Earlier quoted context omitted.
and turn a 5 minute task into a half-hour one.
Which is fine?
it makes a difference if the repair costs $5 or $25 and if it can be done on the spot, or if i have to wait until tomorrow.
The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
111–120 of 154 posts
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fabrics have gotten a lot thinner, and thus develop holes a lot more quickly. I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them. Also, you mentioning the inability to repair stuff at home makes me sad. My mom, 72 year old, repaired my nephew's jacket the other day. Brand new zipper. The machine in that PDF you shared makes me feel YKK is going in…
The fix is easy: Don’t buy new clothes from fast fashion brands or stores. If you only buy quality from small stores and independent designers you still get the same quality you got 15 years ago. Sure it’s 2-3 times the price but it’s worth it.
I try to buy my clothes from shops that sell to the trades/safety gear (e.g. brands like "Hard Yakka", although I guess that brand probably doesn't exist outside of Australasia). Most of these shops do a good line of cargo pants/shorts.
But where does one get jeans that were made of the non-stretch denim that we use to get in the 1980s? That stuff was as thick as a tarpaulin (for those of us who are younger, tarpaulins used to be made of fabric, not plastic).
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#113With stuff like this, technical fabrics that manufacturers refuse to sell to anyone other than businesses, and Joann's going out of business, it almost feels like there's a push to prevent individuals from making or repairing their own clothes.
I don't necessarily think it's a conspiracy, but it does feel like the logical extension of late stage capitalism's love of planned obsolescence, vendor lock in, etc.
I despirately want off of this ride.
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fabrics have gotten a lot thinner, and thus develop holes a lot more quickly. I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them. Also, you mentioning the inability to repair stuff at home makes me sad. My mom, 72 year old, repaired my nephew's jacket the other day. Brand new zipper. The machine in that PDF you shared makes me feel YKK is going in…
> I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them. One of the little things I find most satisfying about getting old is hearing the same proclamations about quality going to shit today that I heard when I was much younger, only now the supposedly-good baseline of the comparison happened well after the complaints I grew up hearing. I, too, want e…
That seems consistent with a progressive slide towards lower quality. The products that were available when I was young where dramatically lower quality than those available to my parents but are dramatically higher quality than what is available now.
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#115After reading the article I have no idea what is different in the new version.
Apparently no tape, the zipper is bare, so special sewing machines are required and you plebs cannot just repair your clothes affordably (or yourself) anymore.
I wonder if you could do repairs by hand stitching. Presumably the special machine does a special stitch which is lined up exactly with the teeth. A regular machine can't do that, but I bet a skilled human could.
You'd need a way to hold the zipper teeth and the fabric in place while you stitch. Maybe temporary tape or some special-purpose jig thing.
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#116This is a big deal for YKK. Until a few years ago they had a hold on the upper end of the market. The chinese competitor's quality was unreliable enough that clothing manufacturers were willing to pay a premium to ensure a failed zipper does not trash a garment. That situation has been changing, and chinese companies are offering zippers which are getting used on progressively higher end products. By releasing a new…
YKK still has the advantage in that they are known for quality. I use YKK in my sewing because I can count on them being good. On the other hand, I don't know which Chinese manufactuers are reliable.
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#117"Please be aware that when using AiryString® on fabrics with the following characteristics, there are concerns that the zipper may come unstitched, roll into the slider, or not be strong enough. ◇ Fabrics with notably low slippage resistance ( woven fabrics: fabrics with low thread counts, knitted fabrics: fabrics with loose tension). ◇ Fabrics with low friction resistance ◇ Fabrics with large bumps ◇ Shaggy fabrics"…
That would make sense. My first thought was "Arc'teryx will probably adopt this immediately." They (and similar brands) are already pushing as hard as they can on seamlessness or very very tight seams.
Doesn't Arc'teryx make outdoor gear? That's something where I absolutely would not buy a product that I couldn't repair in the field with a needle and thread.
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the grand scheme of textiles, which actually are a major source of environmental harm, it’s probably the choice of textile that would impact emissions the most. Cotton is one of the most water hungry crops we grow and resulted in the drying up of the Aral Sea; animal products have all the emissions associated with animal farming; and synthetics are generally petroleum based.
what's the best alternative to cotton?
Hemp or linen probably. Cotton recycling is also better than new cotton. But for clothes the heavy emphasis is on "reduce" and "reuse" which is why fast fashion is so insidious.
One major problem that has arisen recently is that a lot of clothes now are cotton blends which cannot easily be recycled.
Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#119"Major Upgrade" for the fast, disposable fashion crowd. Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair. This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine, or even at a typical professional repair shop. YKK documents say a "dedicated AiryString® sewing machine" is required.[1] [1] https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p...
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Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
#120"Major Upgrade" for the fast, disposable fashion crowd. Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair. This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine, or even at a typical professional repair shop. YKK documents say a "dedicated AiryString® sewing machine" is required.[1] [1] https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p...
> This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine
It looks like they just replaced the tape with cord. I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to hand stitch it in, though it might need some temporary stitches to hold it in place.