With fast-fashion retail making headlines this week for record sales post-lockdown, it is clear people are eager to buy a new post-pandemic wardrobe.

But tucked away in the west end of Glasgow, there is one couple who have turned their backs on high street brands – and they are encouraging others to do so too.

Elizaveta and Andrew Bennett run Arkdefo – an upcycle fashion brand that repurposes discarded denim into original clothes.

But the small business, which was shortlisted for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards this week, isn’t just about recycling material.

The fast-fashion-fighting couple also host online courses teaching children and adults to sew and mend their own clothes in an effort to limit textile waste.

“In this country, our relationship with clothing is completely broken,” says Elizaveta, who grew up in post-Soviet Russia where she spent her upbringing making her own clothes.

“At Arkdefo we want to rebuild the connection that people should have with clothes and bring back the craft of sewing that seems to be lost.

“Our message is simple: stop shopping so much, and take care of what you already have rather than buying whatever next cheap item becomes available on the shelf.

“The most sustainable wardrobe you can possibly have today is the wardrobe that you have, right now.”

A European Commission report from 2019 said estimates show that if the number of times a garment is worn is doubled on average, greenhouse gas emissions would be 44 per cent lower.

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So why denim?

Arkdefo make a range of clothing and accessories out of reworked denim picture: Arkdefo

According to Greenpeace, about two billion pairs of jeans are produced every year and a typical pair takes 7,000 litres of water to produce – that equates to about 90 showers.

'We're here to make waste sexy': Meet the Glasgow couple fighting to revolutionise Scotland's ‘rampant’ fast-fashion problem

So why denim?