When you buy from us, we're only just getting started. That's because to us, circularity means seeing through the whole lifecycle of a garment.
That's why we talk a lot about how to keep clothes in use for longer. We also offer a digital care guide for every item we make and we're here for you should you want to access our free repairs, for life. We're also here to receive any A.BCH piece that's no longer serving it's purpose of making your life better.
Learn more about each aspect of our Lifecycle Program, available for every A.BCH garment – for as long as we both shall live.
Sorted materials – ready for recycling.
1 Care, Repair, Wear
We're dedicated to transforming the way people buy, wear and dispose of their garments. The wearing part (aka The Use Phase) is often neglected when topics of fashion sustainability arise as perhaps it's not quite as shiny or exciting as buying new sustainable clothes or recycling.
But this part IS super important. That's why when you buy any A.BCH piece, we'll also send you a digital care manual to help you keep it looking its best for a really long time, reducing the need for buying new, premature recycling or down-cycling.
If you want to dive deeper into how Care, Repair, Wear can work practically, then check out this post – Keep it in Use.
2 Free Repairs, for Life
When it comes to inevitable wear and tear for clothes, we offer in-person 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 traditional skills of mending.
But, if the DIY approach isn’t your thing, we also offer repairs, FOR LIFE on any A.BCH garment. Why? Well, we stand by any piece we put out into the world and we think more brands should do the same. In fact, we'll mend your original A.BCH garment for free, forever (or until it just cant be mended anymore). All we ask is you cover the cost of delivery or drop off to our Melbourne HQ and, for the health and safety of our team, that you launder (clean) the garment before handing it over.
3 Recycling Takeback
We encourage you to send any unwanted A.BCH garments back to us. When we receive them, we'll create a condition report to determine a rating of quality, plus if and how many more lifecycles it might be able to withstand.
Depending on the condition, we may give the garment a second life through accessible re-sale, or we may use it for repairs on another piece or to prototype a new style. In some cases, we might even use it as feedstock for reworking in our Red Line range of one-of-a-kind or limited up-cycled pieces.
If none of this is appropriate, we'll decommission these pieces (disassemble them) and categorise by fibre and colour. When we have enough of that same fibre/colour type, we'll send it off to be shredded, blended and re-spun into into new recycled yarns to use in future A.BCH pieces.
So if you have some vintage A.BCH you want to return to us, in any condition whatsoever, simply email us to request your free shipping label (currently within Australia only), print it out, pack up a box of goodies, and our carbon neutral couriers will do the rest.
What's in it for you? A $10 store credit per 500 grams of returned A.BCH clothing which you can use for your next A.BCH purchase. Plus the very nice knowledge that there's half a kilo less textiles in landfill and a circular system in the making - thanks to you!
4 Home Biodegrading + Composting
A majority of our pieces can be buried for biodegrading at home or even added to composting systems for turning into nutritious compost. All our undyed pieces are designed for a compostable end of life, if returning for recycling doesnt make sense for you (maybe you live regionally or purchased from outside of Australia).
Some of our pieces may require some basic decommissioning, like removing a label, so to be sure it's done right per that particular garment, we recommend you follow the instructions sent to you when you made the purchase. You can always contact us if you need these resent to you or if you haven't bought the item directly from us.
5 For Textile Recyclers
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.