
Repair is a Radical Act - fisherjeff
http://www.patagonia.com/us/worn-wear
======
fernly
Repair Cafe is a volunteer organization that applies exactly this insight by
holding free "repair cafe" events in which volunteer fixers fix anything for
free. There are many local branches, if you are a fixer, volunteer for the
next one near you. Bikes, electronics, toys. At the Palo Alto one several
women bring sewing machines and fix garments.

Original organization is Dutch:
[http://repaircafe.org/](http://repaircafe.org/)

Original in English: [http://repaircafe.org/en/](http://repaircafe.org/en/)

Belge: [http://www.repaircafe.be/nl/](http://www.repaircafe.be/nl/)

Palo Alto: [http://www.repaircafe-paloalto.org/](http://www.repaircafe-
paloalto.org/)

Portland, OR: [http://repairpdx.org/](http://repairpdx.org/)

Pasadena, CA:
[https://www.facebook.com/RepairCafe](https://www.facebook.com/RepairCafe)

~~~
pascalmahe
List of Repair Cafes:
[http://repaircafe.org/en/visit/](http://repaircafe.org/en/visit/)

I was pleasantly surprised to find one in my current city of residence:
[http://repaircafe-lemans.org/](http://repaircafe-lemans.org/)

------
quanticle

        While some companies, like Ricoh, DeWalt, Caterpillar and Lenovo have made 
        repair and remanufacturing a staple of their business model, 
    

This is why I continue to buy Lenovo, even though it can be argued that
overall quality and durability of a Thinkpad isn't what it used to be when IBM
still owned the brand. When I buy a Thinkpad (like the T440s I bought last
year), I am reasonably assured that if something breaks, I can take it apart
by myself and replace or repair the individual broken component, rather than
having to throw out the whole laptop and buy a new one. Lenovo publishes the
bill-of-materials for its laptops online, as well as the repair manual, which
makes things a lot easier when trying to match parts. Just this weekend, I
"repaired" my laptop's inability to receive 5Ghz wifi signals by replacing the
stock 802.11 b/g/n wireless card with a 802.11 ac part. If this had been a Mac
or an ultrabook, I would have just had to deal with the limitations of the
hardware as it was.

~~~
pjc50
You're unconcerned about Superfish etc?

~~~
yourijiu
Disregard the other Superfish comments.

All 5 Lenovo Laptops we had (replaced since then) had a BIOS Rootkit by
Lenovo.

NO clean Os, no fancy AV will be of any use. If your not in the mood to
rewrite your bios Lenovo will (has proven to)use this backdoor to secretly
install malware again and again as they have done again since superfish.

Furthermore it'll leave a big backdoor for everyone right to the core since
they abused one of Microsofts Bios features.

Contrary to Lenovos statement: "(ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, Lenovo Desktop,
ThinkStation, ThinkServer and System x products are not impacted.) "

The ARE infected, just not every single one. The lesson they took from
Superfish was to secretly install more spy/ad/crapware a couple months later.

I think it's safe to say that no Lenovo product can be trusted.

~~~
raverbashing
Do you have a source/description for that?

~~~
0xcde4c3db
Parent is probably referring to Lenovo's use of the Windows Platform Binary
Table, which allows OEMs to put a Windows program in the firmware. Recent
versions of Windows will then automatically run this program on each boot.
This is apparently intended to allow persistent remote management/anti-theft
software.

[http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2015/Aug/44](http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2015/Aug/44)

[http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2015/08/lenovo...](http://arstechnica.com/information-
technology/2015/08/lenovo-used-windows-anti-theft-feature-to-install-
persistent-crapware/)

~~~
yourijiu
Yes ... Microsoft even changed the guidelines since Lenovo gave a good example
how it shouldn't be done.

Others can just piggy-back on the LSE and run malware undetected.

some links i pulled up quick:

[http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/lenovo-and-
superfis...](http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/lenovo-and-superfish-
penetrate-the-heart-of-a-computers-security/)

[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/14/lenovo-
ser...](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/14/lenovo-service-
engine-pre-installed-security-superfish)

[http://www.computerworld.com/article/2984889/windows-
pcs/len...](http://www.computerworld.com/article/2984889/windows-pcs/lenovo-
collects-usage-data-on-thinkpad-thinkcentre-and-thinkstation-pcs.html)

Trust is earned not given, and they did a hell of a job to make sure it's
lost. I don't have the time (why should i waste time with this in the first
place) nor the patience to check every Lenovo product down to the bios.

My first expierience was with a customers laptop about 3 month before
Superfish hit the media. Remote location no inet access ... so removing all
the malware by hand took about 6 hours and a mental breakdown since some
pieces just came back again and again.

I suspected a hidden system recovery partition that would reload some malware
functions... don't ask how much time was wasted all in all.

Edit: If you used a Lenovo PC and did any sensitive stuff like online banking,
thanks to their MiM attack, they phished your logins and other data or you are
willing to believe they put in all this work - compromitting https/hiding in
Bios (maybe HDD Firmware, too) to just replace an ad here and there and
suuuurely delete anything of ... real value.... that gets cought by _accident
/technical impossibility to filter_.

------
famousactress
I want to add an anecdote to inject some reality into this discussion. I
bought a wetsuit from Patagonia in 2009 (I think). They were super new to the
wetsuit industry and I paid 300+$ during their "half price" sale. Full price
was ~600$ and 300 was the price for the top of the line "money is no object"
wetsuit.

For someone who surfs a lot (me) wetsuits traditionally last about three
years/seasons. Last year my patagonia wetsuit was showing it's age and I
brought it to the store. They sent it to their repair shop and the repair
folks re-taped every seam, put new knee patches in and installed a new car-
key-loop (original suit lacked one) _free of charge_.

The neoprene is starting to break down and the suit isn't as warm as it used
to be. I anticipate I'll get this season out of it and maybe 1-2 more.

The company is fanatical about the quality of the products they produce and
even more fanatical about their support/repair for those products.

~~~
jschwartzi
The cool thing about running a service center for your products is that you
can learn all of their failure modes.

------
acd
This brings be to the area of new cell phones. Not good for the environment
global warming. Consumer electronics are designed to be replaced which is bad
for the environment.

See planned Obsolescence
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence)

I do not buy that you cannot make a good looking cell phone that is sturdy and
allows for component replacement.

The Apple Macbook unibody 2009-2012 has metal screws, you can replace the
battery, the memory the storage. Same aluminium metal design with Philips
screws must be also be usable on cell phone designs.

Here is a list of smart phone repairability scores.
[https://www.ifixit.com/smartphone-
repairability](https://www.ifixit.com/smartphone-repairability)

Its also conscious to think about the electronic waste and that products we
design today are not designed to be recycled. It should be easy for a robot to
disassemble all the components of electronic devices and reuse most of the raw
materials so that we have a closed loop where do pollute more as new and
faster designs are out.

~~~
sokoloff
> I do not buy that you cannot make a good looking cell phone that is sturdy
> and allows for component replacement.

You absolutely can. And your competitor can build one that's a little bit
smaller, a little bit lighter, a little bit more beautiful, and you'll be
competing on sustainability while your competitor is competing on "new and
cooler".

Unfortunately, I'd bet on your competitor in that scenario.

~~~
AnthonyMouse
> And your competitor can build one that's a little bit smaller, a little bit
> lighter, a little bit more beautiful

People keep saying this because it's the excuse given by companies who do it
(and who may have ulterior motives). But is there any technical reason why it
should be true? How much "thickness" does a modular battery connector _really_
add?

More to the point, it assumes that all customers want exactly the same thing,
which is pure bunkum. If all your competitors are solely selling tiny shiny
delicate objects that lose 100% of their value upon battery ageing or
collision with the ground then there will be some large minority of the market
that will stand in line to get something which is 12% heavier because it's
more modular and durable than that, and you would be able to claim that entire
market segment by providing it.

~~~
sokoloff
You're absolutely right that the market isn't homogenous in terms of what they
want.

I would suggest that Otterbox and Lifeproof have taken most of the "12%
heavier and more durable" market today.

~~~
AnthonyMouse
A rugged case solves the durability problem; what do I do when the battery
needs replaced?

------
mc32
Maybe as the CEO of a clothing company I hope she can effect change in the
seasonal nature of fashion, so that people aren't pushed to buy new clothes
every year --and that clothes be made to last more then one season (via
velocity of fashion, or via making compromised clothing fashionable (acid
wash, tears, rips, etc...)

People who darn and patch already do what she proposes. It may take off with
others, but she can make the industry be less about churning fashion and
making things more durable (quality-wise and trend-wise). I mean, what does it
matter how durable you make something, physically, if things aren't durable,
fashion-wise?

PS. It wasn't "radical" before the 70s, as I understand it. It was typical.

~~~
famousactress
That's literally happening at Patagonia and has been for more than twenty
years.

It's worth reading Yvonne's book [1]. In it, he talks about Patagonia clothes
becoming fashionable in the 80's which led to a spike in demand, then a trough
when fashion shifted and layoffs which deeply hurt him and the company. The
reaction was to focus severely on attracting customers that were using the
products for utility and to discourage others from purchasing. Wonder why you
can't buy everything Patagonia makes in black, like you can for anything North
Face? This is why. Wondering why effectively everything they make with a hood
has an oversized hood that fits a helmet instead of being geared to bay geeks
that have to walk two blocks from their Uber in the rain? This is why.

[1] [http://www.amazon.com/Let-People-Surfing-Education-
Businessm...](http://www.amazon.com/Let-People-Surfing-Education-
Businessman/dp/0143037838)

~~~
Camillo
> The reaction was to focus severely on attracting customers that were using
> the products for utility and to discourage others from purchasing. Wonder
> why you can't buy everything Patagonia makes in black, like you can for
> anything North Face? This is why.

What? A black waterproof coat is dorky, it makes you look like a walking
garbage bag. I should know, I have one (it was the only color left in my
size). They are popular with people who have to wear them on the job, though,
because they look "professional" (I don't mean a cool, adventurous job like
mountain helicopter rescue who can wear a red and orange coat, think instead
of a security guard who has to patrol the same block all day in the rain.)

> Wondering why effectively everything they make with a hood has an oversized
> hood that fits a helmet instead of being geared to bay geeks that have to
> walk two blocks from their Uber in the rain? This is why.

First off, do you not understand how Uber works? Second, you think bay geeks
don't wear helmets when they go mountain biking or snowboarding? If anything,
they need an even bigger hood to fit their GoPro.

You know, that Patagonia post, obvious brand marketing though it is, was
actually working. "Patagonia sure cares about the environment and making
sturdy, quality goods like in the good old days", I thought. But now, thanks
to your comment, my subconscious will instead remember that "Patagonia are a
bunch of sanctimonious jerks". Congratulations on ruining it!

~~~
mipapage
Maybe read the book rather than let this person 'ruin it for you'.

~~~
Camillo
I was talking about the "Repair is a Radical Act" post, and my position, like
I said, is that it is brand marketing. Therefore, I am not going to make any
active effort: I expect the message to be regurgitated directly into my
gullet.

~~~
mipapage
Sure, I don't think they have ever hid the fact that they play the game, what
they are trying to do is play it in a responsible manner. Yvon Chouinard's
book is worth a read, it's a fine line to tread and, in my opinion, lazy to
take the cynical way out. (Not that I think you are!)

~~~
famousactress
Yeah. Definitely don't let me ruin it for you. The snotty examples were mine,
not his. I'm the sanctimonious asshole.

------
mattnewport
I appreciate companies making repairable products, providing repair manuals
and avoiding proprietary screws etc. but I think it's overly simplistic to say
repair is the default right choice.

It makes sense to strive for efficiency. In some cases repair is the most
efficient choice but in others it is not. There are always tradeoffs and
sometimes durability and repairability are over-engineering for a particular
use case. Individuals are not necessarily well placed to determine the most
efficient choices directly. Prices act as a mechanism to incorporate
information on efficiency of resource use and cheap disposable items are cheap
in part because they take fewer resources to manufacture and transport. If
they are sufficiently durable for their intended use then they may well be the
efficient choice.

~~~
mipapage
Sadly, I doubt that manufacturers are consciously thinking about durability
and (more-so) repairability when planning.

"In some cases repair is the most efficient choice but in others it is not." I
doubt that choice - one way or another -is being made very often.

If a tradeoff has been made, then it would be great to have that knowledge as
a consumer and thus be able to make an informed decision.

~~~
vlehto
Current trend in business to business trades is to rent the stuff you
previously sold. Like pump manufacturer who previously sold pumps might now
sell "liquid flow" and charge by cubic meter. Everybody wins.

------
studentrob
I live in Asia and can always find a shoe guy or garment lady to fix my stuff
for $1-$5. They are found in market stalls or the side of the road somewhere.
You can't find as many of these "tiny businesses" in developed countries,
perhaps because licensing costs too much to make it profitable, licensing
isn't permitted for street vendors, varying climate doesn't make it as easy
year-round, or ... Anyway, I really like this about Asia in 2015 and wish it
were more prevalent in the US

~~~
gherkin0
> perhaps because licensing costs too much to make it profitable, licensing
> isn't permitted for street vendors, varying climate doesn't make it as easy
> year-round, or ...

I'm not sure that someone would be able to make a living in the US repairing
everyday imported clothing items. The few times I tried to get something
repaired by a tailor stop in the US, the cost at US wages was a significant
fraction of what it would cost to buy a brand new replacement (made overseas
at much lower wages). Admittedly, those were complicated repairs, but everyday
clothing is just so cheap (in price and quality) that repairing it doesn't
make sense.

~~~
rukuu001
> the cost at US wages was a significant fraction of what it would cost to buy
> a brand new replacement

This is why I get the highest-quality stuff I can and repair it.

Instead of replacing mediocre things every year or two, I have a few superb
things that I spend $100-$200 a year maintaining (total, not each).

~~~
lmm
I'd be surprised if that ends up cheaper once you take into account the
inconvenience of arranging repairs.

~~~
jschwartzi
It absolutely does. Four years ago I replaced a cheap stamped-steel chef's
knife bought for 20.00 with a forged knife bought for 100. I have to keep it
sharp and hone the edge, but so far I haven't had to replace it, and it's not
even showing signs of wear.

Buying expensive cooking tools is definitely cheaper over time than buying
whatever crap gets stocked at the grocery store.

~~~
jmagoon
Totally the case with cookware. The difference in quality between my $60
cutting board and my $5 cutting board is incredible. The $5 one has already
been trashed, while I've had the $60 one for 7 years now and it's still going
strong.

Same for a Creuset that was gifted to me. There's a good chance I'll be able
to pass it on to my children, just like my parents passed on their high
quality ceramic crockpot to me. Forged knives, copper pots, real sheet pans
(not the flimsy quarter inch crap sold at walmart), etc. are all things that
last almost forever, even with repeated, high use. You can see why restaurant
kitchens almost always go for high quality--the parable of the workingman's
boots.

------
chrissnell
It's an interesting idea but as someone who owns dozens of their products, I'd
love to see them take this a step further: I want to be able to order (for
only the cost of shipping) repair parts and fabric for my repairs. For
example, my Patagonia roll-aboard luggage is a decade old now and the veteran
of hundreds of flights and trips around the world. The burly ripstop nylon is
wearing through in spots and you can reach your fingers into the bag through
the holes. I can't repair it because of the material thickness--you need a
commercial sewing machine. I could take it to one of the local military gear
repair places but they don't have matching fabric. What if Patagonia could
sell me the long-since-discontinued fabric and replacement parts that I need
to do the repairs correctly?

~~~
mipapage
Have you asked them? They have some pretty crazy stores about reaching back to
repair old gear.

~~~
calinet6
They'll be happy to help you out. Get ahold of their repair department and if
they need to it'll get back to the quality department for the special request.
They love that stuff.

------
snowwrestler
For those not familiar with Patagonia, they are a clothing company with a long
history of environmental consideration and action. Some of their famous
decisions were to donate 1% of their revenues to environmental causes, and to
shift their entire cotton clothing line to organic cotton. They did an audit
of their entire supply chain and were surprised to find that cotton--not nylon
or polyester--did the most environmental harm because of the heavy use of
pesticides.

Their founder's book is an entertaining business book: _Let My People Go
Surfing_ , by Yvon Chouinard.

------
ghaff
This tends not to work with electronics which tend to be at least somewhat
obsolete by the time you'd repair them--and, frankly, is less economical than
it used to be for many items. That said, I do tend to fix or have fixed
clothing with a relatively minor issue that is otherwise still good.

~~~
roflchoppa
im not expert in this, but is hardware able to be broken back down into the
elements that they came from to be reused?

~~~
ghaff
There is recycling for various electronics components and, in some locales,
certain components are legally supposed to be recycled (CRTs, lithium
batteries). I don't know the details of what happens in the recycling process
however.

~~~
Plasmoid
Sadly, the process is often to ship to Africa or China and just dump it. There
might be some government paperwork that says this particular open-air debris
garden is just the storage lot for a proper recycling operation, but often the
closest thing to recycling is locals picking through the mounds of trash
looking for anything of value.

~~~
adrianN
There is a free to watch documentary about the problem in Ghana:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUCoToorc9M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUCoToorc9M)

------
ak217
Mentioned briefly in the article, but worth repeating here: iFixit (who
Patagonia used to publish the repair guides) is a remarkable company. Their
ethos matches the article exactly, and aside from the (economical and
awesomely useful) electronics repair kits they sell, they are also dedicated
to building an open access wiki platform with rich support for repair guide
resources.

------
chris-at
Also similar/interesting: Don't recycle! [http://ifixit.org/blog/4546/happy-
earth-day-dont-recycle/](http://ifixit.org/blog/4546/happy-earth-day-dont-
recycle/)

------
ggchappell
Some nice thoughts.

> All you need is a sewing kit and a set of repair instructions.

Or, more practically for most of us, you pay some guy to repair your stuff.

Look around. There are little shops all over offering services like zipper
replacement. They often don't charge much. Make use of them. And when buying a
product, consider how repairable it is.

------
rajanchandi
This is nothing new to someone in India. We've always been this radical.. now
and forever. =)

------
facepalm
Anybody know what is the status for repairs in Europe/Germany? My jacket is
falling apart and I really want to either have it repaired or if I get a new
one, I want a company that offers repairs.

------
Raphael
The entire article appears in bold.

~~~
dchest
Well, they are making a bold statement.

