[Themaintainers] Repairing textiles vs. reselling clothes
Maxine Morphis-Riesbeck
maxmorphis at gmail.com
Fri Aug 14 16:53:14 EDT 2026
Hi Aleksandra,
Ross raises an interesting question about who (what entity) has the right
to restrict fabric repair. I realize the following question is a bit off
your original topic, but what happens if a unique fabric is to be repaired
with the intent of resale? In the United States, fabric designs — such as
printed, embossed, or patterned textiles — can be protected under copyright
law <https://copyright.uslegal.com/fabric-and-textile-designs/>if they meet
the requirements for originality and sufficient creative expression.
Copyright protects the artistic arrangement, layout, and visual elements of
the design. There would also be issues if the fabric is unique in its
content or structure -- for example if it was uniquely hand woven or
perhaps fire resistant?
Going one step further, what if that fabric was used in a garment -- in
particular, a garment that has a *designer label*? Since the designer label
carries status and an elevated price tag, the right to repair a garment for
purposes other than personal wearing (for example, an actress wearing it in
a photo that identifies the dress as designer) runs into questions about
copyright, trademarks, etc. Currently in the U.S. there is an ongoing suit
between Chanel and The RealReal
<https://www.therealreal.com/?msockid=18b4ae3be5366f583a7aba7fe13661a9>
(online marketplace for individuals to resell designer clothes) focusing on
the right to resell those clothes and how they might be represented.
- Chanel and The RealReal urged by Judge to Resolve Prolonged Legal
Dispute
<https://publiclawlibrary.org/chanel-and-the-realreal-urged-by-judge-to-resolve-prolonged-legal-dispute/>
- From Runway to Resale: The Legalities of Vintage and Second-hand
Designer Fashion
<https://fashionlawjournal.com/from-runway-to-resale-the-legalities-of-vintage-and-second-hand-designer-fashion/#google_vignette>
- Reduce, Reuse, Resale: The Intellectual Property, Consumer Protection,
and Liability Issues in Second-Hand Luxury Markets
<https://fashionlawjournal.com/second-hand-luxury-markets/>
- Is Reselling Illegal? <https://www.nichepursuits.com/reselling-laws/>
Personally, I enjoy the many aspects of fabric the way some people like
chocolate. A fabric store I used to frequent had a sign that said, "The
person who dies with the most fabric wins." Unfortunately, many of the
fabric stores in the suburbs of Chicago have closed as a result of
insufficient interest.
Regards,
Maxine
On Fri, Aug 14, 2026 at 10:59 AM <themaintainers-request at lists.stevens.edu>
wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Right to repair and textiles ? pointers on existing work?
> (Ross Spencer)
> 2. Digital Queers and High Tech Gays: The History of LGBTQ+
> Cyber Activism- SO MUCH of the book is about the work of
> MAINTENANCE (Alex Ketchum)
> 3. Re: Themaintainers Digest, Vol 125, Issue 3 (Richard Wheeler)
> 4. Re: Right to repair and textiles ? pointers on existing work?
> (Kyle Wiens)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:40:14 +0200
> From: Ross Spencer <all.along.the.watchtower2001 at gmail.com>
> To: Kobiljski Aleksandra <aleksandra.kobiljski at ehess.fr>
> Cc: "<themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>"
> <themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Themaintainers] Right to repair and textiles ? pointers
> on existing work?
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAKPtmqV1-qYqtxgUf5Z4tx8KKgJENGvc769ErHhbigYoKKZfFQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hi Aleksandra,
>
> I am unsure how it would be feasible for an entity to place restrictions on
> the right to repair textiles? Similarly write legislation that protects
> this ancient practice. Perhaps you could begin by providing examples where
> this has happened?
>
> FWIW you might be interested in the Information Maintainers' video on Slow
> Textiles from a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPSLwpIkF4A
>
> Best,
> Ross
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2026 at 3:07?PM Kobiljski Aleksandra <
> aleksandra.kobiljski at ehess.fr> wrote:
>
> > Dear Maintainers,
> >
> >
> > I'm currently working on a piece examining how the EU's 2024 Right to
> > Repair Directive excluded textiles from its scope, and I'm trying to map
> > the wider landscape of right-to-repair scholarship and advocacy before
> > finishing the argument.
> >
> >
> > I'm far less familiar with the US side of this movement and its history
> > but my impression so far is that textile and garments repair did not loom
> > large; the movement has centered largely on tractors (the John Deere
> fight)
> > and electronics (Apple, and related FTC action).
> >
> >
> > If I'm missing relevant work - where right to repair has intersected with
> > textiles specifically - I would very much appreciate pointers.
> >
> >
> > Many thanks in advance,
> > Aleksandra Kobiljski
> >
> > CNRS, France
> > _______________________________________________
> > Themaintainers mailing list
> > Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> > https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
> >
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:14:46 -0400
> From: Alex Ketchum <alexandraketchum at gmail.com>
> To: themaintainers <Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>
> Subject: [Themaintainers] Digital Queers and High Tech Gays: The
> History of LGBTQ+ Cyber Activism- SO MUCH of the book is about the
> work of MAINTENANCE
> Message-ID:
> <CAGwwk5ew1PH=_bmKKSuyTaOR3TvCgE+in_gi6iavi8mH_X=
> gQg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I am happy to share that my newest book *Digital Queers and High Tech Gays:
> The History of LGBTQ+ Cyber Activism (MIT Press, 2027) is now available for
> pre-order**.*
> https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262058100/digital-queers-and-high-tech-gays/
> (it should show up as 40 USD- there was a glitch with the metadata on some
> sites, so please don't overpay)
>
> SO MUCH of the book is about the work of *MAINTENANCE*. I also use Vinsel
> and Russel's definition of "tech" as part of the framing. The repetitive,
> seemingly mundane, often over-looked tasks are what I argue maintain social
> movements.
>
> To get a sense of the book, here is the table of contents (and I have paste
> the book description below that)
>
> *Table of Contents*
>
> Introduction 1
>
>
> *Part I: Building the Network*
>
> 1 LGBTQ+ ? Labor ? Organizing Outside the Workplace:
>
> Developing Regional, National, and International Organizations
>
> of LGBTQ+ Associations of Engineers,
>
> Scientists, and High-? Tech Professionals
>
>
> 2 LGBTQ+ ? Labor ? Organizing Within Companies: Queer
>
> Employee Resource Groups Reshaping the Tech Industry
>
>
> *Part II: The Cyber Queer Agenda*
>
>
> 3 We?re ? Here! ? We?re Queer! We Have E-? mail!: Digital Queers
>
> and Getting LGBTQ+ ? Organizations Online
>
>
> 4 Techno Dykes and Teaching the Internet
>
>
> *Part III: ? Organizations in Transition Between Media Technologies*
>
>
> 5 From Phone Lines to Online: LGBTQ+ Hotlines
>
> and HIV/AIDS Switchboards
>
>
> 6 LGBTQ2S+ Archives: Digital ? Futures and
>
> Preserving the Past
>
>
> Conclusion: Net Value and the Dream
>
> of a Queerer Internet
>
>
> *Description of the book:*
>
>
> *How LGBTQ+ cyber activists in the United States, Canada, and the United
> Kingdom shaped the Internet and how the Internet shaped LGBTQ+ activism.*
>
> *Digital Queers and High Tech Gays* tells the history of LGBTQ+ cyber
> activism in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and how it
> ultimately shaped the Internet as we know it.
>
> Beginning in 1980, queer cyber activists founded regional, national, and
> international organizations of engineers, scientists, and high-tech
> professionals. From advocating for tech workers? rights to equipping LGBTQ+
> organizations with the hardware and software needed to do their work to
> creating in-person and online spaces where they shared information,
> socialized, and preserved queer histories, LGBTQ+ cyber activists used
> analog and digital technologies to transform queer folks? lives both on the
> Internet and away from the keyboard.
>
> Queer cyber activists also built crucial Internet infrastructures and
> expanded the idea of who could be an Internet user. And, through their work
> with LGBTQ2S+ archives, they ultimately created the tools needed to
> preserve their own history. In this book, Alex Ketchum shares their untold,
> pathbreaking story.
>
> --
>
> Alex Ketchum, PhD
>
> Associate Professor at McGill University's Institute for Gender, Sexuality,
> and Feminist Studies
>
> Director of the Just Feminist Tech and Scholarship Lab
>
> Author of *Digital Queers and High Tech Gays: the History of LGBTQ+ Cyber
> Activism* (MIT Press, 2027)
>
> Co-editor of *Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food
> *(Arsenal
> Pulp Press, 2025)
>
> Founder of Disrupting Disruptions and Creator of The Feminist Restaurant
> Project
>
> Author of* Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist
> Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses* (Concordia Uni Press, 2022)
>
> Author of *Engage in Public Scholarship!: A Guidebook on Feminist and
> Accessible Communication* (Concordia Uni Press, 2022)
>
> alexketchum(dot)ca| pronouns she/her
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:26:36 -0700
> From: Richard Wheeler <richarduwheeler at gmail.com>
> To: themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> Subject: Re: [Themaintainers] Themaintainers Digest, Vol 125, Issue 3
> Message-ID:
> <CAET0WCx7_FLmvBT6C2bure8AEkS1tD1O=
> xD8pXZ-S5E9RsfQzg at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> This is mostly anecdotal, but for what it is worth, my experience of the
> conversation around repair of clothing and textiles is that it is more
> centered on *enabling* repair than on *defending* a right to repair. For
> example, the proliferation of repair caf?s and other repair events
> represents an attempt to make repair more widely available. Similarly, the
> sewing and needlework subsections of craft sections in bookstores seem to
> devote more shelf space to repair and reuse.
>
> In my opinion, one of the biggest blockers to the repair of clothing and
> textiles is not a defense of intellectual property "rights"?as in the case
> of software for John Deere tractors?but the shrinking number of suppliers.
> The large craft supplies chain JoAnn Fabrics went out of business in May of
> last year, leaving only Michael's and Hobby Lobby as large chain store
> choices, and smaller, local stores, when they exist at all, tend to be
> specialized quilting or high-end knitting shops. I live in Los Angeles, and
> you would think that I could find whatever I needed, but when I went out
> looking for bobbins for a baseline Singer sewing machine earlier this year,
> I ended up having to order them from Amazon because I could not find them
> in
> a physical.
>
> And then there is the question of repairing *machines*. Around the same
> time I went looking for those bobbins, the timing on my machine went off.
> After multiple YouTube videos and searches in three different local library
> catalogues, I could not find instructions to reset the timing myself. There
> are fewer and fewer sewing machine repair shops, and when I took the
> machine in to one, the elderly proprietor suggested that it would cost more
> to fix the machine than to buy a new one. She only sold high-end machines
> for quilters. When I did the math comparing the cost of driving to a local
> chain to purchase a baseline Singer vs having it shipped the next day on
> Amazon, I realized that, again, Amazon was the best bad option that I had.
>
> I wish I had more references for you than anecdotes, but perhaps this
> indicates that there is an opportunity here for research sur le terrain.
>
> Richard Wheeler <https://www.linkedin.com/in/richarduwheeler/>
> richarduwheeler at gmail.com
> 347.661.8476
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2026 at 9:00?AM <themaintainers-request at lists.stevens.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > Send Themaintainers mailing list submissions to
> > themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> >
> > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> > https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
> > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> > themaintainers-request at lists.stevens.edu
> >
> > You can reach the person managing the list at
> > themaintainers-owner at lists.stevens.edu
> >
> > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> > than "Re: Contents of Themaintainers digest..."
> >
> >
> > Today's Topics:
> >
> > 1. Right to repair and textiles ? pointers on existing work?
> > (Kobiljski Aleksandra)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:28:54 +0200 (CEST)
> > From: Kobiljski Aleksandra <aleksandra.kobiljski at ehess.fr>
> > To: "<themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>"
> > <themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>
> > Subject: [Themaintainers] Right to repair and textiles ? pointers on
> > existing work?
> > Message-ID: <67321366.11904263.1786616934279.JavaMail.zimbra at ehess.fr>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-15"
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Maintainers,
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm currently working on a piece examining how the EU's 2024 Right to
> > Repair Directive excluded textiles from its scope, and I'm trying to map
> > the wider landscape of right-to-repair scholarship and advocacy before
> > finishing the argument.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm far less familiar with the US side of this movement and its history
> > but my impression so far is that textile and garments repair did not loom
> > large; the movement has centered largely on tractors (the John Deere
> fight)
> > and electronics (Apple, and related FTC action).
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > If I'm missing relevant work - where right to repair has intersected with
> > textiles specifically - I would very much appreciate pointers.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Many thanks in advance,
> > Aleksandra Kobiljski
> >
> > CNRS, France
> > -------------- next part --------------
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> >
> > Subject: Digest Footer
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Themaintainers mailing list
> > Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> > https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > End of Themaintainers Digest, Vol 125, Issue 3
> > **********************************************
> >
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2026 02:57:10 +0000
> From: "Kyle Wiens" <kyle at ifixit.com>
> To: "Kobiljski Aleksandra" <aleksandra.kobiljski at ehess.fr>
> Cc: "<themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>"
> <themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Themaintainers] Right to repair and textiles ? pointers
> on existing work?
> Message-ID:
> <
> msscsggn.665c44b9-7bcf-4f4f-b07e-56b8fa391385 at we.are.superhuman.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Our focus?so far has been products with microchips of some kind. Tractors
> are included, but (for example) mechanical watches and textiles are not.
>
> Right to repair in the US has been focused on equal access to parts,
> tools, and information. That's less relevant for textiles (although zippers
> and other parts are important, and legislation to guarantee access would be
> meaningful).
>
> Design would be interesting?I've taught a number of repairable?design
> workshops to textile designers and gotten positive feedback. We have quite
> a lot of textile repair information on iFixit, and our partnership with
> Patagonia has been impactful.
>
> https://ifixit.com/Patagonia
>
> https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Basic_Sewing
>
> Cheers,
> Kyle Wiens
> iFixit CEO
> @kwiens
>
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2026 at 6:07 AM, Kobiljski Aleksandra <
> aleksandra.kobiljski at ehess.fr > wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Maintainers,
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm currently working on a piece examining how the EU's 2024 Right to
> > Repair Directive excluded textiles from its scope, and I'm trying to map
> > the wider landscape of right-to-repair scholarship and advocacy before
> > finishing the argument.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm far less familiar with the US side of this movement and its history
> > but my impression so far is that textile and garments repair did not loom
> > large; the movement has centered largely on tractors (the John Deere
> > fight) and electronics (Apple, and related FTC action).
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > If I'm missing relevant work - where right to repair has intersected with
> > textiles specifically - I would very much appreciate pointers.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Many thanks in advance,
> > Aleksandra Kobiljski
> >
> >
> >
> > CNRS, France
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Themaintainers mailing list
> > Themaintainers@ lists. stevens. edu ( Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu )
> > https:/ / lists. stevens. edu/ mailman/ listinfo/ themaintainers (
> > https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers )
> >
> >
> >
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of Themaintainers Digest, Vol 125, Issue 4
> **********************************************
>
--
Maxine Morphis-Riesbeck, Ph.D.
847-251-8019 (office)
847-212-7660 (mobile)
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