For decades, the decision to buy new has been made ever easier by cheap goods with hidden social and environmental costs. New is not necessarily better. We live in a world of planned obsolescence, one in which goods are not designed to last and we increasingly cannot repair what we own. We feel the true costs of this more everyday, as our climate worsens, our landfills grow, and our air and water become increasingly polluted.
As individuals, we long to answer the question: “what can we do?”
We can keep usable materials out of the waste stream, extending their value through reuse. Landfills release methane, contaminate water sources, damage local ecosystems, and undermine the health and well-being of surrounding communities.
We can minimize new production by choosing to reuse and repair. Each step along the way, the material extraction, production, packaging, and shipping of new products breeds waste, increases carbon emissions, and runs a real risk of releasing toxins into air and water.
We can be good stewards of our natural resources, embracing the abundance found in having just enough. By reusing and repairing what already exists, we can disrupt the damaging cycle of production, consumption, and waste.
The choice to reuse and repair should be accessible to everyone. At ReBuilding Center, we work to make reuse even more affordable and convenient, which is why over the next year and with your support we aim to:
Offer AFFORDABLE reclaimed materials and home-repair classes to all
Offer FREE CLASSES & MATERIALS to our low-income community members
Offer FREE delivery to those who are transit-dependent
And open our SHOP and soon-to-be TOOL LIBRARY for community to SHARE.
This is the fifth piece of our ReBuilding for Justice Campaign. Over the next few weeks, we will lay out the rest and show you how they all fit together.
YOU and your support are the most important piece of all, because together is how we will build that better tomorrow.
Please consider joining us today by making a gift to our ReBuilding for Justice Campaign.