Extending the lifetime of products through repair is a key way to move towards a more sustainable, circular economy. The idea of repairing a product, returning it from “broken” to “good as new”, is attractive for many reasons: often, we know that only a small part (or parts) of an item are broken; repair can be significantly cheaper than replacement. Furthermore, repair is an action that involves consumers. In a hyperglobalised world of long and distant supply chains, repair offers a feeling of connection between product and user that is increasingly rare and an opportunity to develop skills that have been forgotten across generations. According to a 2020 Eurobarometer survey, 77% of EU consumers would rather repair their goods than buy new ones, but ultimately have to replace or discard them because of the cost of repairs and lack of service provided.

When consumers have to replace their broken products all the time, repair businesses miss out on potential demand, which holds back the development of the repair market and local jobs. This, in turn, prevents some consumers from finding the repair service they really need. Meanwhile, unsustainable extractive business models continue to make huge profits, despite the expense to our planet’s stock of material resources.

How repair contributes to the circular economy

Fundamentally, repair is a tool to reduce waste and retain valuable resources. According to an impact assessment on the Right to Repair by the European Commission, throwing away goods that are fit for repair leads to 35 million tonnes of waste annually in the EU. This corresponds to the municipal waste generation of around 14.5 million EU citizens. 

The impact assessment also found that “premature disposal of repairable consumer goods leads to the use of around 10.5 million tons per year of valuable resources in the EU. This includes for instance 0.3 million tons of aluminium, an amount equal to 15.5% of aluminium produced in the EU + the UK in 2020, 4.8 million tons of steel and iron or 2.7% of the EU steel output and 2 million tons of wood or 12.63% of the EU28 wood pellets production in 2015.”

Although not often considered, this waste directly poses environmental consequences and costs for public authorities and, therefore, taxpayers. Waste management costs are likely overshadowed by the indirect costs of soil, water, and air pollution and damage to human health. All the while, what is discarded instead of repaired must be replaced.

Retaining such valuable resources in the economy through repair is a vital pillar of the transition to a circular economy. In addition, repair leads to fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less energy consumption – thereby contributing to mitigate multiple planetary crises.

Repair centres have been a great success in Europe so far – and the EWWR is helping to proliferate them. The Dutch-born Repair Café International Foundation now has 168 participating sites in 8 EU countries. According to the European Environment Agency, in 2025, a total of 3,157 textile items were brought in for repair at one of them. Of the items brought in, 3,000 were successfully repaired, corresponding to a repair success rate of 95%. However, according to data from the foundation’s Repair Monitor tool, the proportion of repairs classified as “(rather) difficult” has increased over time.