Reading this article (see link below) brings this question to mind: Am I willing to reuse (more), to "make do and mend"?
Am also reminded of people I've met throughout the years and how their actions serve as reminders that yes, we need to reuse, make do and mend.
The woman that had to wash her husband's only business shirt every evening so that he could have a "fresh" one every morning for work; the woman who reused jars with lids to bring her milk/juice for lunch at work and reused envelopes and other stationary. I am sure you can come up with more notable examples of making do, saving and conserving.
Are we willing to mend anymore? So much is disposable that we just don't consider doing that. You really do not see people with mended clothing. Do you?
Do we even know what mending is?
Austerity is a tough thing to consider this day and age.

Lots to think about .... via The Guardian: America's other debt crisis http://bit.ly/pFXeKQ