Mending: The Story of mender

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In the winter of 1881, the railroad's arrival in Miles City, Montana enabled the large-scale shipment of buffalo hides to the east coast. In the first year, 200,000 hides were shipped east to satisfy the insatiable hunger of a fashion-driven society. However, the following years saw a sharp decline in the number of hides shipped — from 40,000 in 1882 to just 1,000 in 1883. This decrease was not due to a lack of demand but a result of overharvesting an exhausted resource. The resources dwindled, and the buffalo were almost hunted to extinction. This is a stark reminder of the ultimate scarcity that can occur when we exhaust resources without considering the broader environmental impact. Fast forward to modern times, and we face a similar predicament. With the rapid advancement of technology, we are eager to adopt new gadgets and equipment, often without considering their impact on the planet. The continuous mining and extraction of raw materials to manufacture these devices contribute to environmental degradation and the generation of electronic waste — which poses a significant threat to our ecosystems and health. We want to do better.

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The Birth of mender: Why We're Here

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We started mender because we saw the need for a more sustainable approach to IT asset disposition. The term "ITAD solutions" had become saturated in our industry and didn’t address the broader social and environmental impacts of our technology addiction. We wanted to push the goal to start mending the planet and humankind’s relationship with it by doing our part. We go beyond traditional IT asset disposition (ITAD) solutions at mender. While we specialize in extending the life of IT equipment, we also work with our clients to introduce circularity into their IT divisions, supply chains, facilities, and operations. This approach allows us to help businesses cut corporate waste, reduce their environmental impact, and simplify IT Asset Disposition. We look at all “waste” streams as resources that need a well-solutioned program to allow their reintroduction into the value chain.

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Circular Economy: Our Key Focus At mender

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We're all about circularity. A circular economy is a system that reduces waste, conserves resources, and keeps products and materials in use for as long as possible. It is a closed-loop system in which waste is converted into useful resources. We can reduce waste and extend the life of products and materials. This, in turn, can aid in preserving our planet's valuable resources and protecting the environment for future generations. Conclusion: We understand that technology will continue to advance and evolve, and we do not want to fight this progress. However, we can better utilize the resources that have already been extracted. By doing so, we can conserve our resources and preserve the earth's natural balance — allowing for the ongoing survival of the earth's greatest resource: humankind.

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