Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Fixation : how to have stuff without breaking the planet / Sandra Goldmark.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Washington DC : Island Press, 2020Description: xii, 197 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1642830453
  • 9781642830453
Subject(s): Summary: "Sandra Goldmark was a new mother, short on sleep and closet space, when her vacuum broke. And her toaster. And the strap on her backpack. Objects that were supposed to make her life easier instead piled up inside her family's small apartment, broken and collecting dust. Goldmark didn't want a new vacuum or toaster--she wanted the ones she had to work. But the reality is that the systems through which we obtain our stuff are vast and entrenched, with products designed for quick replacement, not repair. Most of would have given up and turned to Amazon.com, but Goldmark imagined a different, better future--one where having stuff is simpler, healthier, and more sustainable for people and the planet. Determined to find a better way, she founded a series of pop-up repair shops with her husband and began to learn more about the way we make and use things, and how those things help make us who we are. Fixation is not a repair manual, nor will it tell you how to declutter your closet. Instead, it takes readers on a quest to radically reimagine what a healthy relationship with our stuff might look like. Along the way, Goldmark shows us how individuals can adopt more thoughtful patterns of personal consumption, businesses can develop healthy models for growth, and together we can demand social and political change that will move us to a more sustainable and equitable circular economy"--Inside jacket.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 338.927 G619 Available 33111010407852
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

"Sandra Goldmark was a new mother, short on sleep and closet space, when her vacuum broke. And her toaster. And the strap on her backpack. Objects that were supposed to make her life easier instead piled up inside her family's small apartment, broken and collecting dust. Goldmark didn't want a new vacuum or toaster--she wanted the ones she had to work. But the reality is that the systems through which we obtain our stuff are vast and entrenched, with products designed for quick replacement, not repair. Most of would have given up and turned to Amazon.com, but Goldmark imagined a different, better future--one where having stuff is simpler, healthier, and more sustainable for people and the planet. Determined to find a better way, she founded a series of pop-up repair shops with her husband and began to learn more about the way we make and use things, and how those things help make us who we are. Fixation is not a repair manual, nor will it tell you how to declutter your closet. Instead, it takes readers on a quest to radically reimagine what a healthy relationship with our stuff might look like. Along the way, Goldmark shows us how individuals can adopt more thoughtful patterns of personal consumption, businesses can develop healthy models for growth, and together we can demand social and political change that will move us to a more sustainable and equitable circular economy"--Inside jacket.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-196)

Powered by Koha