The Right To Repair. Inspiration Monday!

Catherine: 00:00:00

Well, hello, this is inspiration.

Catherine: 00:00:02

Monday.

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Today's inspirations are taken from the right to repair and repair cafes with Jackie Carter, a librarian who opened up the first repair cafe in the state of Idaho.

Catherine: 00:00:13

Good job.

Catherine: 00:00:14

Included are patrons, Dale, Cory and Rochelle.

Catherine: 00:00:18

Episodes 6, 7, and 145.

Catherine: 00:00:21

The founder of North Balwyn's Repair Cafe in Australia, Andrew Tynan, and the event coordinator Anne Davey share their inspirations along with repair cafe patron, Albert episode 33

Catherine: 00:00:33

Earth to Autism teams up with repair cafe and Dr.

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Leanne Sculli along with repair cafe patrons episode 58.

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And Kaz and known globally as, Mend It Australia, share their philosophies.

Catherine: 00:00:47

Episode 32, as well as another episode coming soon.

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Repair cafes are opening up all over the world and legislation is being passed globally regarding the right to repair.

Catherine: 00:00:59

Consumers are eager to have their belongings fixed.

Catherine: 00:01:03

The right to repair and repair cafe.

Catherine: 00:01:05

Go hand in hand with what consumers want as well as what is good for sustainability and our earth.

Catherine: 00:01:15

Listeners welcome to inspiration, Monday.

Catherine: 00:01:19

Repair Cafe and The Right To Repair.

Jackie Carter: 00:01:22

I try to do as much as I can, but I feel like, I've never done enough.

Catherine: 00:01:26

My mission of course, is to bring the world of positive imprints to my listeners and to inspire listeners, to find their own positive imprints.

Jackie Carter: 00:01:35

We want the visitors to learn how to repair things themselves so that they can start to think about their belongings differently.

Jackie Carter: 00:01:43

This isn't something I just toss away; it can probably be fixed.

Danny: 00:01:47

We can look after ourselves.

Danny: 00:01:49

We can go forward by ourselves.

Danny: 00:01:51

We don't need the close scrutiny that comes with local government and corporate.

Danny: 00:01:58

They want to try and keep us in a box so they can say, right, this is how you're going to live your life.

Danny: 00:02:04

We just want to get out there and preach the right to repair.

Kaz: 00:02:09

The model was taking repair out into the community and making it more formalized.

Jackie Carter: 00:02:16

We've been programmed to just to see everything as being disposable.

Kaz: 00:02:22

That's our platform Right to repair movement the right to repair.

Andrew: 00:02:26

One of the angles that I was interested in, when I started this up was, related to problem solving.

Jackie Carter: 00:02:31

The common mindset now is, and I think we've been driven into this idea that you buy something and it's only supposed to last a couple of years, and then you just get the newest model, and that benefits

Andrew: 00:02:54

The consequences of throwaway society it's, uh, it stopped working.

Andrew: 00:02:57

I need to throw it out and buy a new one.

Andrew: 00:02:59

Is the standard response.

Andrew: 00:03:00

There's another way.

Catherine: 00:03:01

Yeah, and nobody wants to replace their items before it's time..

Jackie Carter: 00:03:06

The right to repair movement.

Jackie Carter: 00:03:07

If something goes wrong with, with your iPhone or your your iPad or something, you are not allowed to fix it.

Jackie Carter: 00:03:13

You have to take it to them and they will repair it or replace the part, whatever at a big cost to you.

Danny: 00:03:22

corporate greed.

Albert: 00:03:24

It's a really good initiative.

Catherine: 00:03:25

What is repair cafe?

Corey: 00:03:27

I don't want things to be thrown away.

Corey: 00:03:28

I'd rather keep reusing things.

Catherine: 00:03:30

In 2009, Martina Postma started the first repair cafe in the Netherlands.

Catherine: 00:03:36

It has reached almost every continent.

Jackie Carter: 00:03:38

There's actually a thing called planned obsolescence.

Jackie Carter: 00:03:43

When something is manufactured it's designed to fail within a couple of years so that the consumer is forced to replace it.

Catherine: 00:03:53

I need to change my ways as well.

Anne: 00:03:56

So many people donate us old curtains and sheets and things.

Anne: 00:04:01

We make the boomerang bags for shopping.

Anne: 00:04:04

It's a reusable bag it's got our logo on it.

Kaz: 00:04:07

I try and refashion re-purpose, cut up textiles, reuse them for something else.

Catherine: 00:04:14

Refashioning and repurposing I think these are buzzwords

Jackie Carter: 00:04:19

things aren't made to last.

Jackie Carter: 00:04:20

And I think that's part of what the, the right to repair movement is about.

Danny: 00:04:24

beach supermarkets have banned single use plastic bags.

Patron: 00:04:28

They have people bring things like bicycles and electronics.

Danny: 00:04:34

Is it catching on?

Danny: 00:04:35

I think in areas it is, but in other areas, people just, haven't got that scope to see what's in front of them.

Jackie Carter: 00:04:44

If you attempt to do it yourself or get someone to do it, then it voids your warranty.

Jackie Carter: 00:04:48

People are okay with that until they stop and think, well, I own this.

Jackie Carter: 00:04:51

I paid a lot of money for this.

Jackie Carter: 00:04:52

It's mine, and I should be able to do what I want with it.

Catherine: 00:04:55

The right to repair, I think would certainly support a much healthier competition, worldwide

Kaz: 00:05:00

With textiles, is that connection of the mending and how that can be a bit spiritual in a way

Jackie Carter: 00:05:08

sustainability is a really big deal.

Rochelle: 00:05:10

People they're being encouraged to just buy clothes and throw them away and buy them and throw them away.

Danny: 00:05:14

When you buy something it's yours, there shouldn't be any restrictions on what you can do with that item once you're handed your hard-earned money over the counter.

Catherine: 00:05:25

Volunteers for repair cafes repair your items.

Danny: 00:05:28

I'm quite happy to give up my time to save that item from being thrown away.

Danny: 00:05:34

And I think that's what I'd like to see more.

Jackie Carter: 00:05:37

It's going to cost you, $75 to fix, but if you fixed it yourself or took it to someone else, it might be 10 or $15.

Andrew: 00:05:44

You see the younger guys coming through the formal education process.

Andrew: 00:05:48

But in terms of skills and experience in getting a problem and trying to work their way through the problem, I think we're sort of developing , a society that's getting less opportunity to do that.

Andrew: 00:06:00

And that's part of this throwaway society.

Kaz: 00:06:02

Europe they've um, leading the way really, not just with the Right to Repair but also looking at repairability, design of products.

Catherine: 00:06:11

Break your throwaway habit.

Jackie Carter: 00:06:13

They intentionally make things so that they don't last as long.

Jackie Carter: 00:06:17

And so the consumer is forced to replace it and to spend more money.

Kaz: 00:06:21

There is issues around bureaucrats trying to stop us from fixing our things.

Corey: 00:06:28

When I heard about this, I wanted to tear other people's stuff apart and fix it.

Catherine: 00:06:33

Earth to autism, Inc.

Catherine: 00:06:36

On a mission to help adults with autism.

Catherine: 00:06:39

Repair cafe is a place in which volunteers gain experience

Lauren: 00:06:43

the repair cafe it's a chance for them to practice what they're learning.

Jackie Carter: 00:06:49

They don't make them like they used to.

Jackie Carter: 00:06:51

And there's a reason for that.

Catherine: 00:06:53

We do need some initiative to move things in a different direction.

Danny: 00:06:57

Repair Cafe is a bit of that bartering.

Danny: 00:07:02

I've got my skills.

Danny: 00:07:04

You bring in your broken item.

Danny: 00:07:06

I'll fix it for you and you can walk out the door and I'm happy to do that.

Dale: 00:07:10

I have a paper shredder here that will run in reverse, but wasn't running forward.

Dale: 00:07:14

So this kind, gentlemen, Corey here is fixing it for me.

Patron: 00:07:18

This lady was converting her VHS tapes to DVDs and I retracked the tapes that were on it.

Patron: 00:07:25

Just because the zipper split, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's should be tossed away.

Kaz: 00:07:30

There is a term for that which we call here, uh, a true materialism.

Kaz: 00:07:37

Materialistic people think materialistic is just consumerism, whereas true, true materialism is about loving the things that you have.

Rochelle: 00:07:47

Whether you spent like $500 on a beautiful cashmere sweater, or whether you spent 20 bucks, you could still fix that thing.

Catherine: 00:07:53

I definitely appreciate my mom's sewing even more after mending this.

Albert: 00:07:58

It's definitely a sentimental element to it.

Patron: 00:08:00

I'm very happy.

Patron: 00:08:01

That's repaired.

Danny: 00:08:02

And when you turn that switch on and the lamp works, or the toaster works or whatever, the big smile comes on their face.

Danny: 00:08:10

And that's one of the most rewarding things for doing these repair cafes is looking across the other side of the table and seeing that result.

Catherine: 00:08:21

Wait!

Catherine: 00:08:22

Don't toss it!

Catherine: 00:08:23

Repair it.

Danny: 00:08:25

If you can find someone that can repair it better than what the system can, why not?

Andrew: 00:08:31

There's a lot of things you could do that are actually simple fixes to get something functional rather than just throwing away and buying a new one.

Corey: 00:08:38

It's a shame to see some of this stuff thrown away that's easily fixed.

Danny: 00:08:42

Karen has made Singleton t-shirts into carry bags and I take them into the supermarket.

Danny: 00:08:49

The remarks I get oh, that's a great idea.

Danny: 00:08:52

Oh, I wouldn't have thought of that.

Rochelle: 00:08:54

Being responsible stewards of the materials once we have them.

Dale: 00:08:56

That was my goal.

Dale: 00:08:57

Not to have to replace it.

Catherine: 00:08:58

Learned helplessness,

Jackie Carter: 00:09:00

I think no matter where you are, politically or financially, what scale you're on, we can all agree that saving money is a good thing and not having to spend money, replacing something all the time.

Albert: 00:09:12

It's a win-win for everyone in the environment.

Kaz: 00:09:15

Don't become intentionally helpless.

Kaz: 00:09:17

Stand up and fight for your right to tinker your right to repair.

Catherine: 00:09:23

It is unsustainable for the earth for us to continue throwing things away when there are alternatives.