Volunteers at The Otaki repair cafe, where local people bring in their broken or damaged belongings for repair. Photo / Supplied
In October, 2021 New Zealand clothing manufacturer Mons Royale took a small step in approaching a big idea.
It knew the cuffs of its garments took a thrashing in biking, skiing and the other outdoor activities that its energetic customers pursued. To help tackle the problem of ragged cuffs on otherwise favourite thermals and jumpers, Mons brought out a “spare part”: $15 replacement cuffs, sold in pairs, in six sizes, and available for purchase.
“We are very aware of ideas like the right to repair,” says Natalie Norman, head of production at Wanaka-based Mons Royale (the idea typically describes the ability of consumers to have goods repaired at a reasonable price).
“We also know that the most sustainable garment is the one that’s already in your wardrobe…so we are interested in durability and in extending the life of our products.”
Mons enjoyed a “great response” to its launch and marketing, and social media channels hummed with praise, according to Norman. But there was a snag: demand never materialised. In over a year the company has sold just under 100 replacement cuffs.
Undaunted, Mons is following up the cuffs with more “spares” in 2023, and critically this time, it’ll also offer to provide the actual repair service (likely to be supplied by a third party).
“We’ve found that for most of our customers sewing is in the ‘too hard’ basket,” Norman says. But that’s something proponents of a growing repair movement hope to, well, fix.
Across New Zealand last year “repair cafes” were held in some 40 towns and cities from Kaikohe to Arrowtown.
Run on a shoestring, in community halls and on the generosity and enthusiasm of volunteers, they mostly mended garments and fabric, and small electronics, the likes of mixers, toasters and lamps that are often not worth the price of repair.
Brigitte Sistig, co-founder of Repair Café Aotearoa (and affiliated with Repair Café International), says the group hopes to add at least another 16 locations in New Zealand next year, and she’s optimistic too that the cafes will help restore not only tattered and broken household items but, more importantly, New Zealanders’ own diminishing abilities to tinker with and to mend things themselves.
The organisation offers some training in repair to its volunteers, and ultimately hopes to engender an interest and ability in repair amongst the general population.
But Sistig insists that grassroots organisations like hers need help to make a bigger difference in the face of “massive unsustainable waste”.
Planned obsolescence
Planned obsolescence, the intentional design of products to become unusable within a relatively short time frame, is now embedded in a slew of goods and industries from flimsy “fast fashion” garments to the tech sector’s parade of smartphones and other devices, for which batteries, screens and other parts that frequently fail are often hard to replace and in which software reaches a point where it cannot be updated.
Many of the companies that come in for the harshest criticism are in the tech sector.
Online repair community and resource iFixit, for example, reviews the ease of repair, “repairability”, of gadgets. Among the 2022 crop, Samsung’s Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra scored particularly badly (just three out of 10), for a “strongly glued” battery that requires “extensive disassembly to service” and screen repairs that require “a lot of disassembly while battling tough adhesive”.
Notably, iFixit also scores Apple’s AirPods (the originals released in 2016 and the AirPods Pro and AirPods 2 released in 2019) a zero out of 10. Hardwear components can’t be accessed “without damage to the device” and “sealed-in batteries limit the AirPods’ lifespan, making them a consumable/disposable item” iFixit says.
Another related problem is the availability of spare parts. According to Paul Smith, product test manager at Consumer NZ, obstacles to repair include the cost or availability of spare parts, repair manual and documentation availability, specialised tools required to achieve repair, and limited, and sometimes no, New Zealand-based accredited repair options.
As it is in many countries abroad, e-waste (discarded products with a battery or a plug) is New Zealand’s fastest growing domestic waste stream, and part of a considerable problem of waste increase.
Ministry for the Environment data show that the amount of waste, by weight, added to New Zealand Class 1 landfills in the last year (to June 30) was some 43 per cent greater than it was a decade ago. And the pressure to take more preventative measures is building.
Next steps
Smith and Consumer NZ would like to see the New Zealand Government mandate a labelling scheme for some consumer products which would indicate ease of repair (similar to the energy rating system for large appliances).
Such a system is already working in France. Smith points out that, in addition, other legal obligations on manufacturers under right to repair regulations in both the EU and Britain are considerable, including provisions like the requirement to produce spare parts for a specified period (for select, and relatively high value goods, like large appliances and some other electronics).
“Where large countries and markets act, it is easier for a small market like New Zealand to follow,” he says.
Consumer NZ is similarly pushing for changes to the Consumer Guarantees Act which sets minimum guarantees for products and services and also requires that repair, replacement or refund be available where goods are faulty.
“There is essentially a loophole in that Act that says that repair protections don’t apply if customers are notified that repair facilities and parts aren’t available when they make the purchase. Most companies just don’t bother to tell customers if repair isn’t available, and it’s not enforced so nothing improves,” Smith says.
But Smith agrees there’s a balance to be struck. After all, requirements (even seemingly virtuous ones like repairability) which add considerable cost to manufacturers and distributors are liable to drive up the price of goods, and may even discourage participation in New Zealand’s small market. “We do care about competition,” he says, “and we want to keep healthy markets.”
Legislative change
New government powers to encourage repair, including regulations to require manufacturers and distributors to release information like manuals, provide spare parts for a specified period, and label products for repairability, are anticipated to replace the current Waste Minimisation Act. It’s expected that a bill will be introduced next year.
Environment Minister David Parker’s spokesman said the minister was not available for comment. But a review of the Act is under way and a Ministry for the Environment spokesperson confirmed “Cabinet will be considering the scope of the enabling powers in the proposed replacement legislation”.
“The intention is that new waste legislation will provide a greater suite of enabling powers to better regulate how we manage products and materials circulating within our economy, including on the repair of goods. We anticipate that any new regulatory powers will be in place in 2025,” the spokesperson said.
For Natalie Norman and Mons Royale, as for many New Zealand companies, repair and waste reduction rules more generally will be a consideration whether New Zealand acts or not: “Europe has the toughest rules about repair and waste for textiles and Austria is our largest market.”