Marks & Spencer is launching a new service for clothing repairs and alterations. From August, customers will be able to book through a dedicated online hub and have their fixed items posted back to them within seven to ten days. The work will be carried out by Deliveroo-style repairs start-up Sojo, and its in-house team of tailors, with prices starting at £5.
The move comes as retailers try to encourage more sustainable habits among their shoppers. Sojo launched during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 with a mission to make repairing, not simply replacing, clothing more mainstream. M&S said its partnership with Sojo aimed to provide customers with ways to extend the life of their clothing.
“Through the launch of our repair service, we’re making it even easier for customers to give their clothes Another life, whether they are using our new repair service or long-standing clothes recycling scheme," said Richard Price, managing director of clothing & home at M&S. Josephine Philips, Sojo's founder and chief executive, said the partnership marked "an incredibly big step" towards its mission of making clothes repairs more accessible. Siobhan Gehin, a retail expert and senior partner at consulting firm Roland Berger, told the BBC that by partnering with smaller, independent repair firms, large brands can provide customers with convenient alterations without having to create the infrastructure for these services themselves.
M&S is not alone in looking to repair services as a way to.
