Thank you for writing this, it resonates deeply with me. I grew up in Europe where it was quite normal to use something till it breaks and can no longer be repaired. Including clothes and shoes. My dad used to fix pretty much everything himself at home and was good at it, and we were a "middle class" educated family. But then again he was an environmental chemist. When I moved to the US some 15 years ago I was first baffled at the tendency of people to just throw away stuff because they got tired of it and/or just to keep buying something new. You know the "consumer driven" economy. Then I had to get used to it and nowadays you can't find anyone to repair anything and thanks to the "planned obsolescence" it breaks just the day after its warranty expires. Don't even get me started with the plastic shoes and clothes that are now 98% of everything available out there, even at the Goodwill stores. I don't know how we come back from this. However, Blackrock is the last entity that I would consider a leader in this, they (and the likes of them, private equity firms) are actually the cause for this total and complete disconnect between manufacturing, consumer and the community. Them creating a fund to invest in circular economy manufacturing is like putting a lipstick on a pig. I don't have a good feeling about anything happening anytime soon in the US to reverse this. Just my two cents.
Thank you for your considered reply. Yes, I agree on Blackrock...it's a desperate situation when they are the only example one can find. Hopefully, others will appear...
Thank you for writing this, it resonates deeply with me. I grew up in Europe where it was quite normal to use something till it breaks and can no longer be repaired. Including clothes and shoes. My dad used to fix pretty much everything himself at home and was good at it, and we were a "middle class" educated family. But then again he was an environmental chemist. When I moved to the US some 15 years ago I was first baffled at the tendency of people to just throw away stuff because they got tired of it and/or just to keep buying something new. You know the "consumer driven" economy. Then I had to get used to it and nowadays you can't find anyone to repair anything and thanks to the "planned obsolescence" it breaks just the day after its warranty expires. Don't even get me started with the plastic shoes and clothes that are now 98% of everything available out there, even at the Goodwill stores. I don't know how we come back from this. However, Blackrock is the last entity that I would consider a leader in this, they (and the likes of them, private equity firms) are actually the cause for this total and complete disconnect between manufacturing, consumer and the community. Them creating a fund to invest in circular economy manufacturing is like putting a lipstick on a pig. I don't have a good feeling about anything happening anytime soon in the US to reverse this. Just my two cents.
Thank you for your considered reply. Yes, I agree on Blackrock...it's a desperate situation when they are the only example one can find. Hopefully, others will appear...