International Repair Day 2024: Celebrating 15 Years of Global Repair, Collecting Data, and 3 years of RE:Make Newport!
This October, Repair Cafe Wales is celebrating International Repair Day in a big way, extending the festivities throughout the entire month. With the theme of sustainability and community, this year’s celebration is particularly special as it coincides with the 15th anniversary of the global Repair Cafe movement and the 3rd anniversary of Re:Make Newport. Reflecting on our role in a growing movement that emphasizes the power of repair and data. The data collected from repair events worldwide— including right here in Wales—has helped to reveal the scale and impact of community repair, driving both local and global change.
The Global Impact of Repair Data Collection
Between August 2023 and July 2024, the Open Repair Alliance logged nearly 70,000 repair attempts for electrical and electronic items across the world. This staggering number equates to roughly 6,000 repair attempts per month or 200 every day. But what’s more impressive is that this figure represents just 20% of all global electrical repairs performed at community events, as many repairs go unlogged or remain unshared.
By contributing data from our own Repair Café events in Wales, we’re playing a vital part in the movement to keep products out of landfills. This data helps to create a more comprehensive picture of community repair and underlines its importance for both sustainability and consumer empowerment.
Repair Success Rates and Barriers: What the Data Shows
At Repair Cafe events worldwide, around 53% of the items brought in for repair are successfully fixed. This figure includes the many electrical and electronic products that people may otherwise discard, saving them from the waste stream and extending their lifespan. However, data also shows that about 25% of items are deemed beyond repair and are sent for recycling instead.
What’s stopping repairs?
- Lack of available spare parts (25%) – Repairers often cannot complete repairs because necessary parts are unavailable.
- High cost of spare parts (18%) – In some cases, parts are available but are too expensive for repair to be a viable option.
- Difficulty opening products (16%) – Many modern products are designed in ways that make repair challenging, even impossible, without specialist tools or knowledge.
- Lack of repair information (12%) – Repairers often struggle with products because manufacturers don’t provide the necessary repair manuals or instructions.
Re:Make Newport Turns 3
In the midst of this celebration, we’re also proud to mark the 3rd birthday of Re:Make Newport, our permanent space where the community comes together to repair, upcycle, and share knowledge. Over the past three years, Re:Make Newport has repaired hundreds of items, provided workshops on sustainable living, and created a vibrant hub for repair enthusiasts. This birthday is a fantastic milestone which has seen many people come in to get repairs, attend workshops, pick up some sustainable items, or even just grab a cuppa with a safe place to chat.
Join Us and Advocate for the Right to Repair
Alongside the celebrations, Repair Cafe Wales is actively participating in the movement for the right to repair, urging communities, and policymakers to support more accessible repair options. We’re encouraging our network to take action by getting MPs to sign the Repair Declaration, a call to enshrine the Right to Repair in law, ensuring everyone can easily access the means to repair their items, rather than being forced to discard them.
Be Part of the Change
To make the most of International Repair Day, we invite everyone in Wales to attend their local Repair Cafe event during the month. Whether you’ve got an old toaster, a torn pair of jeans, or simply want to learn a new skill, this is the perfect opportunity to join a growing community that cares deeply about reducing waste. We also can’t wait to see the celebrations and all the bunting from repair cafe’s around the world joined together at the Repair Café XL in The Hague in the Netherlands.
If you would like to learn more on the data which has been collected The Restart Project has created an interesting report which you can read here!
