I got an email from Patagonia the other day titled "Celebrate the stuff you already own." Most times I delete emails like this as I really don't need to buy more stuff right now. But for some reason, I opened the email and realized it was promoting a short movie called Worn Wear that they recently made. Promoted as,
"...an antidote to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, Worn Wear is an invitation to celebrate the stuff you already own."
It's just under 30 min long. Carve out the time and watch this.
Hell, watch it with some friends and family. I plan on watching it again
with Leah real soon. This is a great "non-promotional"
promotional video for Patagonia. While the people in it are using
Patagonia gear, it's about more than that. We live in a day and age of
such disposable "stuff" that we seem to have forgotten how to get the
most out of a piece of clothing or gear. Instead of fixing stuff that
rips, tears or breaks we just throw it out and buy a new item. This
happens in all sorts of things we own. I've seen it a lot in the auto
industry...so many parts out there now are just "pull and replace"
instead of fixing or rebuilding the minor parts that are broken. You a
guy in a shop who's a "Parts Technician" and not a true
"Mechanic". And instead of handing down clothes we just buy new
and throw out the old. All that old stuff more often than not ends up in
a landfill.
On our trip to Scotland, Alan and I had a discussion along these lines. I have a Patagonia Nano Puff jacket and there's a small section on the left shoulder where the stitching has pulled. I've had this jacket probably close to 2 years. Alan has worked in the retail outdoor gear industry for years now so I brought up the issue saying that I wasn't sure what to do about it. Alan laid out options when something like this happens: keep it or take it back. I remember the discussion well. Though it may seem insignificant, it's a choice that matters. Patagonia (and most other companies) will take it back and give you something new. But it likely won't be the exact same style because they change stuff every year. They won't fix it because it's just easier to recycle the materials and hand you a new item. BUT...handing you that new item has a resource cost attached it that is much higher than the alternative course you could take here: FIX IT YOURSELF. Fixing it yourself costs very little to you but you stand gain a helluva lot more. That piece of gear gets to extend its history with you. I haven't had that Nano Puff that long, but it's been a lot of places and already has some interesting stories to tell. I was hesitant to drop the money on it at first but now it's a piece that goes with me on nearly every trip. Fixing it myself will just add to the history of the piece and that's pretty darn cool if you ask me.
So, in the same way as I try to do on my car when stuff breaks, I'm going to increase my skills and figure out the best way to sew up the stitching that pulled out. I might need to buy some new tools to do it, but that's part of the investment and I'll end up putting the tools and skills to use on other things as well. I have 2 pairs of Patagonia Capilene boxers that have a stretched out waistband. I had thought of dropping them off at Patagonia to be recycled but now I'm curious if I can figure out a way to just rework the waistband and continue using them.
For what it's worth, I own plenty of outdoor gear from a number of companies that I have beat the crap out of over the years and it's still running strong. I thought about listing them out but there's really no need to...most of y'all know what really good gear typically is...it's stuff that works and doesn't let you down (I really dig that song by Guy Clark and was glad to see they used it in the movie).
Oh and I grew up with hand-me-downs too...I like that idea. But now I tend to hand-it-up...my dad gets most of my used gear these days. :-)
For the heck of it...
On our trip to Scotland, Alan and I had a discussion along these lines. I have a Patagonia Nano Puff jacket and there's a small section on the left shoulder where the stitching has pulled. I've had this jacket probably close to 2 years. Alan has worked in the retail outdoor gear industry for years now so I brought up the issue saying that I wasn't sure what to do about it. Alan laid out options when something like this happens: keep it or take it back. I remember the discussion well. Though it may seem insignificant, it's a choice that matters. Patagonia (and most other companies) will take it back and give you something new. But it likely won't be the exact same style because they change stuff every year. They won't fix it because it's just easier to recycle the materials and hand you a new item. BUT...handing you that new item has a resource cost attached it that is much higher than the alternative course you could take here: FIX IT YOURSELF. Fixing it yourself costs very little to you but you stand gain a helluva lot more. That piece of gear gets to extend its history with you. I haven't had that Nano Puff that long, but it's been a lot of places and already has some interesting stories to tell. I was hesitant to drop the money on it at first but now it's a piece that goes with me on nearly every trip. Fixing it myself will just add to the history of the piece and that's pretty darn cool if you ask me.
So, in the same way as I try to do on my car when stuff breaks, I'm going to increase my skills and figure out the best way to sew up the stitching that pulled out. I might need to buy some new tools to do it, but that's part of the investment and I'll end up putting the tools and skills to use on other things as well. I have 2 pairs of Patagonia Capilene boxers that have a stretched out waistband. I had thought of dropping them off at Patagonia to be recycled but now I'm curious if I can figure out a way to just rework the waistband and continue using them.
For what it's worth, I own plenty of outdoor gear from a number of companies that I have beat the crap out of over the years and it's still running strong. I thought about listing them out but there's really no need to...most of y'all know what really good gear typically is...it's stuff that works and doesn't let you down (I really dig that song by Guy Clark and was glad to see they used it in the movie).
Oh and I grew up with hand-me-downs too...I like that idea. But now I tend to hand-it-up...my dad gets most of my used gear these days. :-)
For the heck of it...
Nice post, Andy. I remember that discussion. Glad it's effects were seemingly long-reaching! I love to fix gear and get the most use out of it. many times I will use totally dead gear to fix broken gear. Recently repaired a hole in my gloves with a piece of fabric from a dead pack! While i dont that much experience with the fixes, please let me know if you run across any gear fixing quandaries. I may be able to help.
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