I have an idea for a program to promote businesses that are good for the environment because they help people repair things.
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I have an idea for a program to promote businesses that are good for the environment because they help people repair things. Places like tailors, cobblers, electronics repair are all at risk of vanishing along with the skills required to do these things.
Right at a moment when we should be making repair and longevity a bigger part of material culture.
My cobbler is very old and isn't training anyone to take over.
Just telling people to repair things won't cut it.
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There needs to be:
* incentives to manufacture things that can be repaired
* a general shift to see repairability as a sign of quality, luxury and responsibility
* training a new generation to do the work
* support for these trades so it's a viable way of lifeHaving a job fixing things is one of those types of work that can nourish the soul. But it needs to nourish the wallet too.
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I think the disappearance of these kinds of trades feeds the feeling that the modern world is terrible and strange strains of nostalgia that right wing politicians seem adept at exploiting and turning in to much uglier things... without ever bringing back any of the things from "the good old days" that were actually good.
Like shoes that you could love and have for 25 years.
I've heard people suggest that products that last slow economies. That isn't true. They change who gets to make money.
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@futurebird
Im a big fan of the idea of having a standardized repairabilty rating on all manufactured goods.
Something like the Energy Star ratings.Makers would have to evaluate and declare the rating according to prescribed criteria such as availability of spare parts, open vs closed source, ease of disassembly etc.
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@sleepy62 @futurebird the EU has just started requiring similar labels on smartphones, I'd expect if this works out well other appliances will be next
