The College of the Rockies has partnered with the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise Society (KORE Outdoors) and Selkirk College to launch a mobile outdoor gear repair and education project.
The College says the Re-Hub Tour transforms its Mobile Education Lounge into a repair station, intending to prolong the life of outdoor gear.
“If you have a really expensive winter jacket and the zipper is broken, that can get pretty expensive to repair, and sometimes you have to send it away,” said Paul Tiege, Manager of Applied Research and Innovation at College of the Rockies.
“That could mean you don’t use it, and it may just sit in your closet until it gets thrown away. KORE has a team of professional sewers and repair specialists on-site, and you can bring your things in to get them fixed.”
Tiege says you can bring in a wide variety of items that may need repairs.
“Some good examples are backpacks, tents, jackets, any sort of outdoor, all-weather gear, especially those laminated with GORE‑TEX and technical fabric,” said Tiege.
The mobile workshop will offer free repairs on outdoor gear, skill-building workshops, and drop-off points for items needing more complex fixes.
Tiege says repairing an item rather than throwing it away will not only save you money, but it can also reduce waste.
“The manufacturing of much of our outdoor gear requires a fair amount of unsustainable practices. When we see that about 10 per cent of our global emissions are caused by the apparel industry, we’re basically throwing millions of tons of plastic into the landfill when we get rid of all of this stuff,” said Tiege.
“We can extend the sustainability of outdoor gear by 20 to 25 per cent just by repairing what we have and extending its life.”
The Re-Hub Tour has upcoming stops across the region:
- June 21: Creston Farmers’ Market
- June 28 – 29: Kimberley Localpalooza
- July 4: Fernie Gravel Grind
- July 12: Cranbrook Community Futures
- July 13: Kaslo Wild Ultra
- July 16: Golden Summer Kicks
- July 19: Invermere Valley Appreciation Day
- September 13: Rossland Arts and Culture Fest
“The Re-Hub Tour is helping to reduce landfill waste, extend the life of valuable gear, and show how the outdoor industry can support a circular economy,” said Tiege.
“We’re proud to contribute by supporting a sustainable business practices study and supplying the Mobile Education Lounge.”
The College says the project is funded by the B.C. government’s Clean BC Plastics Action Fund, ETSI-BC, and 1% for the Planet, with donations from Gear re-Store, PBJ Merch Co., and Autogrowth Inc.
