Re⇆STOCK, more than repairs for your favorite fashion products

NEUVE・A Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company in the fashion industry. The company has launched a new repair shop at Shibuya Parco, a giant shopping complex in Tokyo, called ‘Re⇆STOCK.’

Re⇆STOCK is not just a repair shop that will fix broken or worn out fashion goods, but much more; it will offer the whole maintenance of goods including reforming and customizing. The idea is to change the old consumption style of consuming and wasting goods to repairing and reforming goods. Customers will feel attachment to their goods by taking good care of them and using them as long as possible. This consumption style is expected to perceive a new value in people too: a distinctive originality.

Upcycling, which means reusing discarded goods and transforming them into a new product with higher quality, is now becoming a trend in the retail industry maturing to a sustainable commerce. Upcycling is a great exercise to reduce waste and develop a responsible consumption style. However, the effort focuses on how to reform discarded goods.

Whereas Re⇆STOCK aims to reform and customize individual’s belongings, meaning no discarded waste. Back in the days when purchasing fashion goods was regarded a special event in life, many used goods with care and fixed them when they broke. However, after entering the era of mass production and mass consumption, many gave up repairing goods; they simply replaced it with a new one. Re⇆STOCK aims to stop this consumption style and bring back the traditional custom with a new perspective.

As the society learnt the importance of sustainable consumption in recent years, major businesses began to tackle the endless production and consumption issue. Patagonia, a famous outdoor clothing retailer, has begun a service named ‘Worn Wear.’ At first, Worn Wear was a pop-up event to exchange or repair used clothing. The sucesss of the event allowed the company to launch an online service to sell and buy used Patagonia clothing. And this year, Patagonia opened a store for Worn Wear, where the shop offers products that are repaired and redesigned for sale. This Worn Wear program is available in Patagonia stores in Japan too, making customers easy to recycle or purchase used Patagonia clothing.

While companies like Patagonia have their original ways to recycle or repair products, not all fashion goods or clothing have a place to return. Re⇆STOCK does not limit its service to a certain brand or manufacturer. Their “Repair” service handles a variety of products such as clothing, shoes, bags and watches. They even handle smartphones with cracked screens and those that need battery replacement. The “Customize” service will redesign goods in hand to an original, user-friendly products which adds a new value to items. The store will also sell maintenance equipment, demonstrate repair skills and procedures so that the customers can continue to enjoy using their goods for a long time.