Post AuDsJewdzhvxFDo3ou by EverydayMoggie@sfba.social
 (DIR) More posts by EverydayMoggie@sfba.social
 (DIR) Post #AuDpBRoqc096MAYJSS by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-05-18T15:05:07Z
       
       1 likes, 1 repeats
       
       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.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDpNpJt3xiEiXyQpE by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-05-18T15:07:21Z
       
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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 need to nourish the wallet too.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDpngh1l9hHUW82wi by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-05-18T15:12:02Z
       
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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.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDq5KT18MWflrzIzg by YakyuNightOwl@mastodon.world
       2025-05-18T15:15:10Z
       
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       @futurebird This. So much this. Heroes of footwear like George Bowie need to have a new generation with the skillset coming up.https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0GOiTR2NS/
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDq8ZDMl8RANXD90K by minmi@sfba.social
       2025-05-18T15:15:45Z
       
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       @futurebird my parents bought me a really expensive pair of boots before I went off to college and I was so shocked by what seemed like an incredible indulgence. Nearly 20 years later…boots keep booting. Just needed zipper repair.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDqRoqyq1z6Nrv7se by guyjantic@infosec.exchange
       2025-05-18T15:19:16Z
       
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       @futurebird Full agreement. Problem: It will make a few billionaires and CEOs of large corporations sad.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDqY9R1ELjPx9nRTc by Moss@beige.party
       2025-05-18T15:20:24Z
       
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       @futurebird The global corporate insistence on faster turnover and higher profit margins has led to nearly all products being made irreparable. That’s a big part of why repair trades have virtually died out. Why put new soles on shoes where the foam and fabric uppers are also worn through? And with TVs and other electronics they have made it so it costs more to buy the parts than to buy a whole new unit.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDqawvqAkBC2qY02K by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-05-18T15:20:56Z
       
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       @vivtek The environmental angle is critical, but so is the way that not being able to fix things, or have them fixed by people we know robs us of a certain opportunity for dignity. There is a young person walking the Bronx who could have been learning to fix shoes, who could have had a future doing something that people would thank them for. And there are several hundred people who will have shoes that make them sad as they toss them in the trash one after the other. Seems like a bad trade.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDqeWumqRFGVrlIDQ by patrickhadfield@mastodon.scot
       2025-05-18T15:21:33Z
       
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       @futurebird you may be aware that last year the EU introduced the "right to repair" to address exactly some of the issues you raise. /1https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDrstRPzOCuNxRCK0 by OrionKidder@mas.to
       2025-05-18T15:35:20Z
       
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       @futurebird One sector where this is already in place is used and refurbished computers. If you go to a local computer repair/sales shop, you'll find people who have relationships with refurb suppliers. They're already prepped to do this. You just have to ask.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDsJewdzhvxFDo3ou by EverydayMoggie@sfba.social
       2025-05-18T15:40:11Z
       
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       "I've heard people suggest that products that last slow economies. That isn't true. They change who gets to make money."This right here is probably the real driver of disposability. If things last, rich parasites don't make excess profits from people continually replacing manufactured goods. Instead ordinary people keep the income from repairs in their circles. Can't allow working class people to thrive, or they won't be willing to be pawns any longer.@futurebird
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDsetxvLKUnuZXBA0 by ramsey@phpc.social
       2025-05-18T15:43:59Z
       
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       @futurebird Recently, we had to get our 15-year-old dryer repaired. For the price of the repair, we could have bought a new dryer. 😞
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDsx4rVZK0Wv2CT7w by angusm@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T15:47:16Z
       
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       @futurebird I was just thinking that things that ought to last ought to last forever, and thinks that shouldn't last should disappear as soon as they're no longer needed.Instead we get expensive devices that break the next day & can't be fixed, and 'disposable' plastic bottles that can't be disposed of because they’re all but immortal.Designed-in repairability & a culture of repair is an essential part of realizing the first part of the goal.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDsxqw6pWD01Cioxk by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-05-18T15:47:30Z
       
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       @EverydayMoggie There was a time when manufacturers of appliances did a lot more in the way of trying to get themselves into the repair loop. But that was never as profitable as just selling a brand new appliance. And their DRM like attempts to insist that all parts come from them, and desire to control the process made it less attractive to participate in. And the skilled repair people might have a few "certifications" or not what matters is experience.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDt1gCyerWTu9R8eu by patrickhadfield@mastodon.scot
       2025-05-18T15:24:13Z
       
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       @futurebird we don't (yet?) have the right to repair in the UK, but there is a movement towards it, with both national and local campaigns. Locally there may be "remakeries" which take old tech and help fix it. 2/2https://therestartproject.org/right-to-repair-uk/
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDt2j1BhFiKuPQ8o4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-05-18T15:48:22Z
       
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       @patrickhadfield Is clothing included in this?
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDtNublng8cw5dOcK by jessamyn@glammr.us
       2025-05-18T15:52:08Z
       
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       @futurebird Agree. I work at the library to help people keep their older technology running and that helps somewhat. But then you get huge sea changes like Microsoft saying "We won't support Windows 10 after October" and suddenly a lot of people feel they have to buy newer (and often less good) computers. We swim upstream but we do swim.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDtjFGED40h4OjNDc by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
       2025-05-18T15:55:59Z
       
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       @futurebird @vivtek for all the environmental problems they cause, one thing which does regularly get repaired and reused are cars - but even here there's a problem where all the garages want to hire /trained/ mechanics but none of them want to invest in training the new generation (and often won't even hire those just out of college, they want experienced staff only, and apprentice wages are only sufficient for teenagers living with parents, which discourages older people who might want a career change). Also many workplaces have a fairly stressful or even toxic environment..This is something that is a problem across all skilled trades  (at least here in UK, but could be across the entire "Western" world), and needs to change quickly.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDu0M2QGUOX0pQpVI by patrickhadfield@mastodon.scot
       2025-05-18T15:59:07Z
       
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       @futurebird as far as I understand, it is mainly for items which rely on IP, thought I don't know all the details. With clothing, there's nothing to stop or impede repair - *if* the skills are available, as you point out!
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDuDeeWMsTaVbatHs by Lyle@cville.online
       2025-05-18T16:01:29Z
       
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       @futurebird Japan manages this as a national program. It’s incredible. https://www.iimb.ac.in/sites/default/files/inline-files/Prof-Suresh-Bhagavatula_Insights-Japanese-Crafts-Related-Policies.pdf
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDuQt44608eyHqrwm by graydon@canada.masto.host
       2025-05-18T16:03:54Z
       
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       @futurebird Nother step back.Cheap stuff is cheap so people who are underpaid can still have it.This doesn't start with manufacturing margins; it starts with the desire to underpay. (Which in turn causes nigh-everybody to be strictly concerned with up-front price, because they can't afford what they need.) (Profit-motive and initial-price-driven decisions are terrible decisions in any longer term context, but they do concentrate money.)Any sustainability fix requires a flat(ish) economy.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDucB15gtgfplqNUm by RobotDiver@starlite.rodeo
       2025-05-18T16:05:54Z
       
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       @futurebird If I ever find a balance with my mecfs I want to become a cobbler, or shoe maker.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDukHt02B5ZSKvWDY by Moss@beige.party
       2025-05-18T16:03:12Z
       
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       @futurebird People stopped learning how to fix cars themselves when electronic components became the main failure point. Something goes wrong in a car, it’s no longer just a hose or a belt, it’s a motherboard or an intricate and specialized subsystem unit. With each model year they change the specs slightly so parts are not interchangeable one year to the next.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDvvck0w4eJHCh2zg by su_liam@mas.to
       2025-05-18T16:20:38Z
       
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       @futurebird And the tailor isn’t just about repair. A tailor fits your new clothes or old to your body.  Not just the loose, but weirdly-binding fit of “one size fits an entire category. I suspect this kind of service is available from lots of other repair-type technical fields, but clothes are particularly intimate and a ubiquitous discomfort.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDwA68URYD2Us2lBA by rexi@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T16:23:16Z
       
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       @futurebird tool libraries with collections of self assembly and repair manuals available.kids love construction and deconstruction, imho, too...
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDwGJyvsTv1B0XZs8 by su_liam@mas.to
       2025-05-18T16:24:24Z
       
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       @futurebird I suspect there’s also an element of promoting conformity to that which is convenient to fascist types, even if not entirely intentional. But mostly, it’s about moving money to the existing haves and gradually erasing have-nots, except as a pool of desperate serf labor.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDwsPD4t76AOaJiD2 by clew@ecoevo.social
       2025-05-18T16:31:13Z
       
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       My local cobblers do have young employees, or maybe new owners, I should ask. AND when Redwing, which advertises repairability, said a pair of their shoes were unrepairable, our local cobblers fixed them no problem. Less than half  the price of a new pair and a sole better suited to current use. (Broadway Shoe Repair in #Seattle.)@futurebird
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDwvSBWHf9WUU2dWK by Lightfighter@infosec.exchange
       2025-05-18T16:31:50Z
       
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       @futurebird That's one of the things I like about Danner boots. They clearly note which models are capable of being re-soled, and they offer that service as well.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDwyL6P4aQ1OS1Ztg by wollman@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T16:32:23Z
       
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       @futurebird What you have missed here is Baumol's effect. Labor, especially skilled labor, costs a lot today — much much more than stuff. This is an inevitable consequence of a society becoming richer: what you have to pay someone to do a job depends on what other jobs with a similar skill level are paying, not what that job is worth to society, so some services that are inherently labor-intensive become much more expensive relative to goods. (Baumol studied this in health care and education.)
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDxz4Q2gbu5tY7fw8 by mancavgeek@social.teamb.space
       2025-05-18T16:43:38Z
       
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       @futurebird There has been something of a resurgence in interest in jobs of this sort inbthe UK in recent years, at least partly driven by a tv show called The Repair Shop, in which craftsmen (and women) restore and repair old, usually vintage, items, many of which were originally handmade.With slightly more modern tech, there is a YouTuber who goes by the name TechMoan who scours the Web for interesting audio/video kit, which is often sold as "Not Working", or for spares, and tries to fix it.He's not an expert, just someone who knows enough to get into trouble, which makes it all the more interesting.And he lives about 20 miles away from me, which is kinda cool.There are people out there who do this sort of thing, they just tend to charge more for repairs than it costs to buy a new item, which unfortunately disincentivises repair.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDyaiirnjmdbosfJo by Rycaut@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T16:50:30Z
       
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       @futurebird @EverydayMoggie seriously shows like The Repair Shop (and some YouTube channels about restorations) are a good start. https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/take-part/the-repair-shop
       
 (DIR) Post #AuDymHOnDSksLC0G4e by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
       2025-05-18T16:25:15Z
       
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       @vivtek @su_liam @futurebird I was taught the same during the two years I spent at University (studying electronic engineering), these attitudes were part of the reason why I became disillusioned and dropped out (and that was over 30 years ago)
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE0uKTpqMMQ7eKO4e by MissGayle@urbanists.social
       2025-05-18T17:16:26Z
       
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       @futurebird Yes, but I took my favorite pair of boots to a local cobbler and was told the crappy petrochemical-based material was simply not reparable. Part of it has to be buying the right (more expensive) products in the first place. And that's a hard sell.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE15eRdxJivE8hY7U by mappingsupport@m.ai6yr.org
       2025-05-18T17:18:27Z
       
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       @futurebird  At Redmond WA (location of Microsoft HQ) the one and only shoe/boot repair shop remains closed as a result of the 80 year old who ran the place being injured in a non-work related accident.  I had the guy do some stitching on a pair of work boots right before this happened.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE293x3g9GL9paOYq by evilotto@sfba.social
       2025-05-18T17:30:15Z
       
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       @futurebird More people also need to be willing to buy used and repaired items.  It seems to be mostly garage sales or thrift stores where you can get used items, and that often means used and neglected.  There would be a business acquiring such items for next to nothing, repairing them, and reselling for a profit, if there's a market for it.  I've seen it with bikes, but not much else.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE2OqT7Zk1JyU6oJk by starluna@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T17:33:10Z
       
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       @futurebird Yes please.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE2q4rcAAaoRGYCqe by megsouth@c.im
       2025-05-18T17:38:05Z
       
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       @futurebird one of my hobbies is window shopping estate sales. There are several US sites like CTBids.com and EstateSales.net. It’s a wonderful way to give a precious piece a longer life!
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE2wOxANpxAU0AAvQ by GGMcBG@mstdn.plus
       2025-05-18T17:39:13Z
       
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       @futurebird I wanted to be Sinbad from 'Coneheads' with his cool-ass repair shop. Used to take everything apart as a kid.Trained myself to repair rotary phones after buying some klunkers to use around the house years back.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE35Odyu4A285TjUW by CivilityFan@sfba.social
       2025-05-18T17:40:50Z
       
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       @futurebird Another aspect of this is the way in which companies allocate resources. I worked for lots of different hospitals in my career, repairing expensive medical equipment. When the C suite folks were budgeting for a new service, they might invest millions to roll it out. They were willing to spend money on a dubious new service to bring in more money but didn’t want to invest in existing infrastructure servicing existing equipment so lots of repairs had to be done by outside contractors who charged so much more. They never saw value in saving money on repairs as equal to bringing in money from new business
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE4PBACpeRW4DY3c0 by Doodlelegs@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T17:55:37Z
       
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       @futurebird I have been thinking about trying to find a grant to subsidize repair. We need to make repair cheaper than buying new, and support those who take precious time to learn these important skills. But repair shouldn't be reserved for the well off!
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE7NsMBZN0dJODoa8 by Npars01@mstdn.social
       2025-05-18T18:29:00Z
       
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       @futurebird Japan has a system of funding for the preservation of its cultural heritage & the skills that made them. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihon_Bijutsu_Token_Hozon_KyokaiA similar system of education & support for ecological practices could be created.The scene in "Yellowstone" where an elderly iron worker making spurs is the last of his kind, is beyond saddening. https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/legendary-spur-maker-from-pampa-featured-in-yellowstone-just-2-months-after-his-death-billy-klapper-rip-wheeler-cole-hauserWhat is more quintessentially American than a cowboy?The ability to make & fix things is equally so.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE7bOgifrMLLkH2vo by blogdiva@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T18:31:23Z
       
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       ❝ I've heard people suggest that products that last slow economies. That isn't true. They change who gets to make money. ❞🗣 LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!!because it’s not the parasitic class making the money but the entrepreneurial working class.forget the loss of shoe cobblers in NYC. mechanics were everywhere. they’re gone & all you see are ads for Autozone.that’s class war: killing garage real estate so mechanics have to work in a Wall Street owned franchise@futurebird
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE7kC3wz4lsncKnJ2 by RichFergy@mastodon.social
       2025-05-18T18:33:00Z
       
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       @futurebird I've been on about this for years.  As I see it society generally and parents in particular are largely to blame.  Youngsters are encouraged to get a 'good job' and that is defined as an accountant, solicitor, or doctor.  Other occupations are seen as down-market and to be avoided.  In England even engineers are not respected and teaching is certainly not a job to do. How we change the way people think about those who actually keep the world running is a puzzle of massive proportion.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuE8LpZV3PEg342Qsq by twoowls73@mastodon.scot
       2025-05-18T18:39:51Z
       
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       @futurebirdAbsolutely here for this thread. I have a side gig repairing 70s/80s hifi (more of a hobby) which is fun & keeps my EE practical skills in focus. I repair small appliances for folk in our village when I get asked. I replace batteries and switches in ‘fitness watches’ for runners. All stuff that would end up in landfill. If I can get it working then that’s brilliant for me, them and the environment. Sadly I’ll never make a living doing it, which is why it’s a side gig
       
 (DIR) Post #AuENKWrmc1IL3gQYqm by dpnash@c.im
       2025-05-18T21:27:41Z
       
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       @futurebird My wife recently became the caretaker (for lack of a better word) of a grandfather clock that her parents have had for about 50 years. (Caretaker because it’s ultimately intended to go to one of her sisters, but it’s not clear when, or even if, that’s happening any time soon.)The clock is in good shape overall, but her parents left it unmaintained for a long time before letting go of it, and it wasn’t working correctly when we got it in place at home.It needed only minor repairs to work correctly, but these were a bit beyond routine owner maintenance (the pendulum mount needed to be adjusted slightly in a non-obvious way, and the actual clockwork needed to be oiled properly). The original manufacturer was long defunct, major furniture and similar stores no longer keep people around to do things like this, and it took a couple of weeks to find someone who could do the work. He was an older (I’d guess 70-ish) man who does oddball jobs like this in retirement, having done a lot of mechanical repair work while still working full time (20-50 years ago) that is no longer commonplace.This is in a major metro area (Portland, OR) in the US.We’re not entirely sure what we would have done if it had needed more significant work, or what we’d do if we still have the clock when it next needs significant maintenance work.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuENmVF8F2Hg8Eggz2 by shtrom@piaille.fr
       2025-05-18T21:32:35Z
       
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       @futurebird A French organisation has been posing similar things for a few years. They had some success at the country level (repair bonus, repairability index on display, ...).They are now also trying to scale to the EU https://www.stopobsolescence.org/
       
 (DIR) Post #AuEcGa9hwLcZPhO5UO by Man1t0ba@historians.social
       2025-05-19T00:15:02Z
       
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       @futurebird repair businesses are great and so are non-profits that host repair cafes, where you can bring your ailing clock or lamp or fan and a handyman with a huge tool kit will fix it
       
 (DIR) Post #AuEdvvFaVyFgfIPkfY by BernieDoesIt@mstdn.social
       2025-05-19T00:33:44Z
       
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       @futurebird I think laws requiring access to parts or the specifications for them will probably be necessary too.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuEsNZXKErOWmrn0oS by AbramKedge@beige.party
       2025-05-19T03:15:34Z
       
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       @futurebird I saw this great feel-good story of a young local cobbler last week. I hope he inspires more people to take it up. https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/25155910.dunfermline-cobbler-mark-gibson-international-attention/
       
 (DIR) Post #AuEzaMYAX4WDxEEKUS by sleepy62@social.vivaldi.net
       2025-05-19T04:36:17Z
       
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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.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuF927LnXKY6Vekkls by mensrea@freeradical.zone
       2025-05-19T06:22:11Z
       
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       @futurebird @vivtek and something made to be repairable, is also modifiable. so you can move back to making things work the way you need
       
 (DIR) Post #AuFHgbXZVffJMI4p2u by MamaLake@mastodon.social
       2025-05-19T07:59:10Z
       
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       @futurebird maybe an internship program for people looking to learn these skills that pairs them with older craftspeople? I know a guilder/framer that has developed a palsy, he desperately wants to teach his craft before he loses more mobility. I want to see this happen!
       
 (DIR) Post #AuFOf7QKhHTNLIvgky by GoodCheerPixie@mstdn.social
       2025-05-19T09:17:18Z
       
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       @futurebird @vivtek In the UK we have a company called Timpson. They repair shoes, cut keys, replace watch batteries. 10% of their workforce are ex-convicts, they train them before they leave prison. I always get my shoes and boots repaired by them. Not cheap, but cheaper than buying new.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuH7jhN3g7cL5Iupwe by strayhorse@c.im
       2025-05-20T05:17:05Z
       
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       @futurebird My post from earlier today… https://c.im/@strayhorse/114536613095737446
       
 (DIR) Post #AuH9H6Hw9n6tsJ0lfc by Remittancegirl@mstdn.social
       2025-05-20T05:34:19Z
       
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       @futurebird THIS… so much!
       
 (DIR) Post #AuH9troHv7oCGVd2DQ by MikeFromLFE@cupoftea.social
       2025-05-20T05:41:18Z
       
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       @futurebirdIt's not enough to provide training, or to ensure that these trades provide a living income - society needs to show that these tradespeople are valued and respected.Too often repairers, tradespeople, and craft-Persons are seen as second class to 'white collar' workers.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuHD2acLVkozPbtTFo by seindal@mastodon.social
       2025-05-20T06:16:31Z
       
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       @futurebird The EU is trying. I realise you're in the USA, but the EU is a big entity and often if the EU moves, other follows.https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers
       
 (DIR) Post #AuHDKJd3PfOVw3g3RA by unsaturated@discuss.systems
       2025-05-20T06:19:43Z
       
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       @futurebird The more automated and efficient the manufacturing process, the less repair makes sense economically. Like think of it this way: to drive the cost down, the inputs need to be obtained more cheaply. Everything nonessential to the process of manufacture needs to be pitched. Once the cost goes down, we find that we have optimized the cost so well that it’s cheaper and more efficient to just make a new one. It’s like a run away machine as long as it’s more profitable to sell more stuff.It’s funny that we are worried about the AI that tries to make the whole world into paperclips when that’s basically what we ourselves are doing.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuHFu6yY8Q9f1cvbsW by shenmi_meiren@mastodon.social
       2025-05-20T06:48:34Z
       
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       @futurebird I recently had to say goodbye to a pair of black leather sneakers I have been wearing for over 20 years (!)the biggest issue was finding a replacement pair, since they just simply don't make all-leather sneakers anymore it seems :/(price was not an issue, and yet...)
       
 (DIR) Post #AuHNWtmhoOx75RpYa8 by indieterminacy@social.coop
       2025-05-20T08:14:03Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird I remember having a long chat with a milk delivery man in the middle of the night before he started doing deliveries on those electric floats - real end of an era kind of chat.Im not sure right wingers can get all nostalgic about that one, they were the ones who dropped that efficient and ecologically sustainable activity because the new plethora of supermarkets were undercutting milk prices to increase footfall.I hope you have noticed Germany's right-to-repair movement growing?
       
 (DIR) Post #AuHQMR3K57jUwWIzvE by Clutha@mastodon.scot
       2025-05-20T08:45:46Z
       
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       @futurebird 100% agree!I’m now 80 and recently volunteered at ships restoration & maintenance. The common subject among us ‘ancients’ was where are the youngsters picking our brains?Pre covid there was one in his late 20’s assisting us in maintaining steam machinery on a paddle steamer, sent by a heritage engineering organisation.After Covid he didn’t come back. Why local colleges didn’t send young ones for experience is a mystery.Maybe us auld yins were too boring😂
       
 (DIR) Post #AuHSe2RIX2Erj82bce by curatedjenny@glammr.us
       2025-05-20T09:11:22Z
       
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       @futurebird I'd like to add conservators and restorers to that list (hi!), we don't all work with fancy artworks in museums. ☺️ I genuinely think we're untapped potential in the circular economy.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuKV5PEkf4aRdMEKBs by gooba42@mastodon.social
       2025-05-21T20:22:51Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird Even if they do slow the economy, the economy serves humanity and not the other way around.If humanity isn't served well and equally by the "fast" economy, it has no other reason to exist and we should be mercilessly pursuing a model that does serve us.Businesses have no right to life, they're supposed to die when they aren't good for people.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuLsMRzo9IsHDXIS1o by jhavok@mstdn.party
       2025-05-22T12:18:23Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird Farmhouse rustic home furnishing is a nice trend in that direction...until the manufacturers started making rustic style items.
       
 (DIR) Post #AuO2PXDaZpPs8llum8 by Laberpferd@sueden.social
       2025-05-23T13:20:24Z
       
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       @futurebird If i had translated right, i disagree in one detail...to see repairability as a sign of...luxury...This feels like saying poor people should buy cheap junk instead of "waste money" to buy the "luxury" of repairable itemsI would prefer if "quality" is an independ dimension (everyone can afford and should buy good quality) from luxury (is not needed to fulfil basic needs, but rich people buy luxury to show off their wealth)So, good quality and repairability for everyone, please
       
 (DIR) Post #AuugOHOCt1OO4SG1DM by econetwork@mas.to
       2025-06-08T07:19:08Z
       
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       @futurebird we would like to be the part of you do you mind connecting with new organization from Uganda.. we are called uganda Eco Youths Network
       
 (DIR) Post #AxFZZlPb45mBVNS91k by woody0660@mstdn.party
       2025-08-17T04:55:55Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird there are very few products in the world that are made to last. People are now getting used to throwing it away and buying another. Not many people even take the time to fix or repair things.Quality is a thing of the past. God I miss the 90's