Earth Day brings up mixed feelings for us at iFixit.
On one hand, we’re glad people are thinking about the planet, even if it’s just for a day. It’s good to take time to appreciate the planet, reflect on our impact, and kick around ideas for how we can live more in sync with the environment. But Earth Day can sometimes feel a bit rote. Like a sustainability-themed New Year’s resolution: full of good intentions, silently forgotten a few weeks later.
But the planet doesn’t need a one-day celebration. It needs better systems. Better habits. And, frankly, it needs us to make the sustainable choice the easy choice, not the one that takes extra effort, research, or cost.
The Greenest Thing Is the One You’ve Already Got
In all the flurry of “buy green” and “choose sustainable,” we remind you that in nearly every circumstance, the greenest thing to do is not to buy new at all. Keep what you’ve got going. Reduce your impact by slowing down your consumption, by waiting a little longer to buy that new thing, by changing that battery or screen instead of junking the whole thing.
Extending the lifespan of our stuff by 50% could save 25 million metric tons of e-waste and 1337 million metric tons of CO2 emissions.
Every time you patch a rip in your favorite jacket, you’re cutting down on resource-heavy manufacturing. Every time you fix instead of toss, you’re quietly rebelling against the take-make-waste cycle that got us into this mess.
Repairing the Stitching on an Insulated Jacket
This guide will show you how to fix the missing…
Repair Helps Us Vanquish the Dragons of Inaction
This Earth Day, we’re not asking you to be perfect. We’re asking you to reflect. What stops you from making the sustainable choice more often? Is it time? Tools? Knowledge? Confidence?
There are seven “dragons of inaction” on climate change, major categories of barriers that stop people from taking action, social psychologist Robert Gifford argues. There are the cognitive barriers, like our sense that no individual can take meaningful action (not true, climate scientists say). There are beliefs that stand in the way, like the belief that technology will save us (only true if it doesn’t kill us first). There are comparisons with others, sunk costs, discredence, perceived risks, and fears of the rebound effect.
But repair isn’t like recycling, which is plagued with problems and questionably effective. It’s not like vowing to stop using a car, which in some cases requires a significant personal sacrifice. It just takes pulling out your screwdriver, pulling up a repair guide, and boom, by fixing your laptop you’ve saved the equivalent of driving 745 miles (1200km) in a Porsche Cayenne.
Repair Skills Keep Giving Way Beyond Earth Day
We get it. Life is busy. You have work and bills and kids and all the chaos that comes with being human. But what if we made small changes that actually stuck—not just on April 22nd, but all year long?
When you learn a new repair skill, like how to change your own laptop battery or sew a button, you level up in sustainability for the long haul, not just for Earth Day.
Sustainability isn’t about guilt. It’s about empowerment. It’s about shifting the narrative from “what am I doing wrong?” to “what can I do right, and how can I help others do the same?” When people feel confident—when they have access to tools, knowledge, and support—they don’t just make one good decision. They make dozens. Hundreds. And those choices ripple outward. That’s the kind of momentum Earth Day should be about. Not a guilt trip, but a rallying cry.
Let’s make Earth Day a spark—not a one-day spectacle. Let’s build a culture of care, repair, and action. One fix at a time.
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