Sustainable tailor shop celebrates expansion

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - With the holiday season almost here, many of us will fill our closets with new clothes and shoes. However, if you’re getting rid of some of your old styles, think first about where they’ll end up.

Tad More Tailoring in Rockford is dedicated to cutting down textile waste, not only in the Stateline, but throughout the nation. The store celebrated an expanded workspace Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and second-hand fashion show.

“In 2021, Tad More altered 15,000 garments,” CEO Sarene Alsharif announced. “Rockford, you’re making a huge difference.”

Alsharif has a master’s degree in public health and is a certified dietician. She says in researching ways to eat healthily and sustainably, she stumbled across the fast fashion industry. She immediately knew she had to try to create change.

“I was totally against the fast food industry, and then when I was doing research on the fast food industry, I bumped into the fast fashion industry. I was like, we need to do something about this and we need to do it now,” explained Alsharif.

According to the EPA, only 15% of clothing gets donated or reused each year, which means 85% ends up in landfills. That equals 21 billion pounds each year.

Tad More not only repurposes clothes, they offer mail-in alteration services nationwide to cut down on commutes to other tailor shops.

“USPS is going around to these different homes and places anyways,” said Alsharif.

“Their mail-in alterations are not only sustainable but they take an industry people think of as only in-person and they really expand it,” added Rockford Chamber of Commerce President Caitlin Pusateri.

The Tad More team proves Wednesday and every day, you don’t have to shop new to spice up your closet. Their shop is located at 6116 Mulford Village Drive.

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