Fixation How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet

About this book

Our massive, global system of consumption is broken. Our individual relationship with our stuff is broken. In each of our homes, some stuff is broken. And the strain of rampant consumerism and manufacturing is breaking our planet. We need big, systemic changes, from public policy to global economic systems. But we don't need to wait for them.

Since founding Fixup, a pop-up repair shop that brought her coverage in The New York Times, Salon, New York Public Radio, and more, Sandra Goldmark has become a leader in the movement to demand better "stuff". She doesn't just want to help us clear clutter – she aims to move us away from throwaway culture, to teach us to reuse and repurpose more thoughtfully, and to urge companies to produce better stuff. Although her goal is ambitious, the solution to getting there is surprisingly simple and involves all of us: have good stuff, not too much, mostly reclaimed, care for it, and pass it on.

Fixation charts the path to the next frontier in the health, wellness, and environmental movements – learning how to value stewardship over waste. We can choose quality items designed for a long lifecycle, commit to repairing them when they break, and shift our perspective on reuse and "preowned" goods. Together, we can demand that companies get on board. Goldmark shares examples of forward-thinking companies that are thriving by conducting their businesses sustainably and responsibly.

Passionate, wise, and practical, Fixation offers us a new understanding of stuff by building a value chain where good design, reuse, and repair are the status quo.

Contents

Introduction: Broken Sleep

PART I: Have Good Stuff
Chapter 1. Our (Long and Tangled) Story of Stuff
Chapter 2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth about How Stuff Got That Way

PART II: Not Too Much
Chapter 3. Our Stuff, Our Selves
Chapter 4. The Global Conspiracy to Clutter Your Home

PART III: Mostly Reclaimed
Chapter 5. Getting Good at Getting Used

PART IV: Care for It
Chapter 6. Making and Mending in America
Chapter 7. The Fixers
Chapter 8: God and Stuff

PART V: Pass It On
Chapter 9. From Cradle to Grave

Conclusion: Fight for It

Customer Reviews

Biography

Entrepreneur Sandra Goldmark is the founder of Fixup (formerly Pop Up Repair), an innovative social enterprise in New York City. She is also a theatre set/costume designer, a leader in the field of sustainable theatrical design, and director of the Sustainability and Environment Program and associate professor of professional practice at Barnard College. She has an AB in American literature from Harvard College and an MFA in theatrical design from Yale University.