Our Story
Brian Kielt, CEO"The Zip Yard didn’t become the UK’s largest and fastest growing professional tailoring network by chance. It has been by design."
“We were founded on big ideas and lofty ideals!“
Starting life in Belfast in 2005, close to the Harland & Wolff shipyard (Zipyard – Shipyard!) with our distinct double zip branding symbolising twin dockyard cranes, our founders were driven by a mix of personal experience – the frustration at having to wait weeks to get clothes altered and the desire to reduce waste by extending the life of clothes through repair and reuse.
Having built a network throughout Northern Ireland, The Zip Yard expanded into England, Scotland and Wales in 2011 and currently has 25 stores nationwide with another 30 in the Republic of Ireland.
Our aim is to have a professional alterations store in every UK town and city centre.
If you want to join our movement and open your own Zip Yard store get in touch – just click or tap below!
And if you want to have new or old clothes altered or repaired – or need advice on how to restyle your wardrobe and extend the life of your clothes, drop into your local store to see how we can help. The Zip Yard’s commitment to delivering excellent customer service has helped us win several high profile business awards.
Our Business Awards
Scroll down and see for yourself!
Visit one of our stores around the UK, just click below and find the one closest to you...
...or join our movement and start your journey to owning a brand new Zip Yard shop!
Our Core Values
Learn more about our mission!
The Zip Yard has a strong ethical core.
We want to extend the life of clothes to help minimise the impact of clothing, which is the fourth biggest environmental polluter after transport, housing and food.
That’s why we’ve became the first clothes alterations chain to sign up to the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP 2020), which has been launched by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).
SCAP aims to increase the reuse and recycling of textiles to reduce the demand for new clothes and minimise the environmental impact and we’re currently working with them to quantify the potential benefits to the environment of re-using and recycling clothing and textiles.
Our aim is to place a professional tailoring and alterations store in every UK town and city centre!
The more clothes we can alter and repair so they fit well and last longer, the better it is for the environment.
That’s why our stores are designed to offer an efficient and enjoyable experience – bright, clean, well designed and easily recognisable with in-house changing rooms and skilled seamstresses ready and willing to make repairs instantly.
We want to help reduce the £140 million of clothes that are thrown away each year – to minimise the impact of fast fashion and reduce the 30 per cent of clothes in UK wardrobes that have been unworn for a year or more.
With more than 250 skilled employees working in our stores we’re also creating jobs and offering owners the opportunity to run their own business.
We are committed to training them to make the most of their stores and offer exceptional customer care.
In all, we’re a business with a good heart and a clear mind – give us a try!
Planet Zip Yard
Altering clothes, changing minds.
Protecting the environment is a perfect fit for The Zip Yard.
We’re on a mission to minimise the waste created by the clothing industry.
Clothing has the fourth largest impact on the environment after housing, transport and food resulting in an estimated £140 million of clothes being thrown away each year – mostly to landfill.
SCAP aims to cut the amount of carbon, water and waste consumed by the clothing industry by urging businesses to commit to meeting industry-led targets in order to reduce resources – and we’re backing it all the way.
We’ve already introduced 100 percent biodegradable plastic bags for customers in our GB stores.
A staggering one-third of the £30 billion of UK clothes (£4,000 per household) haven’t been worn for a year or more.
Most of these clothes go unworn because they no longer fit or have fallen out of fashion.
A visit to your local Zip Yard can provide an answer. We can easily repair, alter, upcycle or restyle clothes so they fit better and last longer.
If we each extended the life of every item of clothing for just three months, it would reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by between 5-10 percent – that’s a whopping £3 billion per year.
Two-thirds of the UK’s population have bought pre-owned clothes which shows a willingness to wear second-hand garments.
That’s why we’re teaming up with schools and charity shops to make alterations and repairs to support reuse – and rolling out special offers, campaigns and initiatives to make reuse and repair a first, not last, consumer choice – something that makes sense to your heart and mind, is good for your soul AND for your pocket!