With the economic downturn, it seems more and more people around the world are willing to throw away the throwaway economy we are living in. Repairing our gadgets and possessions is getting more important.
In the Netherlands, up to twenty repair cafes have opened ” a place you take your old, broken-down items, buy a cup of coffee and get your things fixed so that you can continue using them.” as Triple Pundit reports.
It is a great success. Meanwhile, Treehugger proposes – after a really lenghy introduction, a way to help tame your need of the latest gadget.
In a nutshell :
Upgrade your laptop, your phone, your camera when you need to—when you have a functional, definite, need to—not because you simply want to…
To conclude, the same Treehugger proposes to take ownership of our gadgets back by DIY. Indeed, being able to repair our smartphones, computers, laptops, tablets and so on should do a lot in terms of sustainability.
In addition to a cellular/laptop/TV that could easily be fixed when broken, I would also like my hardware to be designed not to break down after one year of regular use. Or would it be too much to ask to companies?
But if consummers slow the pace at which they buy their equipement, maybe the firms will eventually adapt and quit releasing new versions of their product every 6~12 months ?
I still remember all these calls from my telecommunications company begging me to upgrade my smartphone. The staff has still not understood that I am not interested in changing my 2008 phone. It’s working isn’t it? So…
Exactly. It works, it does the job, so why should I change it ? To spend some hard earned cash that could be spent where I NEED it ? Or to save it ? No thank you.
I am not sure however we are the majority of consumers (yet). Still many want the latest smartphone/computer/tablet as soon as it is out.
Anyway, since we are far from being out from the current economic downturn, I think more and more will think twice before changing their gizmos…