Repair Cafes gain momentum as anti-consumerism spreads

Repair Cafes – In a basement in New Paltz, neighbors bring broken items instead of replacing them—part of Repair Cafe’s global growth alongside broader anti-consumerism efforts. With U.S. consumer prices rising again last month and the pressure of higher gasoline costs after

On a drizzly Saturday morning late last month, the basement of the New Paltz United Methodist Church filled with old lamps, blunt knives, malfunctioning sound mixers, and balky zippers.

Volunteers in the space welcomed the broken goods—and the people carrying them—into a worldwide movement that’s trying to rebuild relationships between neighbors and their possessions.

Repair Cafes are free events where volunteers with technical know-how help neighbors fix a wide range of household items. They have become part of a newer wave of anti-consumerism that’s pushing an alternative to the mass-produced. disposable goods that have dominated the global economy for roughly the last half-century. In the U.S. the momentum comes as consumer prices climbed sharply again last month. with the war with Iran delivering higher gasoline prices and more pain for Americans.

“We need to change our mindset. We need to change the economy,” Repair Cafe founder Martine Postma said. “Even if Repair Cafes can’t solve the problem alone, then still they are a very clear sign that change is needed on a much higher level.”

Repair Cafe has grown since its earliest days in the Netherlands, where it began with a single event in 2009. Today, it describes itself as a global nonprofit with more than 59,000 members, some 4,000 cafes, and close to 850,000 items fixed a year.

In New Paltz, a Hudson Valley college town about two hours from New York, the crowd brought about 85 items. Around 50 people arrived with an antique fan that required rewiring, shirts, pants, jackets, and stuffed animals. There were also old family photos needing restoration and jewelry awaiting work, including restringing beads or replacing clasps.

Repair experts sat behind long cafeteria tables and worked with attendees, offering more than a quick fix. The setting gave people a chance to learn that flawed goods don’t automatically belong in the trash.

“Maybe their initial reason for coming is monetary or sentimental,” organizer Holly Shader said.

More than that, she added, “it gives people a chance to work together and extend the life of something. People form relationships.”

Out of the items brought that day, the experts fixed 71. Four needed more work, and 10 were deemed beyond repair.

The work isn’t presented as a crisis response. Volunteers described enjoying the low-pressure joy of fixing things, with networking as a side benefit.

“I get to come and actually do the work and meet the nice people and show them how to put something together,” contractor Patrick L. Murphy said.

Repair Cafe is one visible piece of a broader repair-focused ecosystem spreading in the U.S. and beyond. Networks promoting this approach include the Buy Nothing Project. “right to repair” legislation. and a growing number of tool libraries dedicated to repairing. trading. and giving instead of buying and selling.

The Buy Nothing Project began in Washington state in 2013 and maintains an app and social media presence that links people giving things away with people nearby who want them. On its Facebook page. the group describes its network as “a worldwide network of gift economies.” Founder Liesl Clark said the network has expanded to at least 12.5 million people on Facebook. and she pointed to a growth rate with the ability to influence corporate and state behavior.

“What was a social movement has really become a safety net for millions of people,” Clark said. “People are seeing that you don’t have to go to the Amazons of the world to get what you might need, there is a robust material culture in your community.

We want to change the way that the world consumes.”

She described the movement as starting “as a social and economic and environmental experiment,” and said that when neighbors fix things together, it creates a conversation that crosses barriers.

“There’s going to be a conversation that you have, when you and someone else are fixing something together,” she said. “We’re finding that we’re crossing a lot of barriers.”

A key driver behind the events is a gap in everyday repair skills. Peter Counter. an engineer studying Repair Cafes and working on a doctorate at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. England. said many people have lost the ability to repair household goods—skills he said were once nearly universal.

“The idea that you can fix your own stuff has receded because the skills are not being passed down,” Counter said. “If you want something fixed, it’s almost certainly cheaper to go buy a new one.”

Counter said community repair remains financially viable because volunteers spend their time, and that even when spare parts must be purchased, the model holds.

The “right to repair” movement pushes consumers to be empowered to repair their own products instead of being forced to go to manufacturers for tools and instructions. A national campaign pushed in 2023 for states to consider bills requiring manufacturers to give access to tools and instructions for both customers and repair shops. and a handful of states have passed legislation. Around the country. some jurisdictions are also hosting tool libraries that allow people to borrow expensive tools just like library books.

In the New Paltz basement, the day ended with a moment that was part accomplishment, part reassurance. Paula Weinstein, 79, brought in a 1930s-era Hammond clock and handed it to Bob Morton.

Morton, an 82-year-old former IBM electrical engineer, said he enjoys using his skills to stay intellectually busy and help people.

“I’ve been blessed to still have a brain,” the grandfather of three said. “It’s a chance to do something.”

Weinstein added, “It’s wonderful to see people restoring older things.”

After hours of patient work together, the hands of her clock moved.

“Yes, it’s working!” she shouted. “Oh, my goodness, thank you!”

“I’m glad I stuck with it,” Morton said.

Repair Cafe anti-consumerism right to repair tool libraries Buy Nothing Project U.S. consumer prices war with Iran New Paltz United Methodist Church