Repair is a Radical Act
patagonia.com
Repair is a Radical Act
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Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#2This tends not to work with electronics which tend to be at least somewhat obsolete by the time you'd repair them--and, frankly, is less economical than it used to be for many items. That said, I do tend to fix or have fixed clothing with a relatively minor issue that is otherwise still good.
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#3This tends not to work with electronics which tend to be at least somewhat obsolete by the time you'd repair them--and, frankly, is less economical than it used to be for many items. That said, I do tend to fix or have fixed clothing with a relatively minor issue that is otherwise still good.
im not expert in this, but is hardware able to be broken back down into the elements that they came from to be reused?
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#4This tends not to work with electronics which tend to be at least somewhat obsolete by the time you'd repair them--and, frankly, is less economical than it used to be for many items. That said, I do tend to fix or have fixed clothing with a relatively minor issue that is otherwise still good.
im not expert in this, but is hardware able to be broken back down into the elements that they came from to be reused?
There is recycling for various electronics components and, in some locales, certain components are legally supposed to be recycled (CRTs, lithium batteries). I don't know the details of what happens in the recycling process however.
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#5This tends not to work with electronics which tend to be at least somewhat obsolete by the time you'd repair them--and, frankly, is less economical than it used to be for many items. That said, I do tend to fix or have fixed clothing with a relatively minor issue that is otherwise still good.
A surprising amount of electronics can be fixed just by opening it up and looking for a blown fuse. Replace the fuse, turn the thing back on, and see what happens. About 20% of the time, the fuse will blow again (at which point you're in shopjimmy.com territory). But usually everything's good to go and you can chalk the blown fuse up to gremlins.
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
im not expert in this, but is hardware able to be broken back down into the elements that they came from to be reused?
There is recycling for various electronics components and, in some locales, certain components are legally supposed to be recycled (CRTs, lithium batteries). I don't know the details of what happens in the recycling process however.
Sadly, the process is often to ship to Africa or China and just dump it. There might be some government paperwork that says this particular open-air debris garden is just the storage lot for a proper recycling operation, but often the closest thing to recycling is locals picking through the mounds of trash looking for anything of value.
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#7This tends not to work with electronics which tend to be at least somewhat obsolete by the time you'd repair them--and, frankly, is less economical than it used to be for many items. That said, I do tend to fix or have fixed clothing with a relatively minor issue that is otherwise still good.
Here in NYC we have a permanent "e-waste" collection center. Some items are patched up, tested, and sold: http://www.lesecologycenter.org/programs/ewaste/reuse-store/
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#8Maybe as the CEO of a clothing company I hope she can effect change in the seasonal nature of fashion, so that people aren't pushed to buy new clothes every year --and that clothes be made to last more then one season (via velocity of fashion, or via making compromised clothing fashionable (acid wash, tears, rips, etc...)
People who darn and patch already do what she proposes. It may take off with others, but she can make the industry be less about churning fashion and making things more durable (quality-wise and trend-wise). I mean, what does it matter how durable you make something, physically, if things aren't durable, fashion-wise?
PS. It wasn't "radical" before the 70s, as I understand it. It was typical.
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#9Maybe as the CEO of a clothing company I hope she can effect change in the seasonal nature of fashion, so that people aren't pushed to buy new clothes every year --and that clothes be made to last more then one season (via velocity of fashion, or via making compromised clothing fashionable (acid wash, tears, rips, etc...) People who darn and patch already do what she proposes. It may take off with others, but she can…
FWIW, I've got a pair of Patagonia ski pants that are about 12 years old, and they were a replacement for another pair that was maybe 15 years old by the time the ankles, knees and inseam were thoroughly trashed beyond further repair.
Re: Repair is a Radical Act
#10Maybe as the CEO of a clothing company I hope she can effect change in the seasonal nature of fashion, so that people aren't pushed to buy new clothes every year --and that clothes be made to last more then one season (via velocity of fashion, or via making compromised clothing fashionable (acid wash, tears, rips, etc...) People who darn and patch already do what she proposes. It may take off with others, but she can…
FWIW, I've got a pair of Patagonia ski pants that are about 12 years old, and they were a replacement for another pair that was maybe 15 years old by the time the ankles, knees and inseam were thoroughly trashed beyond further repair.
Some people are good like that, but many others just want to have whatever is in fashion that year or more modern that year (new and maybe marginally better materials, but perhaps not necessary for the purchaser's expected use).
She has a good idea, I hope it catches on further and hope it permeates into the GAPs, UNIQLOs, ZARAs, Celios, Diesels, A&F, etc... but I'm not holding my breath.