“I know that I have!” And I am sure everyone reading this post can identify with something that they recently repaired. I can remember when buying and disposing of material items was fashionable. Who knew then that this practice would lead to sustainability disruption worldwide.
But why is repair discouraged these days? Would it be the unavailability of replacement parts? The lack of easy packaging, perhaps? Or the fact that we are so dependent on China as a source of supply and demand. The truth is that it is easier to discard things rather than fix them.
Much research suggests this harms more than the natural environment. It also affects our mental environment. There’s a connection between the way society treats material objects and the way it treats people. Returning to a repair economy could help create a kinder, more inclusive society. By mending broken things, we might also help mend what’s broken in ourselves.
Repair is an investment in ourselves.
The environmental case for a repair economy is obvious. It saves natural resources and reduces waste. A growing economy is emerging through a new make-do-mend attitude. With pressures on consumer discretionary spending with ever-increasing sustainability concerns, more shoppers than ever before are looking to care, repair and re-wear
With record-high inflation and a recession looming in the background, we must look very carefully at how we survive in the future. As the cost of fuel, food and consumables rises sharply, we all have to be cautious about tightening up the loose ends and looking for ways to stretch what we already have.
If we thought that COVID was a burden, the path we may be forced to go down maybe even darker than the one we just came out of. There are no easy answers here, but all of these problems are real, and I am poised for the next battle, which will eliminate businesses hanging on by a feather.
Be thoughtful, and cautious, and don’t make quick decisions that could change your bottom line.
This world we live in is scattered and not showing signs of recovery for a while.
Author: Janice Cardinale has been named a Woman to Watch, a Top 100 Entrepreneur by Smart Meetings magazine and a powerful woman by Reimagine in 2022. She is a heart-centric leader, visionary, mentor, and change maker. As an editor, facilitator, and speaker, she talks about mental health. She is leading the newly formed EVENT MINDS matter, a community for event professionals, building brave spaces to amplify the industry’s conversation on mental health. She is the board chair for Seneca College’s event management and creative design program and has opened up her own charity under the name of “Giving Butterflies.” Janice is passionate about global trends, human connection, and the future of events and people.