Boro (ぼろ) are a class of Japanese textiles that have been mended or patched together.[1] The term is derived from the Japanese term "boroboro", meaning something tattered or repaired.[2] The term 'boro' typically refers to cotton, linen and hemp materials, mostly hand-woven by peasant farmers, that have been stitched or re-woven together to create an often many-layered material used for warm, practical clothing.

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Historically, it was more economical to grow, spin, dye, weave and make one's own clothing over buying new garments, and equally as economical to re-use old, worn-out clothing as fabric for new garments; warmer fibres such as cotton were also less commonly available, leading to the development of layering as a necessity in the creation of lower-class clothing.

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Boro textiles are typically dyed with indigo dyestuff, historically having been the cheapest and easiest-to-grow dyestuff available to the lower classes. Many examples of boro feature kasuri dyework, and most extant examples of boro today are antiques or modern reproductions made as a craft project, with the introduction of cheaper ready-to-wear clothing to early 20th-century Japan rendering the creation of boro mostly unnecessary.

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STSC are selling these textiles as inspired by the circular design principles of #reuse #recycle and #repair illustrated by the Circular Centre's Circular Denim project.