ANA MARIA BARBU,

DOINA PLĂCINTĂ

For example, they don't buy shoes as often and prefer to repair the old ones. It's cheaper, but it also indirectly helps the environment. Fewer new shoes mean fewer resources consumed and less waste.

This is how the businesses of cobblers, which were threatened with bankruptcy some years ago, have taken flight again. And some are even expanding.

Worried until recently that he would have to give up his cobbler workshop in Cluj-Napoca because he had few clients, Dorin Duca now has daily work.

Clients are generally Romanians who have started to pay more attention to how they spend their money and don't go straight to the stores to buy a new pair of shoes when, for example, the sole of the old ones is worn out.

Dorin Duca, cobbler: "Change the sole, put a zipper, paint the shoes".

In his workshop, this last service has the lowest price, 20 lei. Repairing a heel on a shoe is 25 lei and replacing the sole is 100 lei.

But what types of footwear do people ask the cobbler for help?

Dorin Duca, cobbler: "Anything made of leather, people prefer to have them repaired".

In Cluj-Napoca, Duca faces significant competition. Over 20 cobblers are listed on the city's Google map and there are others that are not indexed.

With a brush in hand, like an artist, the paint is restored on a shoe that would cost at least 500 lei when new.

Besides the classic cobblers, shoe cleaning services have also expanded, and they are not short of customers either.

The waterproofing procedure costs 20 lei. The cleaning process is more expensive, but paying the price saves clients from a bigger expense.

Robert Mușet, shoe cleaning administrator in Cluj: "If you have a pair that you wore last winter, you most likely have salt and water stains. You can choose to buy a new pair for 1,000 lei or have them professionally cleaned for 55 lei".

Alexandru Voicu, owner of a shoe cleaning workshop in Brașov: "People appreciate quality footwear, which costs around 150-200 euros. Why not spend 20 euros for professional treatment and use it for another year or two?"

Ovidiu Condutuță, client: "I have footwear that I wear for years; they are of quality and I prefer to clean them".

Some shoe cleaners have so many clients recently that they still want to expand, such as Alexandru Voicu in Brașov.

In addition to those who come to extend the life of some shoes to save money, others are knocking on their door, thinking about the environment and not wanting to encourage the "fast fashion" phenomenon that pollutes the environment.