When something breaks, do you consider if it could be repaired before tossing it? When a friend’s bag strap caught on a door handle and ripped so that it could no longer be used, I offered to fix it. It wasn’t a high end bag. It seemed like something handed out as a giveaway at an event that was manufactured in bulk for cost efficiency, not quality, but the zipper was a nice feature, my friend regularly used it, and it wasn’t going to take long to fix. Why not fix it?
I keep a box of remnant fabric for things like this so that I don’t have to turn it into a todo with a trip to the store to find the right fabric and thread, etc. In my box I found faux leather and part of an old pair of jeans—which would make it sturdier than before. After that, I ripped out the seams, used the existing pieces as a pattern to cut new pieces and then sewed it back together.
When giving gifts, consider “wrapping” them in something that could be useful. For example, when I returned the bag it was the “wrapping paper” for a couple of birthday presents inside.