BBC Learnings · Section 5

Making old things last longer

So, how are you today, Sam? Don't ask, Rob.

Level: B2 · 92 sentences

Transcript

  1. So, how are you today, Sam?
  2. Don't ask, Rob.
  3. Today's been a nightmare.
  4. This morning I ripped my jeans and later my computer stopped working.
  5. Then when I tried taking it to a repair shop, my car wouldn't start.
  6. Oh no, that's terrible.
  7. And the really bad news is that in today's consumer culture, when something breaks,
  8. we usually throw it away and buy a new one instead of trying to repair it.
  9. In this programme,
  10. we'll learn all about repairing broken things by asking what would happen
  11. if we stopped junking and got better at fixing.
  12. The world generates over two billion tonnes of rubbish every year.
  13. So we're visiting companies in Sweden,
  14. making it easier to mend things when they break instead of replacing them,
  15. whether that's clothes, bikes or washing machines.
  16. And my quiz question is about one of those companies, Fixi,
  17. a repair service that collects broken bikes from your door and brings them back fixed.
  18. The company was started by Rafi Mohamed,
  19. a student of Industrial Innovation at the University of Stockholm.
  20. But what was the inspiration behind Rafi's idea?
  21. Was it a he wanted to impress his girlfriend,
  22. b he was sick of breathing in the city's car fumes,
  23. or c he was late for his lecture because of a flat tyre?
  24. I'll say a he wanted to impress his girlfriend.
  25. OK, Sam, we'll find out about Rafi and his love life later on.
  26. But whatever the inspiration behind it, Rafi's idea was a success.
  27. Fixi took more than 600 orders in its first six months.
  28. Rafi's isn't the only Swedish company helping people fix things instead of buying new.
  29. Denim company Nudie Jeans was started with a focus on ethics and sustainability.
  30. At $150 a pair, Nudie Jeans aren't cheap, but they do promise free repairs for life.
  31. from ripped knees to torn pockets.
  32. BBC World Service programme People Fixing the World
  33. asked students Felix and Fabia Morgan
  34. why they bought the jeans despite the high price tag.
  35. It's just been a given that when your jeans break, you throw them away.
  36. So when I heard that you can repair them easily without any cost,
  37. it was a bit of a no-brainer for me.
  38. I really like the way they look, so...
  39. For me, it's worth it to buy more expensive stuff that I really like.
  40. Felix says that throwing out old jeans is a given,
  41. something that is just assumed to happen.
  42. For him, buying nudie jeans is a no-brainer, a decision that's very easy to make.
  43. And Fabia agrees.
  44. She doesn't mind paying more for stuff she really likes.
  45. Here, stuff is an informal way to say personal objects and possessions.
  46. Even though they're good at recycling,
  47. people in wealthy Sweden still buy lots of new stuff
  48. and they have a big carbon footprint for a country of just 10 million.
  49. But it's interesting that all the innovators behind these companies say that in their grandparents' day,
  50. it was normal to repair, fix and mend broken stuff.
  51. Jessica Richter is a researcher at Lund University.
  52. She thinks repairing is an endangered activity
  53. that we used to do more of, both individually and as a society.
  54. Here she is talking to BBC World Service's People Fixing the World programme
  55. about the need to get back in touch
  56. with older ways of doing things.
  57. really is a pure effect in a culture that we're trying to foster here
  58. changing a culture of consumption
  59. the more people that are repairing
  60. and the more people that are choosing to buy repair services or more repairable products
  61. the more we will see this going mainstream
  62. and it used to be mainstream
  63. so that's what makes me positive too
  64. that it is in some ways a return
  65. to what we used to be able
  66. as a society to do more of
  67. Stories about Sweden's repair shops spread between friends
  68. and Jessica thinks this creates a peer effect –
  69. the positive or negative influence friends have on the way you behave.
  70. She hopes this will foster, or encourage to grow,
  71. a new culture of sustainable consumption.
  72. So that fixing broken stuff will be mainstream, or be considered normal once again.
  73. Yes, that's a big part of the problem.
  74. Repairing was something we all used to do, but seem to have forgotten.
  75. Hopefully we'll all be inspired to start fixing things again,
  76. or at least pay someone else to.
  77. And speaking of inspiration, what was the answer to your quiz question, Rob?
  78. Ah yes, I asked about the inspiration behind Rafi Muhammad's company, Fixy.
  79. And I think he started the bike repair service to a impress his girlfriend.
  80. Was I right?
  81. Sam, that's very romantic, but the correct answer was C.
  82. He was late for his lecture because of a flat tyre.
  83. Oh well, I'm sure if he had a broken heart, he'd be able to mend it.
  84. Indeed. Well, in this programme,
  85. we've been hearing about repairing broken stuff – things or personal possessions.
  86. That people would fix something broken used to be a given –
  87. assumed to be true or certain to happen.
  88. Repairing things used to be a no-brainer – the obvious choice.
  89. A peer effect is influence of peers and friends on someone's behaviour.
  90. Some Swedish companies are trying to foster or encourage the development of a new culture of consumption.
  91. So that once again, fixing things is mainstream,
  92. accepted as normal or common practice.