Sire, the advertising industry body which which produces campaigns to improve society, is launching a campaign on Monday to encourage people to have broken household goods and torn clothing repaired.

‘So many things get thrown away, especially if they are broken, but that does not mean an object is without value,’ Sire director Lucy van der Helm told broadcaster NOS. ‘It used to be normal to repair things ourselves, but now we take the easy way out and would rather replace them if they don’t work properly.’

The Dutch, she said, only tend to consider repairing items which cost at least €100. and the foundation estimates people throw away the equivalent of 18 kilos of electric apparatus each every year.

The campaign includes ads on television, internet and radio and a website full of tips about repairing popular items and addresses where you can have items mended.

Sire was founded in 1967 and its campaigns have focused on wide range of issues, from loneliness among the elderly to online bullying and, controversially, allowing boys to be boys.