I often get asked, “What should I do with my less sustainable things? Shall I get rid of them?” And I am always startled by that question. Buying all the bamboo things and stainless steel containers can surely be the right thing to do as some point, but only when you really need it and have examined all the other options at hand. The first and eco-est/greenest thing to do before that is to make the best use of what you already have, often by repairing things.
Let’s fix that thing!
And that’s when Sugru comes in. It is the fixing superhero, that looks and feels a lot like the love child of superglue and Play-Doh. Sugru’s a mouldable glue, that once opened lets you 30 minutes to (play and) mould it by hand into any shape you want, from an ultra-thin patch to a shock-absorbing bumper. Let it sit for 24 hours and you’re ready to go! The end result is a rubber that is waterproof, electrically insulating and strong, but still flexible. Sugru’s mission is to double the life of our stuff in order to reduce what goes to landfill. Have a look at their cool Fixer’s Manifesto!
What for?
The first time I heard about Sugru was a couple of years ago. My adorable and slightly geeky friend generously gave me a pack of Sugru after I complained that my Mac charger was slowly but surely living its last moments. I always have some Sugru at home now, for my personal use and to share (and still have that same Mac charger, whoop whoop!).
The main use I’ve had of it is for my cables (Apple—mate you have to do something about your ridiculously fragile cables!) for which Sugru has been a real lifesaver. Sugru can also permanently stick to lots of stuff like ceramics, glass, metal, wood, rubber, and most plastics and fabrics.
Now, can you repair everything? Well, surely no, but Sugru has a few ideas on what to do with it and how to do it! Check out their 6 Household Items Anyone Can Fix, 6 Fantastic Ideas to Reduce Your Waste, 13 Easy Home Hacks To Help Win The War On Waste and Don’t Rebuy, Just Reuse: How to Implement This Money-Saving Mantra Into Your Everyday Life.
Oh and, you can get 10% off when you subscribe to Sugru’s newsletter!
You can also have a look at what the community using Sugru is doing, by checking the #mysugrufix.
I particularly love the playful aspect Sugru brought to repairing stuff. Try it! you’ll see, you’ll spend as much time repairing things than playing with it!
What packaging does it come in?
They’ve recently revamped their packaging to make it more eco-friendly and avoid single-use plastics. And guess what, they’ve nailed it as it has enabled them to cut their carbon footprint by 16%.
So, what’s different? The Sugru is now wrapped in a non-plastic-laminated FSC paper instead of a plastic bag. The Sugru itself still comes in single-use foil packs, which is something that is currently unavoidable because of the nature of the Sugru itself—it needs to stay super fresh to keep its great performances.
But, is it biodegradable?
No, it isn’t. Sugru is what I’d call a perfect solution in the imperfect world we live in (can anyone sound cheesier than this? :)) ). The thing is, Sugru helps prolong the life of many items, thereby contributing to reducing waste. Also, I’d recommend gathering a few broken items that need repairing—as one pack of Sugru goes a long way.
Let’s get rid of our throwaway culture!
This post was kindly sponsored by Sugru. All opinions are my own.
You might also like:
Morgane is a London-based writer passionate about sustainable living, ethical fashion and social justice.