‘At my Karwei DIY store, I shop handyman materials; from screws to wallpaper and from sealant to insulation materials. I also find inspiration for trendy home decoration, such as curtains, lighting and window decoration. And now I can also visit Karwei's Repair Studio to have broken things repaired. Karwei does this in cooperation with the Repair Café. By repairing broken things, you extend the life of the product. That is of course more sustainable and also much cheaper. Will you be visiting a Karwei Repair Studio soon if an appliance or piece of furniture in your home breaks down?
How does Karwei's Repair Studio work?
In cooperation with Karwei
In a corner in the attic or your garage is a broken office chair, a broken coffee machine or your favourite floor lamp with a piece out. Of course, you will have those repaired at some point... In practice, that stuff has been there for far too long, because you just don't get around to actually fixing it (or having it fixed). Karwei's Repair Studio now makes it much more accessible and easy to give your broken things a new lease of life. You very easily hand in your broken product to a Repair Studio at a local Karwei DIY store. Then the Repair Studio, in cooperation with the local Repair Café, will repair your broken product for free*. If you don't want the product back, Karwei will donate it to the local recycling or charity. And if repair is not possible, your items will be recycled via the WeCycle points at Karwei. For each repair, Karwei will donate five euros to the local Repair Café.
The Repair Studio has started at four Karwei DIY stores: Heesch, Hoogvliet Rotterdam, Amersfoort and Barendrecht-Carnisse. If successful, the Repair Studio will be rolled out to more Karwei DIY stores. For the current addresses of the Repair Studios, visit the website of Karwei.
*If your product can be repaired without the use of new materials, the repair will be free of charge. If the repair can only be carried out if new parts are purchased, the new parts will be at the consumer's expense. You will be contacted about this prior to the work.
Stuff at number one in Impact Top 10
Many Dutch people do know that flying, energy consumption or meat consumption contribute to warming and polluting the planet. But Babette Porcelijn, in her book The hidden impact out that for the average Dutch person, stuff ranks first in their personal Impact Top 10. That's because the damage caused by all that stuff takes place out of sight. Far away and long ago when that stuff was made and came here. So our stuff is pretty dirty: greenhouse gases from resource production, land use and deforestation are huge. Or how about air and water pollution? Being more conscious about stuff by borrowing more often, sharing, opting for second-hand or repairing is better for preserving and reshaping the earth.
Throwing away is a waste
Mariëlle Rooswinkel, manager Marketing Communication & Formula Karwei is closely involved in the Repair Studio: ‘Inspiring everyone with sustainable home solutions and motivating them to take action is what we like to do. We've been doing this for a long time through upcycling: reusing old stuff and giving it a totally new function. The Repair Studio fits in well with this. Upcycling or repairing, the important thing is not to throw things away, but to reuse them sustainably. From broken drill to broken chair, hand it in to us for repair so that together we give our old products a second life.’
The Repair Studio extends the life of stuff and lowers climate impact
You can reduce the negative impact of your stuff by up to 25% by making circular choices, shows research from Milieu Centraal show. Circular choices include sharing and borrowing tools, choosing second-hand products and upcycling stuff. Repairing broken things is also a circular choice. That way, you give your stuff a second life.
How sustainable is Karwei ?
With its new Repair Studio, Karwei is making repair very accessible for consumers, helping households to reduce their negative impact on the planet. But what about the rest of the Karwei company? I delved into the DIY market: how sustainable is Karwei? I was pleasantly surprised. Karwei puts its best foot forward when it comes to upcycling, recycling and circular economy. More and more of its products are made from recycled materials such as insulation material from your old jeans, or new curtains from PET bottles. The DIY store has been a collection point for old electronic products for WeCycle for years. Karwei also helps consumers become more sustainable by providing products for and tips on sustainable remodelling, insulation, energy and water saving. And on their blog you will find cool upcycling ideas to extend the life of your stuff for as long as possible. And now the new Repair Studio adds to that as a driver of more circularity.
Karwei's Repair Studio.
Repair should return to normal
Some 10.9 million kilos of electrical appliances and textiles are thrown away every week in the Netherlands, according to Sire. Valuable items that can often still be repaired. But repair is no longer so common. Because ordered today, a new one is delivered tomorrow. That may be convenient, but it's not cheap. Nor is it sustainable. Through the Repair Studio, Karwei shows that repair is easy and common. It makes repairing broken things the norm again.
For more information on the Repair Studio, visit the website of Karwei.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: sew on button by hand.
- Also see: tips for finding second-hand electronics.
- Also see: what is the impact of your smartphone?
- Also see: cobalt is in every battery, but what do you know?
Photo credits: Karwei.
