Care, Repair, Wear

We are dedicated to transforming the way people buy, wear and dispose of their garments. The user phase (the wearing part) is often forgotten about, and so are seldom-worn garments left hanging in the wardrobe. That is why when you buy any A.BCH piece, we will send you a digital care manual to help you keep it fresh and fabulous for a really long time.

When it comes to inevitable wear and tear, we offer real-life workshops (currently only in Melbourne and Geelong, but if you're ready for us to come to your city, let us know) to pass on the skills of old school mending. If the DIY approach isn't your thing, we also offer free repairs, FOR LIFE on any A.BCH garment. That's right, we stand by our pieces and therefore we will mend your original A.BCH garment for free, forever. All we ask is that you cover the cost of delivery or drop off to our Melbourne HQ and that you launder the garment before handing it over to us. 

Finally, we take back A.BCH garments through our Recycling Program (below), which may give the garment a second life, help it become a new piece altogether, or allow it to be recycled into new fibre. A majority of our pieces can also be composted at home, but may require some basic decommissioning, like removing a label. We recommend typing your garment number (found on the label of every A.BCH piece) into the product code bar in the main navigation of the website to find out the best end of life solution for that particular piece.

Recycling Program

Got some vintage A.BCH you want to return to us? We will take back any A.BCH garment that you no longer want and use it for research and development and recycling. Just email us to request a shipping label, print it out, pack up a box of goodies, and our carbon neutral couriers will do the rest.

Any returns you make must be A.BCH original garments, in any condition whatsoever. What's in it for you? $10 credit towards your next A.BCH purchase for every 500 grams of clothing returned (we see it as half a kilo less textile in landfill - so worth it). What happens to the clothes? Depending on the condition of the garments, they will either be:

– Mended for future re-sale programs
– Deconstructed and used for new garment development
– Used in our ongoing recycling pilot + eventually, made into brand new yarns

Doing the right thing has never been easier.

 

Are You a Recycler?

Recyclers, rejoice! Every A.BCH garment is fully accounted for, from fibre to finish. To find out exactly what any given piece is made from, click on Product Code, and type in the A. number fixed to the garment and you'll get the full break down. If it's no longer intact, send us a photo here and we'll get back to you with the bill of materials, pronto.

All A.BCH pieces are created from biologically circular materials. Generally speaking, each A.BCH piece is able to be either composted or recycled. Mechanical recyclers will need to remove the buttons and bio-elastics (which can be re-used or composted) whereas chemical recyclers equipped for any type of cellulosic material should be able to input the entire garment. The only exception is for garments numbered A.01 – A.30, these pieces will need their rPET A.BCH tag removed prior to any recycling or composting method. A.31 garments onward do not require the tag to be removed.