If it's broke, fix it!

[Black Panther]

I always think of all the things we throw away very easy and
at the same time other people are buying a lot of trash to
also throw away after a little time. That goes on and on.

A good initiative of Martine Postma:

http://www.rnw.nl/english/video/if-its-broke-fix-it

"It's a common attitude: Why do things the hard way? Let's enjoy
life's little luxuries, and so on. But as this attitude spreads, ever
fewer people remember how to repair broken or damaged objects,
such as clothing, lights, and household appliances. They don't know
how to, and what's worse, they don't want to know. Throw it out,
is the order of the day.

Martine Postma's Repair Café project wants to put an end to this,
and make people mend their ways - and their broken objects.

Martine Postma wanted to teach people to stop throwing their stuff
away and instead get back to using the screwdriver, needle and cotton,
and other tools. In October 2009 she set up her first Repair Café.
This initiative has developed into a montly tour around the country
by Martine and her team.

The Repair Café project is being subsidised by the Dutch Environment Ministry
and a foundation supporting neighbourhood improvement projects. The plan is
to have Repair Cafés all over the country, run by volunteer experts, benefiting
both your wallet and the environment."

There is a video to see after clicking on the link. There are 125 Repair Cafés
already in the Netherlands and still growing.

[NeverMind]

I couldn't agree more.
My heart aches whenever I see anything that could be of use thrown away, because I see it fixed and repainted into a veritable work of art in my mind.
(I don't mean a piece of installation art - I just mean very pretty. :))

I hope such initiatives spread fast worldwide.

[gypsybutterflykiss]

Great thread! It is such a shame this world has become so "just throw away and buy another". They build things to break as well. I giggle to myself as I darn holes in leotard and stockings. Reminds me of my grandmother. My husband actually purchased this thing called the "razo" from an inventor. It's a razor holder with a copper strip on it. A disposable razor lasts him six months!! Razors become dull due to oxidation - and the copper strip causes a chemical reaction to not allow this from happening. The inventor tried to sell it to the big retail drugstores, but the big guys like bic and gillette threatened to pull all products from store shelves if the "Razo" was sold as well. Interesting- isn't it? :)

[modwiz]

I totally agree with the mind set. Part of the challenge is clothing and gadgets being made to have some life in them. I have some shirts that are almost 20 years old and are still in good shape. Shirts purchased in the last 10 years seem to just disintegrate. The actual weaves of the cotton seem to have 'self destruct' as part of their design. Electronics that are some modular that replacing them is the way you fix them. I but most of my outerear from a local Renaissance clothes maker all made in the USA from local seamtresses who take in the work and do it in their homes. It is piecework and not hourly wage stuff. The guaranteed hourly wage day is an insidious critter these days.

I am glad someone is keeping the skills alive. Sanity will be returning soon.

[Fundy Gemini]

It's a wonderful idea and so grat to see folks out working to change the system from the grassroots level up.

Interesting that they have government support, it would be nice to see the governments of the world take that extra step and start to address the real problem of planned obsolescence. .. grrrrr. ...

RK-5ZK4CMHg

[CdnSirian]

I love to browse in the recycle shops. Buried treasures. In N.A., there have been alarms re bedbugs re buying from thrift shops. Yet the real reports on bedbugs are that they come into N.,A. through NEW clothing shipments from China. Nordstroms, Macy's, NEW clothing shops. Well I truly don't know--

I appreciate that most worn out "things" can be recycled. Used or rebuilt stuff doesn't bother me.

[Ineffable Hitchhiker]

YAY! Love it!
What a wonderful idea. Will be sharing the info with friends....
Thanks Black Panther.

btw.
I see that there was even a report about it on German tv. (http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/1528844/Das-Repair-Caf%25C3%25A9-in-Amsterdam#/beitrag/video/1528844/Das-Repair-Caf%C3%A9-in-Amsterdam) and in the newspaper (http://www.taz.de/1/archiv/digitaz/artikel/?ressort=wu&dig=2012%2F02%2F11%2Fa0037&cHash=c7e4e0b72e).





Interesting that they have government support, it would be nice to see the governments of the world take that extra step and start to address the real problem of planned obsolescence. .. grrrrr. ...


Hear! Hear!
I guess they could stop subsidies but cannot stop human initiative, if it remains local., within a community.

[NeverMind]

I giggle to myself as I darn holes in leotard and stockings. Reminds me of my grandmother.

Speaking of which... I have a number of gorgeous sweaters and other items of clothing that were apparently stored improperly during a lengthy absence of mine, so moths ate them!
Unfortunately I don't know how to knit, nor can I afford the time to learn how to do it well enough to repair them (re-knit them) myself.
Now, in the olden days, that was no problem. Nuns, especially, were past masters of mending and clothes repair.
But now, good luck finding them, at least in most of Europe!

If there is a recession, isn't it about time for certain old skills and crafts - cobblers and clothing menders, among others - to reappear?
I am sure there would be a market for them.

[gypsybutterflykiss]

I completely agree! Sorry about the loss of your sweaters:(.. Mmm- moths... Have you ever swallowed one up while it's wings flutter going down? ;):hippie:



I giggle to myself as I darn holes in leotard and stockings. Reminds me of my grandmother.

Speaking of which... I have a number of gorgeous sweaters and other items of clothing that were apparently stored improperly during a lengthy absence of mine, so moths ate them!
Unfortunately I don't know how to knit, nor can I afford the time to learn how to do it well enough to repair them (re-knit them) myself.
Now, in the olden days, that was no problem. Nuns, especially, were past masters of mending and clothes repair.
But now, good luck finding them, at least in most of Europe!

If there is a recession, isn't it about time for certain old skills and crafts - cobblers and clothing menders, among others - to reappear?
I am sure there would be a market for them.

[Maia Gabrial]

Black Panther,
Good point in this thread. That's the attitude these days. We can go buy some more.... I remember back in the "olden days" when a company built a product that lasted for a very long time. It definitely cost more, but you got darn good stuff. And because it cost alot more, you took better care of it. Hence, getting out the tools, etc.... But quality stuff didn't make the companies as much money. So, now the company produced quantities of inferior products, so that consumers had to buy them over and over again.
But here's the kicker: who gets blamed for wasting resources because nothing lasts very long? Not the companies who make the junk products, that's for sure.
I believe that WE need to get back to quality, not quantity to save on natural resources; and it might even spark some interest in caring for our things better....

[doodah]

YES. Big smooch, Black Panther:kiss: for this thread. About time!

Does anybody else darn their socks? I do. I also chronically embarrass my friends and family by rescuing perfectly good lumber from "trash" piles by the side of the road. Can't stand waste. Nature wastes nothing, which is why it's such a harmonious system, unlike some others I can think of.

[Sidney]

I don't know about other countries but here in the US it is not uncommon for them to demolish entire buildings, just because. Especially government buildings, federal and state. Painful to see for sure.