The Sojo App - A Delivery Service For Clothing Alterations
In such a busy and fast-paced world finding time to do things that we value as not overly important can be difficult. For many people, the moment an item of clothing develops a tear or hole it very swiftly finds itself shoved to the bottom of a black bin liner and on its way to a landfill. Valuable skills such as sewing are rarely taught in school these days, and so the ability to stitch up a little hole in something like a jumper or dress is lost on many. The sad reality of the modern fashion industry is that it runs on the importance of speed with trends coming and going with the seasons, and in turn, the clothes in wardrobes up and down the country also come and go at a similar pace.
It is a simple fact that if we wore our clothes longer we would not only get better value for money but also help the environment. If we can help create a circular fashion economy, or at least make our personal closets more circular, we may begin to make a difference. There are now, thankfully, a whole myriad of brands stepping up to aid those in their endeavours, one such business being Sojo.
The Sojo app works by connecting those who wish you have an alteration made to an item of clothing with a local tailor or seamstress business. Then, like some sort of fast food service, pick up your item and deliver it to the person who can fix your item, and back again. All by bicycle, of course, one of the greenest modes of transport available apart from walking. In an interview for Harper’s Bazaar, founder of the app Josephine Philips explained how the app works and the reasons for its conception.
“I came up with the concept, like many other entrepreneurs, from a personal problem. I had moved away from fast fashion and was relying nearly entirely on shopping second-hand. This was great, except I kept finding these amazing one-off pieces that I loved, but that wasn’t my size. I knew altering them would be a solution, but I didn’t know how to sew and getting my grandma or a seamster to do it seemed too much time and effort. Slowly but surely a pile of clothes that needed to be altered gathered in a drawer and I knew I wanted a really simple way to get them fitted to me. In very Gen-Z fashion, I thought, it would be great if it could be done on an app - and Sojo was born.”
One of the joys of an app such as Sojo is its ability to boost small businesses, particularly in a day and age where the high street is slowly fading away from existence. It can be assumed that if one is buying second-hand, especially with the consciousness of sustainability, that they must also recognise the importance of small businesses. For Josephine Philips, this was a core interest when creating the Sojo app.
“I personally like knowing who I’m supporting when I’m buying and I think that’s why we have the app feature where you can read about the story of the seamster you’re about to use, and also see their picture. I didn’t want customers to feel detached from the local business they were supporting just because they were doing it on their phone.”
One of the most obvious benefits of Sojo is that it doesn’t require much effort on the side of the consumer. For those with a busy life, they don’t have to travel to the seamstress themselves, and those who may be housebound or otherwise unable to travel can still have their clothing mended. The Sojo app is an accessible way to give old items of clothing a new lease of life, thus making garments have a longer life.
Currently, Sojo is young and only available in London, although Josephine Philips promises a quick expansion in the future. This is one business tackling sustainability to keep your eye on!
