Martine Postma, a Dutch journalist, came up with an idea that has grown into a worldwide organization that repairs thousands of household items every week. All for free! That’s right, for free.
Postma initiated the first Repair Café in Amsterdam in October 2009, after learning about an increasing number of everyday items being tossed to the curb, then incinerated or buried in already overcrowded landfills. Only to be replaced with new — oftentimes more expensive — versions of the same product.
Rather than see this wasteful, expensive pattern perpetuate indefinitely, Postma contacted people she knew who were handy at fixing things.
That was the genesis of the first Repair Café, where items such as lamps, electronics, furniture, bicycles, jewelry, along with sewing repairs to clothing, were offered for free. Martine saw a need, she filled it, and her idea has spread like wildfire across the globe.
The Advent of Planned Obsolescence
Today, a growing number of everyday products are designed and manufactured to be replaced rather than repaired. This phenomenon is known as “planned obsolescence,” a business strategy where manufacturers intentionally design or engineer products with a limited useful life so that they wear out, break, or become outdated quickly, forcing consumers to buy replacements.
Gone are the days when you could call a “TV Repairman.” Today, the advice you’ll get is to simply “throw away” your TV and buy a new one. But there is no place called “away.” Residents of the United States throw out more “stuff” than any other nation in the world. While Americans make up only 4% of the global population, we produce more than 12% of the planet’s trash.1
Repair Cafés don’t completely solve this problem, but they do give items a second or third life and reduce the volume of so-called trash that is being burned or buried. Repairing items also reduces the amount of energy needed to produce and transport new products, which helps to preserve Earth’s finite natural resources and reduces harmful carbon emissions. Not to mention saving consumers money in an increasingly expensive world.
To launch a Repair Café in your community, you’ll need to recruit an eclectic mix of talented people who can periodically volunteer four or five hours of their time on a weekend day. You’ll also need to find a central location with sufficient parking and a room that’s large enough to accommodate a dozen or so repair tables.
The town of Natick, Massachusetts, has staged seven Repair Cafés, beginning in April 2023. They alternate hosting their Repair Cafés with the neighboring City of Framingham — which has held a dozen events.
Toward the end of each event, there are always people asking, “When do you plan to hold the next one?” That’s a clear sign that Repair Cafés are growing in popularity!
Take Action: How to Start a Repair Café in Your Community
- U.S. PIRG Education Fund, https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/trash-in-america/#ftn1
