What is the name of your organization?
My Mend
What is the name of your solution?
Making mending accessible
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
MyMend is a ‘Tripadvisor’ style clothing repair platform making mending solutions aspirational and within reach globally.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
London, UK
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United Kingdom
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
—
What specific problem are you solving?
We are solving the disconnect between traditional garment menders and today’s fashion consumers, a gap that contributes directly to rising textile waste and the decline of cultural repair skills.
India generates over 1 million tonnes of textile waste annually, with 51% coming from post-consumer sources. Much of this waste is clothing that could be repaired but is discarded due to lack of access to trusted, affordable services. At the same time, traditional menders—rafughars, tailors, laundry-based repairers—remain economically marginalised and digitally invisible. Their skills, once integral to Indian households, are at risk of disappearing.
Globally, fashion consumption is projected to rise by 63% by 2030. Yet existing repair solutions (like Sojo or Repair Rebels) are limited to select cities, act as costly intermediaries, and overlook the decentralised, skilled ecosystem in countries like India.
Our solution addresses these issues by directly connecting menders to consumers, preserving livelihoods and reducing waste at scale. By making repair easy, visible, and culturally valued, we slow consumption, support traditional artisans, and address both environmental and socio-economic challenges at their root.
What is your solution?
Our solution is a digital platform that connects local menders with consumers looking to repair and alter their garments. It functions as a searchable directory that allows users to discover trusted repair services —tailors, rafughars, laundries, and independent artisans—based on location, type of repair, pricing, and customer reviews.
Designed to be low-barrier and inclusive, the platform supports voice notes and regional language options to accommodate menders with limited digital literacy. For consumers, it offers a simple interface to upload garment issues, browse repair options, communicate with menders directly, and arrange drop-offs or pickups. Each mender profile includes services offered, estimated pricing, and ratings to build trust and transparency.
Our backend uses lightweight web technology, accessible via mobile phones, and supports geolocation features to help users find nearby services. In parallel, we are developing a data visualisation layer to analyse repair trends, service gaps, and impact metrics.
The platform offers a marketplace alongside a cultural archive of mending practices, spotlighting skills that are often invisible in mainstream fashion systems. It repositions mending as a care-based, culturally meaningful practice—making it aspirational, accessible, and economically viable for all.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution serves two primary groups: traditional menders across India and urban consumers seeking accessible repair services.
Menders—including rafughars, home-based tailors, laundries, and boutique-linked artisans—possess rich, often undocumented skills but remain digitally invisible, economically undervalued, and disconnected from today’s fashion systems. They face declining demand due to fast fashion, limited visibility, and lack of access to new customer bases or digital tools.
Consumers, particularly urban youth and middle-income households want to extend the life of their clothing but face limited access to trusted repair services. Existing platforms are costly, fragmented, or available only in select cities.
Our platform directly connects menders with customers in their area through a searchable, trust-based directory. By enabling direct communication, transparent pricing, reviews, and location-based search, we make repair services more accessible for consumers, while giving menders visibility, agency, and potential for increased income.
Beyond transactions, the platform fosters cultural continuity by celebrating mending as a skilled, meaningful act. It also shifts fashion habits from disposal to care, creating a community-driven circular ecosystem that benefits both service providers and users. Our initial focus is garments, but we plan to expand to other product categories.
