On Nov. 7, the French government launched a subsidized program for the mending of clothing and footwear. The so-called “bonus réparation” is “good for the environment but also for purchasing power,” said Christophe Béchu, the country’s Minister for Ecological Transition.
Consumers can have their clothes and shoes mended with some 600 certified repair shops nationwide. A discount will be automatically applied for the repair, for example, €25 to resole a pair of leather shoes or €7 to fix a hole in a garment. The bonuses are cumulative up to 60 percent of the amount of the repair of each item.
The program runs until 2028 and has a budget of €154 million. The funds will be used to finance the discounts applied to end-users and contribute to awareness campaigns promoting repairing used clothing and the training of authorized repairers.
Refashion, the agency in charge of the program, expects 21.6 million items to be repaired in 2028, compared with an estimated 16 million in 2019.
