back to the issue of labour costs. I'm not trying to knock the idea of recycling but I don't know if some of these claims are audited. If there was profit in it in its own right, firms would be recycling without being asked. Textiles are recycled into other fabrics already, of course, and have been for a long time, eg mungo and shoddy, but I suspect some of these green credentials are doubtful

[horizon]

Lots here on recycling:

https://www.patagonia.com/recycling.html
https://www.patagonia.com/recycled-polyester.html

My question would be, if Patagonia can do it, why not the others? The answer is probably cost/price but tax on virgin plastic (already proposed AFAIK by the government) should neutralise that. That funny Attenborough fellow might have views on this but I would hope by now we would all be aware of the issues.

You still haven’t answered my question
So what exactly was your point earlier?

It wasn't so much a point as a question. I was genuinely intrigued as to what you thought the next step was - you seemed to stop suddenly at the bin stage but then didn't continue to say what happened next.

I appreciate your answers by the way.

[paddler]

even damaged clothes can be re-used or recycled. Some charities will take them and convert them into rags or crafting projects. Some send them to developing countries, where they are either repaired or the material is used to make other clothing.

You could very easily make a very nice quilt cover from old cycling kit patched together.

I like this idea. A quilt cover as you say, or a sleeping bag using old jerseys could look good. Or a musette.

Dave

[NUKe]

There was a documentary a while back about clothing recycling, essentially they followed it through its journey. To paraphrase the line they followed went first to Hungary where the designer label stuff was taken out, then shipped Pakistan where there was another sift where the stuff such as cotton and wool were recycled the bulk of the rest was landfilled.
The best form of recycling is to re-use but this country seems to move more and more to buying clothes for almost single use. We become more and more a throwaway society as the national income increases. We salve our conscious by posting into recycle bins and think that some foreigner will get use of it, when in reality it’s a depressingly small amount that gets recycled.
Christmas, the consumer festival is getting a close a time when shops are filled with tatt that no one really wants, we buy presents for this person and that we overstock on food lots of which will go to waste. We need to think of the planet and give that a present of real recycling.

[Postboxer]

There was a story on the BBC website about blending different football strips into one, here it is

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/ ... c5dc6176f1

It would be possible to do this with old jerseys assuming they all wore out in different areas, or just use whatever good bits are left. Don't think it says how to stitch them together though.

[100%JR]

It wasn't so much a point as a question. I was genuinely intrigued as to what you thought the next step was - you seemed to stop suddenly at the bin stage but then didn't continue to say what happened next.
I appreciate your answers by the way.

I know exactly what happens next..in Sheffield as least
As I said after the bin it goes to the Incinerator.Sheffield has a ERF(Energy Recovery Facility)all waste that can't be recycled is converted into Electricity and used in a Community Heating project.

https://www.veolia.co.uk/sheffield/what ... ry-process

So in fact the more we throw away in Sheffield the better it is for Sheffield
So like it or not all Sheffield households recycle either directly(3 bins) or indirectly(ERF)

All my punctured tubes go to this lady:-
http://www.veloculture.co.uk/
She then makes them into rather good pouches/wallets etc.
So I'm also keeping tubes out of landfill.
I can recommend the "Cakestop Caddy".Big enough for a smartphone/keys/cash/card and fits into a Jersey rear pocket

[horizon]

I know exactly what happens next..in Sheffield as least
As I said after the bin it goes to the Incinerator.Sheffield has a ERF(Energy Recovery Facility)all waste that can't be recycled is converted into Electricity and used in a Community Heating project.

OK But you also wrote (on another thread):

I think 70mph should be the minimum.I think all things considered 120mph should be the limit.My car is an "average" family estate and is capable of 140mph so 100-120mph is sensible

For which we can assume you are reliant on Highways England to provide you with fast roads.

So your lycra cycling shorts go into the bin. Then they go into the incinerator. But then there is the problem of the leftover ash (incinerator bottom ash or IBA) and what to do with it. Sometimes it is used as a building material for construction projects. But Highways England have problems with that and have issued safety warnings saying that IBA can cause explosions (http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/h ... n127r1.pdf). So they are sort of rejecting your lycra shorts for building the roads that you want to drive on.

While I'm not saying that that is something you need to be concerned with, I'm just saying that things are connected in many ways and that is why I was surprised at the shortness of your "in the bin" comment.

[Patrickpioneer]

I always repair first and then eventually they become rags for cleaning things but I was brought up on a keep and repair it culture from my Mam who used to have loads of people come to her to turn collars, cuffs, cut bed sheets in the middle and then sew the unworn sides back together, patches on elbows and hems. the list is endless and really its a skill thats being forgotten and thats a shame.
Pat

[eileithyia]

I always repair first and then eventually they become rags for cleaning things but I was brought up on a keep and repair it culture from my Mam who used to have loads of people come to her to turn collars, cuffs, cut bed sheets in the middle and then sew the unworn sides back together, patches on elbows and hems. the list is endless and really its a skill thats being forgotten and thats a shame.
Pat

I always check to see if i can repair first and foremost, having been brought up in a household / family of sowers and knitters.... though mum didn't do stuff for other people or turn sheets...... lol One of the first things I did as a Brownie challenge was sew on a button... and my Grandmother was teaching me to knit at 5.

[Canuk]

I'll recycle most things, especially cycling clothes. If I get too fat or I can't be bothered to repair them I'll donate them to the young team from the 3 local cycle clubs. Same with parts and tyres /punctured tubes.

The one thing I won't recycle is glass and plastic bottles. Especially glass. The energy it takes to collect it, clean it (washed in superheated machines), crush it and finally reform it makes it virtually zero energy efficient. Recycled glass usually has to be reformed in high polluting gas powered smelters rather than low carbon efficient electric ones used for virgin glass. The bottom line is that glass and plastic bottle production doesn't put that great a strain on the environment.

I read recently that you'd have to recycle around 200,000 glass bottles to reduce the Co2 produced by just a single transatlantic flight. I try to fly as little as possible nowadays and normally use the excellent high speed train network to travel Europe at least, for business and pleasure.