Inspiracao Visual

                       

                                                                  FROM ADBUSTERS

Amsterdam´s Repair Cafe - Platform 21

An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time

Amsterdam’s Repair Cafe encourages people to bring old items that they might have otherwise thrown out to have them restored by expert volunteers.

Read the article at NYT:
Repair Café

Platform21 = Repairing started with the idea that repair is underestimated as a creative, cultural and economic force.
If we don’t consider repair a contemporary activity we will loose an incredibly rich body of knowledge – one that contributes to human independence and pleasure.

The situation is especially puzzling when you consider current global interest in other ideas related to sustainability, such as recycling and the cradle-to-cradle philosophy.

With Platform21 = Repairing we aimed to raise awareness of a mentality, a culture and a practice that not so long ago was completely integrated into life and the way we designed it.

In the hope of spurring a reappraisal of repair, Platform21 wrote and published a manifesto describing the benefits of fixing things and calling upon designers and consumers to break the chain of throwaway thinking.

Throwaway thinking, a culture in itself almost, is designed to cater to short term needs of both industry, politics and society. But by being very successful at short term effects it has lost track of the innumerable and rich possibilities that lie ahead if durable notions of design in general, and repair especially, are reconsidered and implemented.

In the slipstream of the Repair Manifesto Platform21 organized workshops, an exhibition, lectures and repair evaluation clinics both with professional designers, students, amateurs, as well as the general public. 

It is in the richness of the pallet we wanted to present, from the mildly absurd positions of some of the participants involved, to the completely functional, logical and directly implementable techniques of others. Maybe the most important quality of repair is to give your products a longer life, but this is not the only quality. Repairing adds your personality to products, teaches us how things are made and how to take care of things. It gives a sense of accomplishment and control, and not least important, it is fun. 

So, STOP RECYCLING. START REPAIRING.

Making green in the new sharing economy

Swap, Don't Shop - Making Green in the New Sharing Economy

By Jacquie Ottman and Cassidy Hooker

With the development of social networking sites, user-generated content, and increased access to broadband technologies and personal computers, the Internet has been radically redefined and repositioned. 

This shift towards "Web 2.0" has changed the way we communicate with one another; it has democratized the way in which information is shared amongst users; and it has collapsed geographic, political, and cultural barriers, in turn redefining our perception of community. While it can be hard to grasp in specific terms how exactly the Internet has changed us, there is one very tangible way in which it has made an impact. 

The development of "redistribution markets"-sites where users can exchange, sell, or share goods, services, and space-has been a defining aspect of Web 2.0.

The idea of Sharing, Collaborating, and Reselling is Nothing New -- But Now

Neighbors in tight-knit communities have always borrowed an egg in a pinch; we've probably all carpooled for convenience at some point; and girlfriends have forever swapped clothes with each other. What's unique about these behaviors today is how easily facilitated they are by the Internet and social media in particular. In the days before all things digital, you had to know your neighbors well enough to knock on their door, you knew who was driving where and when, or you had to have friends to give your things to. Now there are a plethora of sites ready to help you buy, swap, or donate just about anything you may need.

Sharing Economy, Collaborative Consumption

This exchanging of resources-time, money, space, skills, and products-hits at the crux of what is being called the "sharing economy", or "collaborative consumption". Looking at the ways in which Web 2.0 has facilitated this new economy sheds light on how the online user-driven marketplace has impacted our understanding of, and relationship with, the concepts of ownership and community. As we shift towards an economy that values access over ownership, significant opportunities for marketplace innovation emerge. 

Jacquelyn Ottman is an expert adviser on green marketing to Fortune 500 firms, entrepreneurial companies, and the U.S. government. 

She is the author of The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler, 2011). 

She is also the founding co-chair of the Sustainable Business Committee of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York.

MORE INFO AT: Green Marketing