Pearce Carpenter says fixing the holes in the black balloon bottoms they bought from an Edmonton thrift store is their way of tackling fast fashion.
asserted
they → say → fashion
So if we just fix old clothes, like holes in the crotch areas of pants, it’s one little quiet act of rebellion,” said Carpenter, who uses they and them pronouns, while stitching over the part of the pants where two holes once were.
asserted
holes → fix → pants
“Crotches wear out so quickly in pants just from rubbing your thighs.
asserted
Crotches → wear → thighs
Before they started stitching, they lengthened the pants by cutting them near the ankles, adding a blue-coloured fabric with yellow squares and threading the ends back on.
asserted
they → start → ends
“It’s such a fun way to add creativity to your wardrobe.”
asserted
It → ’ → wardrobe
Carpenter was among dozens who spent a part of their Saturday fixing old and beloved items at a clothing mending event at the University of Alberta called Human Ecology Clothing Repair Café.
asserted
who → spend → Alberta
Samantha Barrios Mendoza, a psychology student and event coordinator, said the gathering has been happening monthly during the school year for the last five years.
asserted
gathering → say → years
But the number of attendees has grown in the last year or so, likely due to the affordability crisis.
“I think people are starting to become more interested in learning how to mend because things are a little tight right now,” said Barrios Mendoza, as the sound of sewing machines and classical music hummed behind her.
asserted
sound → grow → her
“Why buy something new with hard-earned money when you can just repair something you love?”
asserted
you → buy → something
Barrios Mendoza said many attendees believe repairing clothes can also reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion.
asserted
repairing → say → fashion
Fast fashion describes clothing produced quickly with cheap materials that copies popular styles from major fashion labels and designers.
asserted
that → describe → labels
In recent years, fast fashion manufacturers have come under intensifying pressure to reduce their contributions to climate change.
asserted
manufacturers → come → change
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that each year the world generates fabric waste at a rate equivalent to a garbage truck’s worth being dumped or incinerated every second.
asserted
world → estimate → worth
“There are new items and fabrics being pumped out every day in the fashion industry,” Barrios Mendoza said.
asserted
Mendoza → be → industry
“So not buying new clothes and repairing is taking action for sustainability.”
asserted
buying → buy → sustainability
Barrios Mendoza said that while repairing clothing does not reverse the climate crisis, it means a lot to the people who do it.
asserted
who → say → it
She said a woman once added floral trinkets to her wedding dress, and a mother used fabric she had kept since her kids were infants to make aprons for them after they grew up and moved away.
asserted
they → say → them
“People have made memories through mending,” Barrios Mendoza said.
asserted
Mendoza → make → mending
Attendees are provided with needles, thread, fabrics and ribbons, as well as drinks and snacks.
asserted
Attendees → provide → needles
Experts also attend some events to teach new repair methods.
asserted
Experts → attend → methods
Most of the mending consists of fixing holes.
asserted
Most → consist → holes
“We also do a little bit of resizing.
asserted
We → do → resizing
People will bring in their skirts or their shirts, and they’ll bring them down a size or up a size, or they’ll turn some fabric into a bag,” Barrios Mendoza said.
asserted
Mendoza → bring → bag
She said she got into mending when she was a teen.
asserted
she → say → mending
“I have a bag that I’ve had for 15 years, and hole after hole, straps falling down, I’ve just stitched it back together,” she said.
asserted
she → have → it
The stitches remind her of how much she has improved her mending skills over the years.
asserted
she → remind → years
“Now it has patches and little stitch marks, and I can see where I started learning how to sew and then how the stitch marks got more even.
asserted
marks → see → patches
Tacjana Maj-Pfleger, another event attendee, said she takes pride in the things she has fixed.
asserted
she → say → things
“I have this ethos where good clothing doesn’t have to be new clothing,” she said, while sewing fabrics onto the back of an old denim jacket to make it thicker.
asserted
it → have → jacket
“I’m fairly poor, honestly, but also, fast fashion is terrible.”
asserted
fashion → ’m → ?
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
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