Living more sustainably is possible. The last century is full of examples that could now inspire our ecological transition. In his series The Inside Out Story, The duty probes the memory of those who have known this world more sober in energy and resources.
Marie Parent remembers that, in the 1950s, her grandfather brought back scraps of fabric from the Montreal factory where he worked. Her mother would then turn them into pajamas for her brothers. “She never bought pajamas for the boys,” says the septuagenarian, who believes that her family lived “modestly, but well”.
Women of the early 20th centurye century were eco-responsible even before the environment was a concern, underlines Mme parent. For economic reasons, they threw away almost nothing and they competed in ingenuity to reuse their goods. The dresses were fitted to be worn by all the sisters in the family, and even sometimes by the cousins.
Worn sheets and old clothes became quilts, woven blankets, purses, Christmas decorations, mops, dusters. The ends of candles and soaps were put together to form new ones.
“In the countryside, women bought bags of sugar, unwrapped them and created dishcloths. They recovered absolutely everything, ”says the president of the Cercle des fermières du Québec.
His association brings together nearly 580 regional circles in the province, whose members are meeting at a convention this weekend in Saint-Hyacinthe. One of their missions is to preserve and pass on this grandmother’s stuff that almost disappeared with the advent of the consumer society in the 1960s.
Sewing, knitting and embroidery workshops are notably given in schools. Tricks have been added over the years, such as cutting pop bottles to make funnels and keeping empty bread bags to transport vegetables to the grocery store.
“You have to reclaim this know-how and understand that it is a source of wealth. We need it to reduce waste and improve our environment, ”says the one who now lives in Bas-Saint-Laurent.
The blues of repairers
At 86, André Turcotte is preparing to close his pot and pan repair business in Saint-Hubert in a few weeks. He unsuccessfully sought a buyer for his business, which he estimates at around $30,000. This is essentially made up of heat-resistant plastic handles and lid knobs of various designs.
In the past, these parts had to be changed regularly on popular stainless steel cookware, the metal of which could last 100 years, he says. The businessman also has parts for pressure cookers and a soldering machine. He plans to donate it all to a non-profit organization.
“Thirty to 50 years ago, my work was over my head. I did not supply so much the demand was strong. I also took care of polishing and cleaning the metal. There were three on the island of Montreal who tried to imitate me. They all ended up closing, ”says the one who was helped by his wife. His store, JD Turcotte Cauldron Hospital, is also in the name of his wife, Jeanne-D’Arc.
Today, anyone who swears by stainless steel will find that the market is dominated by pans and saucepans that are cheaper and made of less durable materials. The bottom is peeling. In this context, consumers would first have the reflex to throw away the object and buy a new one.
Repairing televisions for fifty years, Alain Giguère believes that his business will not last long either. The low quality of today’s televisions and the cost of repair make it complicated and not very beneficial to want to save them.
“Stock from the 1960s or 1980s, on the other hand, can still work. It was built to last,” says the director of Réal Giguère Télévision.
The story is similar for appliance repairers. Even in 26 years in the business, Stéphane Morissette, executive secretary at the Corporation of Household Appliance Technicians of Quebec, has seen both the quality of products and the reflex of consumers change. “When I was little, I saw my father and my grandfather fixing things. If there was something broken, a circular saw, for example, he would go get the parts. Now, we buy right away, we think it will cost the same price, ”he says.
The 1960s as a reference
A societal model of sustainable consumption would not look like the Stone Age, says Laurence Godin, assistant professor of consumer science at Laval University. Citing in particular the work of Julia Steinberger, professor at the University of Lausanne, she believes that it is possible to “live with dignity while respecting planetary limits – which means, roughly speaking, returning to a level of consumption of resources at roughly equal to that of the 1960s for Western countries”.
According to the calculations of Dutyif we rely on Statistics Canada household spending data in constant dollars, i.e. taking into account the evolution of purchasing power, each inhabitant of Canada today buys about three times as many goods as in 1961.
“We have the idea that our parents lived adequately, so that makes it realistic,” adds Professor Godin.
She is also curious to see how the bill on planned obsolescence tabled by the Quebec government could help limit consumption. Social norms also need to be changed, she says. One of the ways to do this is to develop the practical skills of the citizens, as the circles of farmers do.
Josef Mory gives lessons for Les Affûtés in Montreal. This company offers workshops in several areas, focused on the circular economy: sewing, woodworking, welding, crafts, bike maintenance. A retired handyman, Mr. Mory teaches participants how to do odd jobs in their homes.
For several years, he has been picking up still usable objects left on the side of the road. Furniture, toys, taps… There are many of these, he notes. He fixes them and regularly takes them to the Renaissance donation center.
When he sees the participation in Les Affûtés courses, Mr. Mory is encouraged. More and more people seem to realize that by repairing and making their own objects, they feel like they are doing something not only for the planet, but also for their own autonomy. In doing so, they hint at their ancestors.