‍

Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence have us in a disposable consumption cycle. But it hasn't always been this way. When and why did we stop thinking things were worth fixing?In this episode, we get a history lesson in planned obsolescence, visit Adrienne Ferre, who is helping run a Makers Hub in LA, complete with a tool library and repair cafes. And we catch up on Right to Repair legislation with Commons' founder and CEO Sanchali Seth Pal.

‍

• Listener contributions: Holly Kane, Katrina Rodabaugh, Maya Roman, Sare, Taylor Barkley, Verity
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Host and producer: Katelan Cunningham

‍

Here are some of the people you'll hear from in this episode:

‍

{{cta-join2}}

‍

Full Transcript

‍

Katelan (00:00):

Hey there. Welcome back to Second Nature, a podcast from Commons where we talk to people about how they're living sustainably in an unsustainable world.

[commercial] (00:13):

The singer Round Bobin economy model, it comes as both a gorgeous cabinet machine and in a portable style complete with handsome carrying case.

Katelan (00:23):

I was researching this episode and I came across this commercial that has really stuck with me.

[commercial] (00:30):

In addition, with either style you choose, you'll receive at no extra charge, the famous Singer Sewing course. Now let's look at some of the exciting new features of this singer Round Bobin economy model. There's the new Bobin winder that stops automatically when the bobin is full. The new numbered tension control that makes tension adjustments so much faster and simpler. The new hinged pressor foot that goes over heavy materials as easily and smoothly as fine fabrics. And this machine lets you finish off your sewing with a neat back tag stitch. The singer economy model is only 149.95 and the same machine in handy portable style is only 114 point 95. So try one of these singers in your home soon.

Katelan (01:20):

$114 and 95 cents.

Katelan (01:26):

That ad aired in 1954 when the US minimum wage was 75 cents. Working a full-time minimum wage job, you'd have to save about a month's worth of paychecks to buy that sewing machine. And back then sewing machines were a common household staple. So imagine my surprise when I found out that today you can buy a new singer sewing machine for as low as 150 bucks Since 1954 when that ad aired, the minimum wage is 10 times higher. And even though it's not keeping up with the cost of living, you could save for a modern sewing machine after less than a week of work on a minimum wage job. This sewing machine comparison stuck with me, not because sewing machines are repair champs, that's just a nice plus, or because everyone should own a sewing machine. It's because I think it shows how much more valuable products used to be. And I'm not just defining value by the price tag. If you take a look at that 1954 sewing machine, it's a whole piece of furniture. It's made from wood and metal. These things were designed to last indefinitely, designed to be heirlooms. Even some stuff used to be more expensive. Sure, but it was meant to last. And for it to last, it was designed to be fixed.

[commercial] (02:45):

Electrical appliances should be properly maintained. This consists of such factors as regular inspection, repair, cleaning and oiling. Electrical appliances should be carefully selected for sturdiness of construction and economy of operation. Why is selection and proper maintenance will assure long life of operating usefulness. If the damage is in the resistance wire or in the insulating material, the iron can be restored to usefulness by inserting a new heating unit. The vacuum cleaner is one of the common home appliances driven by a motor. If these brushes become worn down, replacement is easily made by unscrewing the cap over the spring, which holds the brush in position. The worn brush is then removed from the spring and a new brush is inserted.

Katelan (03:40):

The question of this episode, why don't we fix things anymore, is also a question about why we don't think things are worth fixing anymore and why are some things so hard to fix? I'm your host, Katelan Cunningham, and those are the questions we're going to get to the bottom of. On today's episode, with the help of Adrian Furry who started a Maker's hub here in Los Angeles, St. Charlie, St. Paul, who's giving us the what's what on the latest right to repair legislation and of course you our hands-on repair loving community. Let's get into it. Let's start things off with a quick history lesson on a planned obsolescence. It starts in 1924 when a light bulb manufacturer group agreed to limit the lifespan of bulbs significantly shorter than the previous standard. A few years later, general Motors introduced dynamic obsolescence to maintain sales as the market began to reach a saturation point. In 1929, economists Christine Frederick published selling Mrs. Consumer. It was a book that championed progressive obsolescence. She wrote the same thrill that women have always had over new clothes. Women are now also obtaining over replacement changes, reconstruction, new colors and forms. In 1932, real estate broker Bernard London called for the ending of the depression through planned obsolescence. He's known for coining the term, proposing that after predetermined amount of times some goods would be legally dead and need to be recalled, people would then buy new goods and quote, the wheels of industry would be kept going.

Katelan (05:35):

Of course, this tactic long outlived the depression. In 1954, industrial designer Brooks Stevens popularized the notion of planned obsolescence through advertising, instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary. This evolution of planned obsolescence, the idea that nothing is meant to be used forever, it continued to proliferate and give way to our disposable. Fast-paced buying cycles for everything from fashion to furniture to tech. Smartphones are often the poster child of planned obsolescence. Maybe you notice that after a few years your phone starts to get a little laggy or the battery doesn't last as long as it used to. Or at some point you can't even get the latest operating system on your older model, which limits the features you can use, which makes your phone more vulnerable to security risks. But it's not just tech.

Katelan (06:32):

You may have noticed that appliances don't last as long as they used to. And often, especially with fashion, it's cheaper to buy something new than it is to fix it. That's because companies don't plan on you keeping that stuff for very long. In fact, that's how they designed it. Apple is banking on you replacing that old iPhone when they show you the amazing must have features of the new one. Fashion brands don't need to make durable long lasting jeans if they plan to release a new jeans trend next month. Planned obsolescence relies on a fast consumer trend cycle and that trend cycle fuels perceived obsolescence. Maybe you were perfectly happy with your set of pots and pans, but then you see everyone on social media with really cute pots and pans. And then you look at yours and you think, I never realized how dingy these are. They're so basic and esthetic. I need new cute pots and pans right now. That's perceived obsolescence when a new thing makes it so that your old thing is basically dead to you. A disposable culture relies on this combination of our perceived obsolescence and companies planned obsolescence. And in this hamster wheel of obsolescence stuff doesn't need to last very long because soon enough we'll be on to the next thing.

Katelan (07:54):

Repairing things my friends, is how we put the brakes on the obsolescence hamster wheel. When something breaks or stops working how it used to, and instead of buying something new, we default to repair. We have to stop for a second and ask ourselves, why don't I like or use this thing as much as I used to? Is it that something's wrong with it or that my expectations of it have changed? How do I actually fix or change what I don't like about it? And that's why repairing things is a revolutionary act. Once seen as so essential, so mundane these days, repairing things means rejecting the new thing and keeping the stuff we already own out of landfills. It means pushing back on the idea that new stuff is inherently better or that it'll make us happier. Repairing means caring for our belongings and often in that process, loving them even more. And usually not always we're saving money too along the way. We may even build communities when we fix things with groups like sewing clubs or repair cafes or maker's hubs. And when we repair, we're forced to slow down a little too, which we learn so often on. This show is an important tenant of sustainability. When we talk to you, our community about your relationship with repair, we found out that y'all are repairing all kinds of things and you have a lot of generational knowledge to fall back on.

Katrina (09:23):

Why is repairing things important to me? Well, because um, without sounding dramatic, it changed my life. I have been mending textiles very seriously for about a decade. It actually took over my creative studio and my art practice in 2013 when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed in DACA Bangladesh. That next year I went on a fast fashion fast and didn't buy any new clothing for a year. And instead I focused on what I called make thrift mend, making simple garments, buying secondhand and mending what I already owned.

Maya (10:05):

My family raised me with a lot of sustainable practices without the word sustainable. It was just the way we did things.

Verity (10:14):

She brought up from about five learning to sew from my mom and my granny and that's also why I do textiles now,

Taylor (10:21):

Kind of growing up in a lower middle class family, if any of our clothes had tears or holes in them, my mom always them back together for us. Um, and teach me how to sew my own things as well so that we could always repair those types of things.

Holly (10:37):

I grew up with two engineers as parents and so I always feel quite confident repairing mechanical stuff and I quite enjoy that. My dad would always have like rope and duct tape in the boot of his car. And so I remember quite a few times him fixing things for us when they broke and that's actually quite fun memories for me,

Sare (11:00):

For my kids' toys. I always try and repair it. I've gotten really into repairing pullback cars and showing my kids how all the gears and little mechanisms work. It's been really fun for me too to just take stuff apart and see if I can fix it or at least see what's broken and whether I think it's fixable. I've also taken apart electronics to fix them, like a video display on a baby monitor I fixed, but sometimes there's like electronics or like wiring that I dunno how to fix. And for that we've taken stuff to a repair swap. There's a secondhand store near us called the Scrap exchange, which is really awesome. And they've started hosting repair workshops and we brought this toy from the 1980s that Radio Shack made that my wife's aunt and uncle found when they were moving and it was in great condition but it wasn't working and we took it there and someone just basically cleaned one piece of it and it started working again. And it was so much fun <laugh> for everyone and made me want to learn more about more restoring things even than repairing stuff that we have. Any tips for people feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by repairing?

Sare (12:17):

The worst thing that happens is you learn and you still need to either pay to get it repaired or figure out how to dispose of it responsibly so you can't break it worse. That's a great place to start.

Taylor (12:30):

Honestly. If I ever encounter anything that needs to be repaired, the first thing I go to is Google. It's a lot easier and more comforting to me to see like, oh, okay, it's not just me. Someone else has dealt with this and I can utilize the tools that they went through to solve the problem. I've also recently found a cobbler that I liked and so I have taken some of my shoes there to either get new soles placed on the shoes or for some of my dancing I dance in heels, so to get my heels fixed so that way they're more sturdy while I'm dancing.

Katrina (13:06):

Mending is such a metaphor for so many things, but it's also a creative act thinking about the basic elements of design, like line or color or value, like light or dark composition shape. Applying that to repairing textiles for me was this light bulb moment when the act of mending shifted from being a chore that was maybe akin to vacuuming or doing the dishes and became something that was more about creative expression.

Verity (13:35):

It's really fun and unique when you do some daring or sewing on something 'cause it adds like so much character and you can tell that you know it's been with you for a long time. The thing I've mended the most is a bag that I bought in flea market in Paris for about two euros and it's come with me every day since I bought it about three years ago. It keeps breaking at the bottom and I keep just sewing over it. And also the straps keep breaking. I keep sewing over it. Um, it's stripy so um, it's kind of a nice add to the look. But yeah, this bag will stay with me for life. I will not let it leave if it's a perfect bag. So I just have to keep fixing it.

Holly (14:16):

I wouldn't say I am materialistic, but I would say I care about my things a lot and I have a quite attachment to them. Like things will often hold, um, a lot of memories for me. If I've had something for a long time, I'm always very, um, hesitant to give it up. I would rather put in the effort sometimes too much <laugh> to get it working again or fix it up before, um, buying something new. Part of the motivation is about being attached to the things you own and not thinking of the things in your life as something that's disposable, but rather when you buy something like really believing that you're gonna have it for your whole entire life. Uh, I think when you have that care and attachment to your things, it's very easy to want to repair them.

Maya (15:04):

Knowing how to repair things is a form of resistance against corporate America. We don't have to throw away something after a couple wear and tears. We can fix it and we don't have to buy something new.

Katelan (15:26):

So many of the sustainable habits in our upbringings we're grounded in frugality and it sounds like repair is no different. It saves money when you can use something as many times and as long as possible. This made me think about how in rejecting perceptions of frugality we may be rejecting more sustainable ways of living.

Katelan (15:48):

We've talked a lot on this show about how over consumption is a big driver of the climate crisis. So what if we shifted perceived value away from money and newness and instead on something else? What if instead of thinking I don't need to get this thing fixed because I can afford to buy a new one, we thought I don't need to buy a new thing because this thing is valuable to me and it'll become more valuable when I take care of it. This reminds me of the story that Lauren Bass shared last year on our overconsumption episode about how she took her old hairdryer to get fixed at a repair cafe instead of buying the new fancy Dyson air wrap. That repair cafe was organized by her mom, Adrian, and she was the first person I thought of when picking an expert for this episode. Adrian Furry is the executive director of the Maker's Hub in Compton. In the past few years, the Maker's Hub has become an invaluable resource to give the community access to those tools, skills, information, and confidence they need to repair and DIY, anything and everything. And she's trying to create a blueprint for you to do it too.

Katelan (16:58):

Hey Adrianne, welcome to the show.

Adrianne (17:01):

Hi Katelan.

Katelan (17:02):

Could you tell us why and how you started the Maker's Hub?

Adrianne (17:07):

Yes. So I used to work for the sheriff's department. I'm now retired and a portion of the time that I worked there I oversaw the vocational programs at the jails. And the story that I'm about to tell you was not uncommon. I used to hear the story over and over again. I went into the wood shop and we had several shops. We had a wood shop, welding shops, bunch of different kinds of shops that the guys would learn vocational training. And I saw this unbelievable Adirondack chair sitting in the wood shop one day and at the foot of the chair was this little carved out rubber ducky. It was really charming and cute and the chair was extraordinary. So I asked the inmate, I go, Carlos, this chair's unbelievable, you know, and what's the story behind the rubber ducky? And so we went into conversation about the ducky and his daughter and all that.

Adrianne (17:56):

And then I go, why aren't you making these things when you get out? You know? Mm-hmm <affirmative> this is beautiful stuff. He says Sonna and he, he brings us hands out like this. I don't have tools like this. And the wood shop we had was extraordinary. It had every piece of wood shop equipment you can think of. Wow. And I heard that same story at the Well Shop and at the sign shop. A lot of very talented men in there. And they didn't have a way of making the stuff that they were good at once they got out. So they decided to sell other things and that's what, you know, kept bringing them in. So I reached out to the um, assistant director of the school system that did the programming there and we went out looking for a way to bridge that gap. It had to be somewhere that these guys could go.

Adrianne (18:39):

They just weren't looking hard enough, you know? So we were thinking, and we did find some places and they were called maker spaces, but these maker spaces, when we mapped 'em out where they were, were in pretty well off neighborhoods. And what we found is right in the center, south la you know, Hawthorne, Compton, just that whole center area right there, there wasn't anything. They had these things called maker spaces, but they were at the colleges or they were at little elementary schools that were more STEM related. They weren't really workshops, you know, like you think of a wood shop or a welding shop, things like that. The people who need the resources the most don't have resources. And it never occurred to me 'cause you've heard that over and over again, that disadvantaged communities don't have resources. But it didn't occur to me that they were tools.

Adrianne (19:26):

Right. I was thinking computers or whatever I was thinking. So we started thinking, okay, south la this whole area right here needs a maker space. Somehow my background's architecture and project management, I decided, okay, what would this thing look like? And I kind of drafted up some stuff when I, uh, met the woman in Compton. She says, Adrian, you gotta, you gotta do this here. Start finding out what the community wants for a makerspace. And so we did, you know, and I went to lots of community meetings. I met a lot of community leaders and had lots and lots of conversations before we, we did anything. And uh, we started by doing community events with tools that we had. So we were very lucky in get obtaining a grant very, very early. Oh, that's great. They gave us $25,000 worth of tools. Wow. With those tools. We started doing projects with the community and, and other volunteer groups, fences and remodeling spaces and stuff like that. So that's how we started.

Katelan (20:22):

That's beautiful. I feel like you guys have come a long way in like a short period of time. You have so many classes and resources. I was looking there sewing and tiling and plumbing and electrical. And I was wondering how do you choose the services and classes that you provide to the community?

Adrianne (20:41):

Well, when I did the initial surveying of what was the makerspace, when we developed what that was, it was gonna be like a 30,000 square foot facility. And when we did the budget of what that is, I go, that's a big building and a big project. What can we bring to the community that's a little more scalable? And that's when we decided to start tool lending library because there are 200 tool libraries across the nation, but there weren't any in Los Angeles at all. Mm. Thought let's start with a tool library. Maybe we can have like a little workshop area in the back. And so that's what we did. We started focusing on tool lending and the community would tell us, well, can you have workshops on this? Can you have workshop? So that's how we started. Yeah. Little. Yeah. And number one at the very beginning was sewing.

Adrianne (21:26):

There was a huge missing for sewing, which kind of surprised me. Yeah. But nevertheless, so we found a facility that would lease to us. 'cause that was one of the biggest problems. Somebody to even lease to a nonprofit that we found a facility to lease to us. And it was in dire needs. So on our board is one of the managers from Swinerton, and he was able to get their foundation to fund the renovations of the facility. And it took about a year between the time we did all the, uh, design and permits and the uh, the actual construction that took a year. We opened in, uh, June of 2024 mm-hmm <affirmative>. And as soon as we opened, every time people would come in, they would kind of tell us, oh, are you gonna have classes in this? Are you gonna have classes in that? So the community kind of told us what they wanted and we weren't far off.

Adrianne (22:19):

Right. So, yeah, DIY was big. They all wanted DIY classes and they wanted sewing classes and they wanted to know how to do like printing on t-shirts and things like, uh, that kind of printing. Yeah. So that's how, that's how our classes came to be. Then what happened after that is like, we just had a cricket class there, there was a woman that took sewing class and she says, you know, I'm really proficient at cricket and my experience is a lot of people have cricket machines, but they don't know how to use 'em. Yeah. So she volunteered to teach a class in cricket and we filled the class. A union electrician came by and she said, you know, I really wanna teach electricity to, to youth. I go, would you be willing to uh, teach like homeowners and youth? She goes, yes. And so she, we had a big class with her.

Adrianne (23:06):

I think there was 17 people in her class that was our biggest class ever. We all gave them props and two people per prop. And they all learned how to change switches and how to wire. And it surprises me to have these classes. Some of the things that I take for granted. You know, like holding a PLI or stripping some wire or something like that. Because you know, I, my background, I kind of just, that's just something that's always been there for me. So as we refine these classes, we are making sure that everybody knows how to actually use the tools, you know? Right. Like our first sewing class, we kind of assumed everybody knew how to thread a machine. No. Most people dunno how to throw a machine. <laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. We started from square one in most of our classes. Yeah. <laugh>,

Katelan (23:52):

I, I always appreciate the like, um, the tool aspect of it for sure. Just starting with how do you actually use this tool is such a big part of it. Okay. So y'all have the tool library where people can rent tools. You have classes and you also have repair clinics. I was wondering if you could explain what a repair clinic is and what kinds of things people bring into the repair clinic.

Adrianne (24:14):

Yes. We have a repair clinic. Actually, Los Angeles has quite a few of them too. So we're not the only ones. Mm. Please look for in your local neighborhood. And what they are is we have a variety of different repair coaches. People that can repair different things. Like we have three women, uh, they call themselves sewists. That's so different kinds of things. We have one that's very advanced. She's even able to REIT a sweater like you've ever had a run in your sweater? I know. Yeah.

Katelan (24:46):

Wow.

Adrianne (24:47):

The work that she does is unbelievable. She can darn socks, you know, an old craft that no one does anymore. We have people that fix electronics and appliances. We've have fixed many, many vacuums for some reason. Um, those bullets, those uh, ninja bullets, a lot of those have come in. And so we fix those, uh, chainsaws. We have fixed drawers in furniture and there's a group that partnered with us that comes with us now and they will change out your brake lights or your taillights. 'cause they say that's the number one reason that a cop will pull you over.

Katelan (25:26):

Interesting.

Adrianne (25:27):

And I'm hoping this next, uh, repair clinic that we have on May 24th at Luter Park, fingers crossed, I have no guarantees, but we're going to have car maintenance for women. That's really cool.

Katelan (25:37):

So

Adrianne (25:37):

There's a woman down in Costa Nassa, Angie Hernandez, and she teaches women basic things like how to change a tire, how to check all your fluids, computer diagnostics, and how to jumpstart a car, uh, change your oil and some underhood basics.

Katelan (25:55):

I will absolutely come to that class.

Adrianne (25:57):

I thought that's a good starting point that could save women a lot of money. Right.

Katelan (26:01):

You've said that one of the goals of the Maker's hub is to create replicable models for makerspace development that could be implemented in other communities. And I think lots of people listening would love to start a Maker's hub or even just a tool library or, or repair cafe where they live. So for folks listening, I wondered if you could maybe give us like a, a rough guide or like maybe some big learnings that you had whenever you started get getting things together or even now today.

Adrianne (26:27):

I didn't know what the hell I was getting myself into when I started this. Right. So, uh, everything was just a hit and miss and trying, you and I were talking earlier, there should be tool libraries everywhere. Yeah, I agree with you. It, you could have a tool library in somebody's garage, right. With just your neighborhood. Or you could have a network of who has all the tools. And then if you had some kind of homeowners association, if you knew so, so and so had a chainsaw, maybe you could go over there and borrow the chainsaw instead of buying all this stuff and it all accumulating in your garage taking space. You know, it's, it's just, yeah. It's consumerism at its worst.

Katelan (27:00):

Yes.

Adrianne (27:01):

And it prevents a lot of people from not even starting a project. If you watch a YouTube video and they've got 20 tools to make a whatever thing mm-hmm <affirmative>. And you don't have half of those tools, you might feel hopeless. There are two groups right now. There's one close to West Adam, I'm gonna say West Adam and the other one up in Altadena where the fires were. They have come to me and they wanted to start tool libraries up there. So I gave 'em what apps to use, who to contact the groups to get associated with. There's a Google group called Tool Libraries and they are, it's a boatload of information over there. Right. Wow. The app that we use to track inventories and members and stuff, it's called My Turn, you know, and, and I'd say 95% of the tool libraries across the nation use my turn Okay.

Adrianne (27:44):

For their inventory and for their memberships. So those are some basic things I gotta tell you. Getting the tools donated, not the new tools, but don't, oh my gosh. That is the, like, the easiest thing ever. You, you tell people that you need some tools and tools will show up. I promise you that we have an abundance of tools that come up. What you do need though is someone to vet the tools to make sure they're safe. You don't wanna be loaning out tools that don't have the modern safety features. And some, a lot of the older tools don't have like the little button that you have to press before you click the thing. So we won't rent those out. Right. We will give them away if somebody wants them, you know, but mm-hmm <affirmative>. We're not gonna rent 'em out. Like I mentioned earlier, the makerspace that we're looking to create is much larger.

Adrianne (28:30):

We really want, uh, like a community building that has a full wood shop and a full machine shop and welding shop. And the community also asked for a culinary maker space so that these cottage industries that are really limited by the size of their kitchen. Yeah. Right. If they had a commercial kitchen, you get the idea. Right. It's like, like a no brainer. Imagine what they could do. They could really grow their businesses. Right, right. So there was that, and then of course Compton, you gotta have music and multimedia. You got to right. Because that's mm-hmm <affirmative>. What they're famous for. So they did ask for multimedia studios and be able to do podcasts or create music, robotics, uh, virtual reality, uh, augmented reality. All those kinds of spaces and equipment that you need to move forward in those technologies will be available for you to play with and explore and see if it's even something you wanna get into, you know? Yeah.

Katelan (29:27):

Yeah.

Adrianne (29:28):

That's the dream. <laugh>,

Katelan (29:31):

I'm, I'm excited for you. I see the vision and I'm just really grateful that you're in the community and that you're here giving people the confidence to fix things or to start their own thing or just to even change a tire <laugh> that which will be me after, after that session.

Adrianne (29:47):

Most people know about planned obsolescence, but once upon a time, there was a time when products were built to last forever. Yeah. There was a show that I saw one time that nylons, you know, le legging nylons for women back in the, uh, 19 hundreds <laugh>, their commercials or their advertisements was like, you couldn't poke a a pencil through it. Wow. Right. Because they were meant to last. Right. <laugh>, it was meant,

Katelan (30:13):

Yeah.

Adrianne (30:13):

And that's all changed now. Right now it's just a disposable economy and we're in a lot of trouble with all of that stuff environmentally, right? Yeah. Earth is suffering.

Katelan (30:23):

Well, we need more maker's hubs. We need more repair cafes and tool libraries. So thank you very, very much for all your insight and your resources. This has been really great.

Adrianne (30:33):

Thank you. Caitlin.

Katelan (30:42):

If that's not motivation enough to get you repairing, we've got something else for you. Especially if you're a person who's motivated by being told you can't do something. The decline in repair culture, it's not all on us, the individuals. We talked about how companies are using planned obsolescence to get us to buy more, but companies have also straight up blocked access to repairs through third parties or even individuals. That's where right to repair laws come to save the day. So I called up Sanchali Seth Pal to talk about the state of things. Welcome back, Sanchali.

Sanchali (31:23):

Hi Katelan. It's good to be back.

Katelan (31:25):

I'm excited to dive into Right to Repair because there has been a lot of good progress happening lately it seems.

Sanchali (31:32):

Absolutely.

Katelan (31:33):

All right, let's start with the basics. What is a right to repair law and why do we need them?

Sanchali (31:39):

A right to repair? Law basically says that companies that sell certain products need to provide consumers and repair shops with the tools, parts, and documentation they need to be able to repair their products. They also say that companies can't penalize you for repairing your own items.

Katelan (31:54):

Interesting. How would a company penalize someone for repairing a product that they already own?

Sanchali (32:01):

Well, a company could void your insurance for that item or even break your device. It seems extreme, but let's take an example. In 2016, apple updated its operating system for its iPhones and the operating system would notice if your home button was repaired by an unofficial company. If that happened, an error would pop up and it would actually break your phone.

Katelan (32:22):

That is wild. I would be so upset. Like, you already own this device and remotely the company has broken it.

Sanchali (32:29):

I know. It is so, so crazy. And later Apple actually unbroke the iPhones and issued an apology. But still,

Katelan (32:37):

Yeah. This just makes me think like right to repair feels so obvious like it's basic customer service. Why were companies getting in the way of repairs in the first place? Why did we ever need this kind of law to enforce right to repair?

Sanchali (32:51):

Well, it's a big business to sell stuff. Companies are incentivized to have us buy more and more and more. They can charge us more to buy a new phone every year rather than just repairing our old ones. And if we do get stuff repaired, companies want to have the exclusive right to repair those things For us. In the US the repair industry is huge. It's expected to be up to $2 trillion this year. It's most lucrative for higher value products like tech, automobiles and machinery. But basically without these types of right to repair laws, manufacturers have a monopoly on their sectors of the repair industry.

Katelan (33:26):

They can also get in the way of repairs with things like proprietary parts too. Right,

Sanchali (33:32):

Exactly. In the past, manufacturers of high value, innovative products like phones, but also computers, cars, tractors, they would claim that copyright law gave them the exclusive right to repair. So if your iPhone broke, apple would be like the parts and information of how our phones work is proprietary. So we're the only ones who can fix it. Or Tesla does this. They say, our cars are so unique and different, no one else can fix them. If you attempt to fix it or get it fixed by anyone else, we can sue you.

Katelan (33:59):

I mean, I can see how this is specialized knowledge, but it probably makes repairs very expensive.

Sanchali (34:05):

Totally. It makes repairs really expensive and it has another problem. All those specialized parts can create a lot of unnecessary waste machines and technology parts are made of so many different kinds of plastics and metals. Recycling them is super difficult. And if you have to buy new ones every year, then it creates a ton of waste. Globally, we generated over 50 million tons of e-waste in 2019, and we only collected and recycled 17% of it. So if we can have more standardized parts and repair procedures and throw less stuff out, it's more efficient. And a great example of legislation for this was in 2022, the EU passed a law that all smartphones and tablets need to be compatible with USBC chargers. And in the US and California and April, 2023, we passed a similar law.

Katelan (34:51):

This makes me so happy. I, I feel like lots of people have that box of cords that you don't know how to get rid of that you probably never use again. Because every new device that you buy comes with a different cord that doesn't work with the other one.

Sanchali (35:03):

Oh my gosh, that's so relatable. I have that too. And I feel like that's just like a little example of this. If we have that cord box, imagine what like automobile manufacturers have, it's probably so much more and companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions of dollars blocking the kind of legislation that gives consumers the right to repair.

Katelan (35:23):

What kind of companies are we talking here?

Sanchali (35:25):

They might be the ones you expect. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Tesla, T-Mobile, at and t, eBay.

Katelan (35:32):

So lots of tech phone carriers and some appliances.

Sanchali (35:37):

Yeah. Yeah. Appliances too. Like ge, they make lots of different kinds of equipment and appliances. In 2018, they actually apparently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat a single right to repair bill in New York. And companies are spending a lot of money lobbying against these efforts because if they can't be the only ones to repair the products, they stand to lose out on a lot of money too. Right.

Katelan (35:57):

And I imagine that fewer people even get things repaired through manufacturers because it's not accessible either because it is very expensive or they literally like can't get to the store to do it. So people might just wait and opt to buy new device instead. Totally.

Sanchali (36:11):

But it's starting to feel like there's some momentum on the other side too. As of March of this year, right to repair bills have been introduced in all 50 states in the US and 20 of them are actually with state legislators Now. Some of those laws are focused on car manufacturing, but others are more general for all consumer electronics.

Katelan (36:28):

Where are right to repair laws already active

Sanchali (36:32):

In the US laws have already been passed in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, New York, and Oregon.

Katelan (36:38):

Yes. Love some progress. How are other countries doing on the right to repair front?

Sanchali (36:44):

The EU is honestly really far ahead. They passed the most progressive legislation on this yet last year. It goes above and beyond what's happening in the us. It actually creates incentives for companies to repair and it goes all the way to production. It says companies should actually be designing products from the beginning that are easier to repair. They also have rules about new parts needing to be standardized and repairable at any shop to lower the barriers to entry for small businesses. And it's not just the eu. Lots of other countries are making progress even across the global South Uganda, South Africa, Brazil, India and Taiwan are examples.

Katelan (37:18):

So it sounds like we're on our way to a much more repairable future.

Sanchali (37:23):

Yes. It definitely feels like we're at a turning point and that there's a whole wave of sort of new countries making progress and innovation, suggesting there's another way to do this. Companies can make money even if we keep our phones for longer and we can repair our cars at any shop.

Katelan (37:39):

So standardization and accessibility, which are tenants of right to repair. Those don't have to hinder innovation.

Sanchali (37:46):

Exactly. And we can push big companies to innovate in a way that enables the long life of products through repair.

Katelan (37:53):

I love it. I'm all in. Thank you Central.

Sanchali (37:55):

Thanks, Katelan.

Katelan (38:02):

The next time you default to repair by sewing on a button or replacing the blade in your blender or repairing your phone screen, pat yourself on the back because that my friend is a huge sustainable action. It's a resistance of the dominant consumption based economy and an investment in a circular one.

Katelan (38:25):

That could be a financial investment. Maybe you took your old boots to a local cobbler, but it could also be an investment of time and skill. Those skills are valuable. The next time that thing breaks, you know how to fix it, not just for yourself, but for your neighbor or your friend. If you're looking for the motivation or confidence or resources to get to fixing, look for local maker's, hubs like Adrian's or repair cafes in your area. You can probably also find local swimming classes or basic car repair classes. I'm so thankful for these kinds of repair communities and for the community here on this show. On today's episode, you heard from [credits].

Katelan (39:04):

If you wanna be part of our Instagram community, we'd love to see you there. You can find us at Second Nature Earth. This episode was edited and engineered by Evan Goodchild. It was written and produced by yours truly, Kaitlyn Cunningham. We'll be back here next Wednesday, same time, same place. Be sure to subscribe and follow so you don't miss us. Peace.

‍