How to Get Involved With Repair This Summer
Do you want to start repairing your things, but just don't know where to start? You are not alone! According to a study by ReLondon, 69% of Londoners would repair more broken household items including electricals and furniture if they knew how, but 40% would not be confident in skills needed to do so. [1] This statistic is echoed in numerous other global studies across various types of repair. [2] These findings suggest that we have largely lost the knowledge of repair that came so easily to our elders.
What are repair cafes?
But there are ways to learn! Since 2011, Repair Café International Foundation has been on a mission to preserve repair skills, with over 2500 regular cafes worldwide. [3] Repair Cafes are completely free events that encourage you to bring those items in desperate need of fixing up from home. At the Repair Café, you will meet a range of repair specialists and volunteers with knowledge in different areas, from bicycle wizards to appliance virtuosos.
They’ll help you make the repairs you need and teach you in the process. By sharing with you their advice, you’ll learn new skills which can then be passed on to others. This is one way we can all help to extend the lifespan of our possessions and in turn reduce the amount of things we throw away.
The impact of repair
Sadly, every year, 300,000 tonnes of textile waste and 50 million tonnes of electronic waste are either dumped in landfills or burned. [4,5] This is largely due to the fact that many manufacturers purposely create poorly made or hard to repair products in order to force us into buying more or paying them for repairs. [6] Since 2021, the Right to Repair act legally requires manufacturers to make spare parts, once again giving us the the right to repair our products at home. [7]
Repairing your old things where you can rather than buying new is one big way we can all act to live a more sustainable life. As well as this, the feeling of taking something broken and making it functional again is greatly rewarding. Let’s shift away from our disposable society and get repairing!
If you want to find a Repair Café near you, follow the link below for an interactive map of Repair Café events near you! [8]
https://www.repaircafe.org/en/visit/
Team Repair’s involvement
Team Repair shares in the belief that it is of vital importance to teach the next generation the magic of repair. We have had the pleasure of having our kits used in repair cafes across the country, giving children an activity to do whilst their parents are busy getting something repaired. Get in touch if you would like to bring our repair kits into your local Repair Café!
[2] https://threadsmonthly.com/repair-clothes-statistics/
[3] https://www.repaircafe.org/en/about/
[4]https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/report-summary.html
[5] https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/waste/electronic-waste-facts
[6] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231027-how-the-right-to-repair-might-change-technology
[7] https://www.bigrepairproject.org.uk/about/about-this-project
