Luxury brand repairs its and other brands’ handbags in sustainability push

A luxury leather goods company reduces fashion waste by offering lifetime maintenance on both its bags and other brands

Spotted: As more people become aware of the huge amount of waste generated by fashion, the Slow Fashion movement has begun to pick up steam. This global movement aims to break the wasteful cycle of throwaway clothes by encouraging people to only buy what they need, mending instead of throwing away and only buying from fair and environmentally sustainable manufacturers. One Portuguese luxury brand, Ownever, has joined this drive by offering to repair both its own bags, and bags from any other brand. 

Ownever manufactures luxury leather bags with the slogan, “slow down, make better and be fair.” The brand has always offered repairs on its own bags but recently began offering to repair bags from other brands as well, even suitcases. The company can change the colour, fix the handles, remove any mould, mend worn corners, eliminate leather stains, and more. 

Eliana Barros, Ownever’s founder, was inspired to expand their repair service to other brands after repeatedly receiving requests from customers who were trying to avoid throwing away their beloved but worn-out bags. Ownever’s own bags are designed to be timeless, rather than seasonal, and to last forever. The idea is that instead of buying a new bag every season, customers would have just one or two bags that would work for every occasion. 

This may not seem like good business sense, but it works for Barros. She told Springwise that, “Although it seems counterproductive to repair bags from other brands, the truth is that by repairing another piece, we feel that we are contributing to a more sustainable world. We have years of experience in this area, so you can also count on a luxury service for the pieces you love the most, regardless of the brand.” 

Tackling fashion waste is a big topic at the moment and one that we have seen a lot of interest in here at Springwise. From novel vegan leathers to sustainable models for selling second-hand shoes, the interest in slowing down the fashion industry is growing. 

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