UPDATE:FASHION REPAIRS,RENTALS AND RESALE NEWS

• Primark expands clothing repairs service with The Seam

• MIMARU's Pokemon themed hotels and partners start a clothing rental service

• New Balance expands its resale program

March 11, 2026 - Primark, with about 470 stores in 18 countries is expanding the trial of its clothing repairs service with The Seam to more stores across the UK high street. This will give Primark shoppers the chance to try simple repair and alterations services in store, as well as providing access to more complex services for the first time.

This expansion follows Primark's Manchester store initial 12 week trial period in 2025. Per a press release, during the trial about 90% of all appointments available were pre-booked in advance. In addition to keeping this service in Manchester. The Seam will be available in Primark's Bromley store near London and its Edinburgh, Scotland Princes Street location.

Available every day during normal business hours until Friday June 5, 2026, appointments may be booked through Eventbrite.

The Seam will continue to offer simple same day repairs, such as seam mending and length adjustments, and is adding more complex services including knit repairs, zipper replacements and dress reshaping, which will require a one week turnaround. Per the press release "Primark will continue to subsidise the cost of its simple same day repairs service to offer a more affordable option to high street shoppers."

In addition to attracting shoppers to Primark Stores, The Seam could see growth as well. Founded in 2019, The Seam is a technology based platform connecting consumers and brands with a network of repair specialists. The Seam has been building its corporate partnership program as it provides the infrastructure for companies that want to offer after sales care to their customers. Their parters include Net-A-Porter, COS, and Adidas.

Earlier this year Japan based

MIMARU's Pokemon themed apartment style hotels operating in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka launched a trial clothing rental program. The service gives the hotel's visitors a way to pack lighter and remove the stress of traveling with heavy luggage. Once reserved online, the clothing, for adults and children would be available when checking-in. The partners include Any Wear, Anywhere, the clothing sharing platform launched in 2023 and Sumitomo Corporation which provides the infrastructure.

Aimed at the international traveler, renting is a simple process. With a reservation number in hand, at least two weeks before the trip, the clothing sets can be reserved through the Any Wear, Anywhere website. The travelers select, adult or children, (as well as a family set including two adults and two children which currently costs ¥52,000, or $325.00) gender, size and the season (winter, summer, or spring/autumn) When selecting, there is a comprehensive size guide, showing the size equivalents for those in Japan, USA, UK and the EU. The chart below shows the prices and sizes. The clothes are returned during check-out.

Packing light, or not at all is a great option, and along with a goal of sustainability, this looks to be a promising program. A press statement about the initiative notes that it is designed to encourage more environmentally conscious travel by enabling guests to pack less. Scaled widespread adoption of lighter luggage, or even traveling without checked luggage, could help reduce aircraft fuel use and associated emissions.

March 11, 2026 - New Balance introduced a footwear trade-in and branded resale platform called New Balance Reconsidered in February 2024. It is powered by the technology company ARCHIVE. According to an ARCHIVE March 12, 2026 LinkedIn post: "After recirculating nearly 100,000 pairs of shoes, New Balance is growing Reconsidered to include lifestyle apparel to extend the life of even more products while giving customers new ways to experience the brand."

According to the New Balance Reconsidered website, "New Balance footwear and clothing that have either been worn or are unsellable as brand new for cosmetic reasons are given another chance. All products are inspected by our vendor Tersus Solutions and are cleaned if needed.  Each item is given a condition grade so you know exactly what you're buying." The condition grades include:

• Like New: Item is “like new” with no apparent signs of wear.

• Excellent: Item is in excellent condition and may have faint signs of wear. 

• Good: Item is in good condition and may have signs of wear.

A nice aspect of this program is that there is there is a 45 day return policy, though items marked "final sale" are not eligible for return.

With the addition of apparel note that there is not a trade-in option. The trade-in ption continues with footwear.

I wrote about this New Balance Reconsidered platform in December 2024 and when reviewing it today, it seems the trade-in policies have remained the same. Key points per the website, about the trade-in program include:

• If your item is accepted for trade in, you will earn a voucher based on the original MSRP of the item. The amount could be up to 25% of the original MSRP.

• If your item is accepted but the original MSRP cannot be determined, you will earn a trade-in voucher in the amount of $5.

• For trade-ins by mail, $7.50 will be deducted from your trade-in voucher to cover the cost of shipping.

• Notably, the credit cannot be used on the newbalancedreconsidered.com resale platform itself. While this policy ensures that secondary market activity directly fuels the sales of new inventory, it creates a circularity paradox: the system incentivizes the disposal of pre-owned goods specifically to facilitate the purchase of brand-new ones.

While New Balance does not publicly disclose specific financial performance for Reconsidered, the recent expansion into apparel serves as an indicator that the program is probably meeting its financial and operational goals, a promising development for the brand's circular initiatives.

Full Disclosure: The content in this post is based on my personal opinions and observations. It is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional, financial or legal advice. Specific research for this post was conducted between March 12, 2026, and March 15, 2026. I do not have any relationships with the companies listed in this post, nor have I received any compensation for writing this piece. The image of threads and buttons was generated by Gemini AI Pro.