Beyond the Bay
Worldwide Initiatives
There are loads of energized people around the world doing very creative work in repair. Some of our favorite organizations are listed below, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg.
We urge anyone interested in repair to visit these sites where they not only describe their important initiatives, but also address the larger picture of why repair matters — to the environment, to local communities, and to individuals' well-being. Further, they often offer their own pages of links, portals into this vast and multifaceted effort to further a culture of repair.
Complement these organizations with listings on our Ideas, Practical and Technical Resources and Educator Resources pages. Companies that inspire us are noted at the bottom of this page.
The Restart Project — London, UK — An extraordinary, multifaceted program principally concerned with electronics — "Together we will fix our relationship with electronics and make our devices last longer. We will take back control of the stuff we own, and enjoy innovation at our own pace." “We focus on the value in the stuff we already have.” The Restart Project is actively involved with advocacy, research, community repair events, podcast, data collection, school curriculum, measuring environmental impact, and much more. Introductory video.
therestartproject.org
iFixit — Tools, supplies and replacement parts for sale; free repair manuals, repair advocacy. "iFixit is the free repair manual that you can edit. We are a community of people helping each other fix stuff. Come hang out with us — you'll find a friendly, helpful bunch of people who care about things and want to make them last longer...We are building a free repair manual for every device." "We have the right to repair everything we own. It's high time we demand the right to open, tinker with, and repair everything we own. We have the right to fix our own things or choose which service shop to use; to manuals and diagnostic tools the dealers use; and to unlock and jailbreak the software on our devices." See also this interview of Kyle Weins, iFixit co-founder, in Craftsmanship Magazine.
iFixit.com.
Repair Association — "Right to Repair" — "Consumers, product owners, and independent professionals must have the right to repair, resell and reuse their products. The Repair Association advocates nationally for a competitive repair market, as well as improvements to the quality and longevity of products."
repair.org
R-Riparabile — Milan, Italy — The project’s website serves as a resource and inspiration for researchers, designers and manufacturers alike in understanding the value of repairability and how it relates to innovation, product life, circularity, and related. The larger section offers an impressive compilation of objects and projects from around the world featuring repairability in design and construction. This is complemented by an exploration of ideas and products of the circular and “responsible economy”, such as lowering impact, humanizing, dignified aging, slowing down, and related. An inspiring visit.
http://r-riparabile.com/repair-projects/
Fight to Repair — "Fighting for repair everywhere. We fight for your right to own what you buy." Working to implement Right to Repair legislation at the state and federal levels in the United States, and in solidarity with Right to Repair initiatives around the world. —
https://fighttorepair.org/
Fixit Clinic — Headquartered in The East Bay, Fixit Clinic operates in The Bay, nationally and internationally. Fixit Clinic has hosted over 400 Fixit Clinic STEM-oriented community repair events nationwide. Now turning its focus upstream, Fixit Clinic is working with university engineering and design programs at MIT, Harvard and UC Berkeley. Fixit Clinic participates in policy development in California and was a founding member of the Open Repair Alliance, an international collaboration among repair initiatives to standardize data collection. “Education, entertainment, empowerment, elucidation, and, ultimately, enlightenment through guided disassembly of your broken stuff.” Founder Peter Mui spoke about Fixit Clinics, right to repair, and his larger vision at RE:WIRED GREEN 2022. Also see this article in Craftsmanship.
https://fixitclinic.blogspot.com/
Sharepair — European Union — “An umbrella network for cities that are committed to decrease the still growing mountain of waste from electric and electronic devices by encouraging and promoting repair. Our goal is to create an ever growing network of Repair Cities in Europe. The project aims to reach this goal by scaling up citizen repair through awareness and the use of digital tools. These digital tools stimulate and facilitate citizens repair by collecting repair solutions and making them easily accessible to citizens. They will also guide citizens towards the best repair solutions in their area.” Sharepair collaborated in developing the excellent education packs “Make It Work!”.
https://www.sharepair.org/
Fixing Factory — London, UK — Our mission: "Empower local communities by teaching them new repair skills. Slash carbon emissions by diverting items from waste. Close the digital divide by providing equal access to devices." Repair events, volunteer fixer training, classes on repair, including laptop repair and maintenance classes for youth.
https://www.fixingfactory.org/
Repair Shop — New York City, USA — "Repair Shop is a research and learning studio investigating maintenance, craft, and design." A project based on a "love of research, design, textiles, and helping people learn. As Repair Shop, we partner across disciplines to discover, practice, and share craft- and repair-related knowledge.… We … support and develop projects that consider what it means to make and consume in today’s world by prioritizing systems thinking, slow craft, and human and planetary health. Repair Shop is our shared home for this work in all its forms, from mending tattered sweaters, to facilitating accessible repair workshops, to researching cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural approaches to circularity."
https://rrepairs.shop/
Repair Futures — The Netherlands — “With Repair Futures project we explore the current and future possibilities for repair within the fashion system. We want to stimulate popular interest in clothing repair and inspire greater engagement of consumers, designers, and businesses in this practice. The project consists of an exhibition, workshops, discussions, collective mapping, and a public campaign. It promotes repair as a method for transforming, reactivating and (re)imagining clothes and advocates for its structural inclusion in the fashion retail system.”
http://repair-futures.thickpresent.com/
Share and Repair Bath — England — “Share & Repair is a charity in Bath and North East Somerset. Our aims are to help local people save money and the planet through reduce, repair and reuse. We do this through the Share and Repair Shop in central Bath - where our Library of Things is based - via monthly Repair Cafés and regular HOW TO workshops.”
https://linktr.ee/ShareRepairBath
Transformative Repair — Australia — “Designing for sustainability using a transformative repair model is an Australian Research Council funded project…The project will generate new knowledge in design-based repair and reuse of consumer products to develop a new community of craft and design practitioners, audience and clientele, in collaboration with leading Australian design and craft organizations. It responds to the pressing cultural and environmental burden of product obsolescence and consumer waste through innovation in transformative repair – a designed reworking of broken or discarded consumer objects that transforms their aesthetic appeal and cultural value. It applies transition design theory to develop localised progressions of the transformative repair model to foster knowledge exchange between partner organisation while contributing to a sustainable design economy in Australia."
https://transformativerepair.net/
Repair Economy — Washington State and PNW region — “A project of Zero Waste Washington bringing together fixer groups, tool libraries, and makerspaces across the Pacific Northwest to collaborate and elevate repair and share over replacement. We host an ever-evolving map of all known community-based groups as well as professional repair shops. Additionally, we conduct research on the social, environmental, and economic impact of repair and reuse; leveraging it to advocate for better policy.”
www.repaireconomywa.org
Repair Acts — UK — “Fostering restorative cultures by connecting past stories, with what we do today, to how we envision the future.” “Established in 2018, Repair Acts is a ‘mothership’ entity a number of projects. Currently the programme is working … on exploring rural mending and fixing cultures in the midlands county of Westmeath through Repair Acts, Ireland.”
https://repairacts.net/
Artículo 41, Club de Reparadores — Buenos Aires, Agentina — Artículo 41 is a vibrant organization with a number of initiatives promoting the right to a healthy environment, as defined by Article 41 of the National Constitution. The Club de Reparadores (Repair Club) is one of those initiatives. Among many activities, the Club de Reparadores organizes and supports community repair events in Buenos Aires and far beyond, including organizing a network of repair groups throughout Latin America. Their Ligas Menores (Minor Leagues) created educational materials (in Spanish) and works in educational settings promoting the circular economy, the collaborative economy and environmental activism with practical and concrete actions. And more!
http://reparadores.club/
ADEME — France — A project of the French Republic — Agency for Ecological Transition. Extensive and impressive range of services for the public, private and nonprofit sectors. “At ADEME, we are resolutely committed to the fight against global warming and the degradation of resources. On the ground, we mobilize citizens, economic stakeholders and territories to give them the means to progress. We set ourselves ambitious goals and call for a general mobilization: we must work faster.” Services range broadly, from finding the repair index grade for laptops; from helping businesses secure financing for transitioning to more sustainable processes to publishing research on everything from repair, to the circular economy to the nutritional benefits of legumes. Too much to summarize here. See: Longue Vie Aux Objets / Lengthen the Lives of Objects; Main page:
https://www.ademe.fr/en/frontpage/
Repair Acts, Ireland — Ireland — "Repair Acts, Ireland aims to foster vibrant and restorative repair cultures in Ireland by connecting past stories about mending and fixing things, with what we do today, to how we envision the future. Over 2022 we will be working with local communities, repair enthusiast and experts, DIY hobbyists and passionate amateurs to build the people’s online photo archive of everyday repaired objects. Documenting and mapping how we used to repair things, with our “Right to Repair”, we will be creating Ireland’s first “Repair Declaration” and speculating on future directions, we will be creating a series of new art works and site-based installation."
https://www.repairacts.ie/
The Centre for Sustainable Design — UK — "The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) has built world class knowledge and expertise of sustainable innovation and product sustainability. The Centre researches, develops and disseminates understanding of present and future sustainability impacts and solutions related to innovation, products, technologies, services and systems through projects, training, events, networks and information." See in particular: "Makers & Fixers Circular Economy & Grassroots Innovation: Ten Lessons Learnt", concise summary findings of 3rd June 2014 symposium, and "Makers and Fixers Circular Economy and Grassroots Innovation", 6:41 high-level video of the issues, research and global initiatives.
Repair Cafe — Amsterdam, world headquarters — "Repair Cafes are free meeting places and they're all about repairing things together. ... Bring your broken items from home. You'll find tools and materials and expert volunteers. You make repairs together .... It's an ongoing learning process. If you have nothing to repair, you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can lend a hand with someone else's repair job. You can also get inspired at the reading table, leafing through books on repairs and DIY. There are over a thousand Repair Cafes worldwide..."
repaircafe.org
Fixers' Collective — Brooklyn — "The Fixers Collective is a social experiment in improvisational fixing and aggressive asset recovery. Bring in any item that isn't working, is broken, needs mending or repair and together we will attempt to restore it so that it functions again." See Vincent Lai interviews in the New York Times and The Maintainers
http://www.fixerscollective.org/
Repair PDX — Portland, Oregon — "Repair PDX formed in March 2013 to bring repair events to Portland residents. Inspired by the Netherlands Repair Cafes, our group of dedicated volunteers ..."
repairpdx.org
Share, Reuse, Repair Initiative — Vancouver — "The Share Reuse Repair Initiative (SRRI) brings together government, business, and community innovators to build a culture and economy of sharing, reuse, and repair in the Greater Vancouver region in order to prevent waste, support lighter living and enable circular innovation. The SRRI has three key functions: to collaboratively test promising prototypes; to build a more consistent foundation of support through policy, funding, and partnerships; and to amplify existing efforts while catalyzing positive new innovation."
https://www.sharereuserepair.org/repair.html
CanRepair — “The Canadian Repair Coalition is a grassroots organization which seeks to bring together Right to Repair advocates from across the country.”
https://www.canrepair.ca/home
Mend It, Australia — Australia — A bountiful, meaningful, and actionable social media presence, Mend It, Australia’s posts range from local to world-wide, from tactical to strategic to ideological. They are forceful on-the-ground advocates, not to mention tireless volunteers at community repair events of all stripes.
https://www.facebook.com/mendaussie
unbroken.solutions — UK — Consumerism, mass production, short-lived and impossible-to-repair objects, loss of knowledge and skills, legal obstructions to repair… “Confronting these challenges, this project takes a constructive or solutions approach; to identify and shed a light on the repairers, re-users, activists, and solution providers, as exemplars. The overall aim is to point to ways we can all make better use of what we have and to build a more sustainable future.”
https://unbroken.solutions/
The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre — Sydney, Australia — "The Bower’s Threefold Mission: * Environment: to reduce the amount of waste entering landfill by reclaiming household items for repair, reuse and resale. * Creativity: to encourage reuse via repair and upcycle workshops. * Community: to provide affordable goods to low-income earners and other disadvantaged groups and to generate local employment…The Bower is an entire resource centre for sustainable living and unique in its offering. Key to our mission of diverting landfill is the promotion of a reuse and repair culture."
https://bower.org.au/
The Remakery — London, UK — "The Remakery was born in 2012 out of a disused car park in South London. Located between Brixton and Camberwell, our not-for-profit maker-space has fostered a community of makers, artists, local residents and enterprises that have been breathing new life and creativity into things destined for landfill. Encouraging people to actively rethink, recover, reuse and redistribute surplus materials."
https://www.remakery.org/
Edinburgh Remakery — Edinburgh, Scotland — “Cultivating a culture of repair and reuse.” "Founded in 2012, our mission is to put an end to waste by providing people and communities with the skills and opportunities to live more sustainably." “Our workshops not only aim to build confidence and improve mental wellbeing, they also empower members of our community with the skills they need to live more sustainably…[They] are centred around sustainable training in repair and reuse, providing techniques in mending, altering, remaking, and reimagining, we utilise ‘waste’ materials that would normally go to waste, such as old books or scraps of fabric, to fix or improve other items, or to make something new.”
https://www.edinburghremakery.org.uk/
Repair What You Wear — Mending Tutorials: “Repair What You Wear is our personal response to austerity and climate change, a recognition of the need that small things will make a difference to individuals and society… a unique, free to access website that teaches and inspires anyone to easily mend their own clothes. At a time when people are increasingly aware of the importance of reducing waste as well as saving money, Repair What You Wear gives people easy-to-use techniques and skills to mend their own clothes.”
https://repairwhatyouwear.com
CRRA — California Resource Recovery Association —"...California's statewide recycling association. .. dedicated to achieving environmental sustainability in and beyond CA through Zero Waste strategies including product stewardship, waste prevention, reuse, recycling and composting. ... members represent all aspects of CA's reduce-reuse-recycle-compost economy."
http://www.crra.com
Prevention, Reuse & Repair Technical Council: http://www.crra.com/technical-councils
Fixable — Macedon Ranges and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia — Non-profit / social enterprise platform to connect people who know how to repair, with people looking to pay to have their broken objects fixed. “Fixable's purpose is to divert maximum items from the waste stream, to make the environment healthier, our users' lives better, and society fairer."
https://fixable.co/
London Repairs — London, UK — A “tool to help people find a reliable repair shop in their local area. We are building a directory of reliable local repair businesses, and making it simple for the public to find these businesses when they need an urgent fix to their gadget or device.” Search on their map by category of object.
https://londonrepairs.org/
Portland Repair Finder — Portland, Oregon — “Portland Repair Finder is more than a directory. It intends to serve Portlanders as a community hub for repair work, unifying disparate parts into a community of people who value repair. Our goal is to reduce logistical barriers as much as possible while building a case for repair as a relevant, valuable and fun practice. We gauge success both by the number of objects repaired, and by success in positioning the practice of repair as a meaningful alternative to business-as-usual consumer culture. Alongside reduce, reuse and recycle, let’s add repair as the 4th R of sustainability."
https://www.portlandrepairfinder.com/
Handled With Care — “an Australian based project supporting pro-sustaining psychologies. Its objective is to create conditions of repairing, sharing and responsibly discarding. It is also to support an understanding of the necessity and value of these practices. Our immediate interests lie in creating a platform where research, discussion and information are easily accessible and visible.
… Part of this plan is to design strategies and services so as to rediscover our ability to maintain and embrace usage instead of ownership.” “Holding onto something by repairing it and letting it go by sharing it.”
http://www.handledwithcare.org.au/
FIXUP — New York, NY, USA — “Care for what you have.” "We have learned that people are hungry for repair services, eager to re-think the way we buy and spend, and willing to spend their money to take care of the things they have. We help make it easier. Re-invigorating repair in our economy will help us rethink the way we design, manufacture, shop, use and discard. Repair creates a connection between what we own and what we value."
https://www.fixup.nyc/
RREUSE — EU, headquartered in Brussels — "RREUSE represents social enterprises active in reuse, repair and recycling. We want the EU and national governments to move from promoting just recycling and waste management to putting secondhand first."
www.rreuse.org
Community Glue Workshop — Chicago — "The Edgewater-based organization’s goals are to divert repairable items from the waste stream (or repurpose them if need be), encourage critical thinking, debunk the relentless myth that newer is better, and foster community."
http://communityglueworkshop.org/
ReTuna Recycling Galleria -- Eskilstuna, Sweden -- "The world's first recycling mall, revolutionizing shopping in a climate-smart way. Old items are given new life through repair and upcycling. Everything sold is recycled or reused or has been organically or sustainably produced." Retuna staff receive and distribute reusable items to "recycling shops" in the mall. Shop staff select items for repair, fixing up, converting or refining – and ultimately selling. Unusable but recyclable materials are transported next door to the municipal recycling center.
https://www.retuna.se/english/about-us/
Related to Repair: National and International Initiatives, Research and Resources
Ellen MacArthur Foundation — "...works with business, government and academia to build a framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design." — "The Circular Design Guide" — www.circulardesignguide.com — works with Tim Brown of IDEO. (See a high level sketch of the concepts and repair's place in the circular economy on The Culture of Repair.)
www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
WRAP - WRAP's vision is a world in which resources are used sustainably. WRAP “works with governments, businesses and communities to deliver practical solutions to improve resource efficiency. Our mission is to accelerate the move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy by: re-inventing how we design, produce and sell products, re-thinking how we use and consume products, and re-defining what is possible through re-use and recycling.” Note: Mending is too infrequently not the focal point of repair initiatives. WRAP’s offerings on the devastating environmental impact of textiles is particularly strong.
http://wrap.org.uk/-
Reuse International (formerly Reuse Institute) — "a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of reuse through educational events, training services and research projects. Mary Ellen Etienne
http://www.reuseinstitute.org/
ReUse Network — Southern CA — "...promoting and empowering deconstruction practices and the reuse of quality building materials and surplus property."
www.reusenetwork.org and www.decon-network.org
PLAN — Post Landfill Action Network — college campuses nationwide— "...cultivates, educates, and inspires the student-led zero waste movement."
www.postlandfill.org
ResCoM — project of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation — "...takes a systems approach ... to help manufacturers rethink the relationships between design, business model, supply chain and technology. Shifting away from optimizing isolated parts of a system provides companies an opportunity to make greater returns by addressing the whole system in which their products are made."
www.rescoms.eu
The Freecycle Network — "... made up of 5,301 groups with 9,091,717 members around the world, and next door to you. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and neighborhoods. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers...."
www.freecycle.org
CA Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) — "Design It Green -> Take It Back" —"...a powerful network of governments, non-government organizations, businesses, and individuals advocating for policies and projects where producers share in the responsibility for funding and managing problem products at the end of life." "Extended Producer Responsibility"
calpsc.org
National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) — "Advocating for a Circular Economy" — (established by CPSC) — "...a powerful network of governments, non-government organizations, businesses, and individuals advocating for policies and projects where producers share in the responsibility for funding and managing problem products at the end of life." "Extended Producer Responsibility"
nsaction.us
The Story of Stuff — Annie Leonard — "We have a problem with Stuff. We use too much, too much of it is toxic and we don’t share it very well. But that’s not the way things have to be. Together, we can build a society based on better not more, sharing not selfishness, community not division. The Story of Stuff Project’s journey began with a 20-minute online movie about the way we make, use and throw away all the Stuff in our lives. Five years and 40 million views later, we’re a Community of more than a million change-makers worldwide, working to build a more healthy and just planet. We invite you to watch and share our movies, participate in our study programs and join our campaigns."
storyofstuff.org
RSA — UK — Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers, and Commerce — "Our mission is to create a neutral space where all disciplines can learn, collaborate and act in pursuit of a more circular economy."
www.thersa.org
Zero Waste Europe — "...creating a movement aiming at eliminating waste in our society. We empower communities and change agents from around Europe to redesign their relationship with resources, to adapt their lifestyle, their consumption patterns, and to think circular. ... We are both a knowledge network and an advocacy group, representing active communities in countries across the EU."
www.zerowasteeurope.eu
This Old House — USA — "Donating unwanted furniture is a charitable act, especially given rising costs and recession worries among customers. It can provide indirect assistance to an organization that helps people. It’s also more sustainable than simply throwing your furniture away, helping to keep furniture out of landfills. We’ve compiled several charities that will pick up furniture for free." Eight charities are profiled here. "This Old House Ventures, LLC is the company behind a leading multi-platform home enthusiast brand, serving over 20 million consumers each month with trusted home improvement information and expert advice."
https://www.thisoldhouse.com
COMPANIES THAT INSPIRE US
Framework — United States — Laptop manufacturer. “The conventional wisdom in the industry is that making products repairable makes them thicker, heavier, uglier, less robust, and more expensive. We’re here to prove that wrong and fix consumer electronics, one category at a time. Our philosophy is that by making well-considered design tradeoffs and trusting customers and repair shops with the access and information they need, we can make fantastic devices that are still easy to repair. Even better, what we’ve done to enable repair also opens up upgradeability and customization. This lets you get exactly the product you need and extends usable lifetime too."
https://frame.work/
Fair Phone — "The modular phone that’s built to last. We’ve created the world’s first ethical, modular smartphone... We design products that last - in both their original design and in designing their repair to be as easy as possible. That’s why we made the world’s first modular phone built for repairability in mind.... We sell spare parts and offer repair tutorials to help make your phone useful for as long as possible. Our take-back program ..."
www.fairphone.com
Patagonia — "One of the most responsible things we can do as a company is to make high-quality stuff that lasts for years and can be repaired, so you don’t have to buy more of it. Worn Wear celebrates the stories we wear, keeps your gear in action longer through repair and reuse, and recycles your garments when they're beyond repair."
See: https://www.patagonia.com/blog/2015/11/repair-is-a-radical-act/
https://wornwear.patagonia.com/repairs
https://www.patagonia.com/stories/dont-buy-this-jacket-black-friday-and-the-new-york-times/story-18615.html
See the Practical and Technical Resources page for guides for repairing Patagonia products: https://www.cultureofrepair.org/repair-resources
ABI Electronics Ltd — Repair, Don’t Waste is “an international movement created to emphasize the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of repair over replacement.” “Created in 2015 by ABI Electronics in the UK, the ‘Repair, Don’t Waste’ movement seeks to draw the attention of business leaders, academia, and the wider society to the benefits of developing the capabilities to repair rather than replace industrial electronic systems. [The Repair, Don’t Waste] website was designed to give access to relevant technology and training for repair, share knowledge, and best practices implemented by leading organizations that are reducing waste, costs and creating quality technical jobs across the world.”
https://repairdontwaste.com/
Eileen Fisher — The clothing manufacturer and retailer offers a free repair service and take-back program for their products.
”Renew is our take back and resale program. We design clothes to last and when you're done with them we take them back to be worn and loved, all over again.”
Waste No More: “Using both traditional and custom techniques, our team repurposes material from the damaged clothes we’ve taken back to create one-of-a-kind artworks, wall hangings, acoustic panels and decorative objects.”