Truth. And I say this as someone who owns the watch his dad (not a POW, but fought in Korea) had. Still needs some tuning up, but also works if you give it attention.

Clothing is one of the worst offenders. Read any article about "fast fashion" and the way that making things "more affordable" ends up creating this cycle of just more and more garbage. Unlike the electronics in landfills, most of these aren't fixable (even by mending), because the materials are synthetic and fall apart.

As far as valuing and fixing, when we bought our house last year, our dishwasher died, and instead of calling a plumber, I opened it up, saw the part that had clearly come loose, and spent some time googling the manual and finding the part online (which cost $4). Then spent a little more time figuring out how to eventually remove the rubber nut that was stuck, and eventually had a working dishwasher again. Spent a lot less money and actually appreciate the device.