Can mending help us beat the cost-of-living crisis?

The ‘make do and mend’ mindset saw Brits through generations in the 1940s and 50s. Now, with the cost of living continuing to bite, the Repair Cafe movement is giving it a 21st century reimagining. 

In village halls, community centres and school halls all over the country, Repair Cafes are giving peoples’ broken goods a new lease of life. Run for zero cost and maintained entirely by volunteers with a diversity of repair expertise, these groups offer free repairs for anyone in need, served along with a warm cup of tea and sponge cake. 

From Hairdryers and leather bags, to coffee tables and bicycles: The Repair Cafe can’t guarantee a successful repair, but its volunteer tinkerers, craftspeople and enthusiasts will promise to try their best.

The movement was founded in 2009 by Dutch journalist, writer and sustainability advocate Martine Postma. It caught on immediately, spreading across the globe and igniting the conversation around harmful manufacturing norms like planned obsolescence, which contributes to the approximately 37,000 tonnes of electronic waste amassing in UK landfills each year. 

Success propelled Postma to the forefront of the European right-to-repair movement, which seeks to cement legislation forcing manufacturers to make their products repairable. Major victories in the campaign include forcing smartphone maker Apple to provide spare parts and authorise at-home repairs. 

Even with over 2,700 Repair Cafe branches existing worldwide, it’s the UK that has seen a particular surge in groups forming in recent years, a trend that highlights the country’s pragmatic approach to the cost-of-living crisis.

Of the 1,168 Repair Cafes launched in the last five years across 35 countries, 20% have done so in the UK, a 391% increase for the country. 

These increases come as the ONS reports that the cost of food and drink has risen at the fastest rate for over 45 years, with the soaring price of essentials like bread and pasta hitting hardest. In response, almost a quarter of adults in Great Britain are borrowing more now than during the previous year.

It comes as workers’ average take-home pay lags behind inflation, while increased interest rates could cost UK mortgage holders an extra £8 billion over the next few years, according to think tank The Resolution Foundation. 

For Sophie HS, it wasn’t financial hardship but post-lockdown blues that inspired her to start the Nunhead Repair Cafe. Nevertheless, it has become a lifeline for many local residents without the money to professionally repair or replace their broken or damaged goods. 

It has since grown to over 30 members, spanning all age groups, backgrounds and interests.

“[It] gives me such huge, huge joy, all the volunteers and the people I’ve met through it. I have this amazing group of friends out of the group…everyone that comes to get something fixed feels that buzz,” she said.

“The oldest gentleman we have is 80, and he does anything, mostly electronics and also mechanical stuff. He used to be a leatherworker, making leather bags and things, but he also does computers. He’s fantastic.”

Sophie’s group relies entirely on donations to cover its minimal overhead costs, and they’ve been fortunate enough to be able to depend on the generosity of Nunhead’s community. “It’s surprising that quite often people donate because they’re like ‘well you had a go’,” she said.

But as uptake of the service increases, the rising cost of living is causing donations to dry up, leaving the cafe reliant on free use of a local community centre for survival.

“We’ve just done this on a shoestring, so we’re incredibly fortunate for The Green community centre. They give us the room for free, and we couldn’t do this if we didn’t have that amazing support,” she said.

With longer-lasting items typically costing more than their flimsier counterparts, many on lower incomes are forced into a cycle of endlessly shelling out for replacement. That’s why accessible sustainability is at the heart of the Repair Cafe movement.

“The whole choice about being sustainable can be linked into how much money you have to then spend on, say, the perfect reusable bottle and stuff….But yeah, I think the repair cafe does try turning that around. It’s using what you have and keeping it within the system: a more accessible way of sustainability,” Sophie said.

But for many, especially those on lower incomes, the concept of wearing patched-up clothing comes wrapped in a sense of shame. “I’m coming from a very priviledged, white, middle-class background where I’m like ‘cool if i wear something patched it’s actually fun and quirky.’ It’s my kind of, like, my vibe,” Sophie said. “But I can come into a lot of scenarios where people might be judged [for it].”

Movements like the Repair Cafe could be turning that around, though. Research from University College London presents “role models” as a major factor in countering the social stigma against mending goods. With some Repair Cafes boasting thousands of followers on social media, there’s no denying that the movement is at the forefront of a scrappier, thriftier, more sustainable future.