The laptop bag’s zipper fails under the weight of the not so light machine you carry everyday. Or the soft luggage has a small tear from the last airline trip. Or the floater’s beginning to lose its sole – no pun intended – to the abuse that our myriad surfaces throw at it. What do you do?

Usually, head to out to the nearest store to look for a good, nay, better, replacement. And chuck the current one out, or donate it, or whatever. There’s a plethora of stores, brands and choices after all. And its not that expensive, given disposable incomes, is it? But there’s another solution.

Remember the guy who used to stitch your school shoes back into shape? He’s still round the corner.

Bangalore – largely courtesy Lidkar (Karnataka Leather Industries Development Corporation) – has seen a resurgence in cobbler kiosks in all parts of the city, and we have ours in Bellandur and Kaikondrahalli – just past the lake. The damage is usually small, and the bag, or shoe, will serve you well for as much time as it already has, usually.

The cobblers do a fairly decent job such that the stitches don’t really show badly, and the bags look almost as good as new. They can work with leather, and even the newer sneakers and soft luggage. We’ve had one of our soft bags’ really long zipper – the ones that go around the bag – replaced and serve us well for over a year now! And all of this for a fraction of the cost of a new bag or piece of foot wear!

The cobblers also refurbish old footwear to a very usable state and thats then reused for a long long time by someone out there who also gets a very good deal on a shoe – sometimes a branded one! So if you’d planning to chuck something out, give this option a shot so your shoe lives on a little longer.

A stitch in time saves not just nine, but a decent amount of cash as well. And of course, this helps you reduce your consumption footprint in the process. Next time you see a tear in footwear, try one of these guys out. ⊕