Latest news with #Refashion
Daily Mirror
18 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
EU country pays up to €25 to repair your clothes and abstain from fast-fashion
This county's scheme to push it's consumers away from 'fast-fashion' brands like Shein and Temu offers shoppers up to €25 per repair for old clothes and shoes and advocates for "virtuous" purchasing France's scheme to encourage the public to repair their existing clothes and shoes instead of purchasing new items could make you some extra cash, as you save from not throwing old ones away. Launched in October 2023, France's bonus scheme was put in action, offering a discount of €6 (£5) and €25 (£21) per repair after their Junior Ecology minister, Bérangère Couillard, protested the 700,000 tonnes of clothing that's dumped in France's landfill's each year in 2023. Promising to contribute €154m (£131m) to the scheme across the first five years, the French government aims to improve in sustainability and influencing their consumers away from 'fast-fashion' brands such as Shein and create new jobs by supporting the repair industry. Couillard had suggested for "all sewing workshops and shoemakers to join the system" that rebates €7 for a new heel for old shoes and €10-€25 for new lining to be added to a jacket, skirt or other garment, reported the BBC at the time. Couillard also said that the government's commitment dealing with the overwhelming rise of 'fast fashion' is "external" as it wishes for the French public to opt for more "virtuous" purchases and to repair them rather than contributing to the dark side of consumer-landfill. A group asked to set up said scheme, named Refashion, claims 3.3. billion items - including clothing, homeware textiles and footwear - were added to France 's market in 2024. And whilst the impressive goal is a step forward in the right direction for sustainability and climate change, some But not everyone is happy about the approach. Right-wing French MP, Eric Pauget, highlighted that the government was already stuck in debt of €3trillion (£2.5trillion) and that they should "stop throwing the French public's money out of the window". Working for the Haute Couture and Fashion Federation, Pascal Morand shared his worry for the potential effect the new scheme would have on luxury brands. Speaking to Le Monde newspaper, he said: "A silk organza shouldn't be judged as less durable than a polyester one based purely on its physical resistance". Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! An addition to the sustainability motion is an enforced labelling system that insists items are detailed with their environmental impact. This new rule came into action on 1 January 2024 and is still in effect. France's rules now mean that manufacturers list the amount of water needed to make and item of clothing, as well as the chemicals involved, the level of microplastic emissions risk and whether the product has any recycled materials in them. Whilst the country is one Europe's largest fashion exporter, with an average of 35.7 billion euros of export revenue according to Fashion United and Institut Francais de la Mode, from November 2018, it has seen a noticeable decline in recent years. Fashion United reports that in 2020 French consumers dipped below the European average, spending around €430 on clothing. France now plans to band 'fast-fashion' giants Shein and Temu in its continued efforts of sustainability.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Rochester's Refashion Consigned store grew into estate sale, real estate services
Apr. 12—ROCHESTER — Alisha Arguello loves the "goosebump" moments. Like finding the "diamonds" in a selection of donated pieces, helping a client part with a family member's item and seeing her consignment store participating in a circular economy. It's the lifestyle she and her husband Rob Arguello live daily as the owners of Refashion Consigned Furniture and Clothing: they support people through life's transitions. Since owning the store over the past five years, they have expanded the furniture options and added estate sale, home staging and residential real estate services. "It's way, way more than just selling stuff and getting rid of stuff but helping people navigate the emotional (weight) that they're carrying with it," Alisha said. Their own dream came true when Refashion, known for high-end consigned clothing and furniture, was for sale in 2020. They loved the idea of combining Rob's entrepreneurial pursuits and Alisha's mission of teaching people the benefits of pre-owned items. Refashion was originally started by Cindy Hughes and Kristie Moore in 1997. "It's a one-stop shop where we've got people who trust us and ... we always treat everyone like they're family," Rob said. The shop sells consigned women's and men's clothing, furniture, home decor, art and accessories. Throughout the day, the Refashion team is greeting customers and offering to help customers find their desired items. The Arguellos moved the shop from the Northgate Center to the River Center Plaza at 1643 N. Broadway Ave. The shop is just beyond Rochester's Consignment Corridor, including Kismet Consignment Fashion and Home Decor, Chappie's Consignment for Dudes and Janky Gear. North Broadway from 13th to 16th streets, near the Silver Lake bridge to the Rochester Recreation Center, is closed due to the multi-year project of reconstructing intersections and sidewalks. The closure with vehicle and pedestrian detours is in place until mid-April. The Broadway store, where Refashion moved in 2021, became a necessity for the growing furniture options. At the Northgate Center, "it was like a furniture speakeasy" Alisha described as the furniture was housed in storage units. Rob said "we needed a lot of room for staging," and the move meant 5,500-square-feet instead of 1,680-square-feet. "It kind of feels like (the television series) 'Cheers' in a way because we get to know people so much that when they walk in and ... like we can call everybody by their names," Alisha said. "We've been able to help people transition, whether it was upsizing their home or downsizing their home or moving their parents into assisted living. Like we're helping them with all those times in (their) life." They saw a need for estate sales, while reformatting during the COVID-19 pandemic, and began to try out ideas to regularly partner with families. Alisha said her first visit with people, which is free, includes figuring out their "pain points" and how to best move forward. They plan for consignment, estate sale, auction and donation needs. She becomes a friend in the process, with the client setting the pace for the plan. Refashion also partners with fellow consignment businesses in Southeast Minnesota to share resources with clients. At the first estate sale of the 2025 season, Alisha scoped out the prices for a few final items and pointed out her favorite toys in the children's room. She hoped people would see the items as treasures just as much as she and the previous owners did. The sale at the end of March was themed as a 1950s time capsule, from walnut bedroom and dining sets to mid-century modern lamps, clothing and records. While she joked about wearing a large pink fanny pack to make a lot of money, her goal is to help each family, though granted that includes selling items. About 200 people shopped at the estate sale on March 29. "I'm really good at helping navigate that so they can actually enjoy remembering the memories and remembering, you know, 'Oh, remember when Uncle Earl used to do this,'" Alisha said. "They can enjoy this as a process and have actually a little bit of fun with it versus it just being frustrating and time consuming and energy-draining." After consigning at the shop, two recent clients decided to expand to the estate services. Alisha said the process of hosting a garage sale and open house was "pretty ingenious." Rob, who is a Realtor with Counselor Realty, sold the two homes. They said more people have been interested in estate services, from four estates every three months to five potential estates in a week. "It's just about building relationships, you know, of course, the negotiating is always fun," Rob said of selling homes. "Otherwise it's about building rapport and branching out and really just helping people." Those relationships founded their real estate services, after all. Time after time, clients would ask Alisha, "Do you know a good Realtor?" She would pass on homes, and the possibility of helping people and increasing their revenue, to other realtors before Rob renewed his license. He was a Realtor around 2008 and then worked with Mayo Clinic. Rob renewed his license in 2023. "All these people we build relationships (with), we're able to help them move all their items, but then they still have this house that they have to go start interviewing Realtors, trying to find the market price," Rob said. "This just allows them to go with someone who they've been through on the entire process and kind of do a one-stop shop to make their life a lot easier." Through their business transformations, Alisha said "our mantra is we'll figure it out." "It's OK to go slow. You know, we made all these changes real fast," Rob said of their business lessons. "We expanded so quick, we went from the Northgate location to this location, and you know, this size is triple the size of the old location. So we had to make processes." There are areas they'd love to see Rochester continue to grow in, too, like additional consignment stores, storage for stores' inventory and a nonprofit for donated items that won't be sold at the shop. They donate to nonprofits such as Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, the Women's Shelter and Support Center, and Olmsted County Community Services about once a month. "I think there could definitely be more thrift-style stores because we have to pass on a lot of inventory because we are taking the best of the best," Alisha said. "When you come into Refashion, you're shopping all diamonds versus when you go into a normal thrift store, it's like you search for the diamonds in the rough. And the way we curate, we just take all diamonds." While sharing their gratitude for their growth and the customers who have supported them, Rob said "consignment's still our number one thing." "We've been able to expand and not only help with the consignment shop but helping with the full-on how to handle their whole estate, plus we can buy or help sell a home," Alisha said. For more information on Refashion, visit or call 507-281-0808. The shop is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
