Explore
A few of our favorite sources for learning about where our stuff comes from and what happens after we’re done with it.
General
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Story of Electronics
An entertaining cartoon showing the impact of consumerism. -
Fix the DMCA
Common-sense fixes to stop copyright law’s persecution of tinkerers. -
The Scary Truth about Your iPhone
Let an iPhone tell you how it gets made. -
Raise Hope for Congo
Conflict minerals fund civil wars in Africa, but they don’t have to.
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What’s in your mobile phone?
The Royal Society for the Arts investigates what goes into phones and how we recycle them. -
Friends of the Earth: Make It Better
Campaign encouraging electronics companies to use better mining practices. -
EFF Right to Repair
A brief primer on the legal, software, and physical ways manufacturers keep people from fixing stuff.
Industrial Design
Books
US Organizations
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Patagonia
Patagonia is working toward sustainable design and offers repair manuals for much of the clothing they sell. -
Dell / Goodwill Reconnect
Dell and Goodwill refurbish, repair, and resell millions of used electronics every year. -
Reuse Alliance
This network of reuse centers and secondhand retailers are on the front lines of the fight against waste. -
repair.org: The Repair Association
This organization is fighting for your right to repair everything you own. -
Hennepin County Fixit Clinic
These Minnesota Twin Cities folks hold monthly Fix-It Clinics to help people learn how to fix their broken stuff."
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Earth 911
Use this guide to find a reputable electronics recycler near you. -
BAN
The Basel Action Network supports legal reform to reduce e-waste. -
Fixers Collective
These New Yorkers get together once a month to fix some stuff. -
Electronics Take-Back Coalition
These folks fight for retailers to take back the products they sell at the end of life. -
Fixit Clinic
These Bay Area folks help you open up your broken stuff, learn how it works, and repair it.
EU Organizations
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Repair Café
Europe-wide movement of grassroots repair meetups. Go to a meeting or start a repair community near you. -
RReuse
A European network of repairers that supports reuse, repair, and recycling efforts. -
Phonebloks
Phonebloks is building a phone that will last forever. -
Free ICT Europe
European alliance that defends the freedom to support, repair, and resell vital technologies.
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Fairphone
Makers of the ethical cell phone, Fairphone is working to change the way our electronics are manufactured. -
Reuse Verein
An enthusiastic group of German repair and reuse companies working on defending your right to repair. -
Restart Project
A London-based social enterprise that empowers people to use their electronics longer, by learning repair skills. -
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Ellen MacArthur is helping build an economy without waste.
Consumer Guides
Reports
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Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy Reports
In a world of finite resources, we can’t consume infinitely. -
EPA e-waste report
This report has data about exactly how much e-waste we make and what we’re doing about it. -
Gaia Foundation, “Short Circuit: The Lifecycle of Our Gadgets and the True Cost to Earth”
The Gaia Foundation has dug deep into the electronics supply chain. -
US International Trade Commission Used Electronic Exports Report
The International Trade Commission called a bunch of industry experts to speak about e-waste.
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The Great Recovery
An investigation by the RSA into the role of design in the circular economy. -
Basel Convention’s E-Waste Africa Project
Electronics adoption rates in Africa are probably higher than you think. -
WRAP, “Switched onto Value”
Market researchers in the UK discovered that most people really do care about product longevity. -
United Nations Environment Program Metal Recycling Report
This report explores just how much material really is recovered when we recycle metals.