DoomsdaysCWBroken speaker? Finicky zipper? #Anticonsumerist #RepairCafes urge you to #FixIt instead of pitch it
Repair Cafes urge consumers to fix their goods, not toss them
By Michael Weissenstein, June 7, 2026
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (AP) — "On a drizzly Saturday morning late last month, the basement of the New Paltz United Methodist Church filled with old lamps, blunt knives, malfunctioning sound mixers and balky zippers.
"About a dozen volunteers welcomed the broken goods and their owners to a worldwide movement that’s evangelizing new relationships between people and their things.
"Repair Cafes — free events where volunteers with technical know-how help neighbors fix myriad household items — are part of a new brand of anticonsumerism that’s trying to offer an alternative to the mass-produced disposable goods that have dominated the global economy for the last half-century. Helping fuel that move to repairing, not buying, are U.S. consumer prices, which climbed sharply again last month as the war with Iran delivered higher gasoline prices and more pain for Americans.
"After starting in the Netherlands with a single event in 2009, Repair Cafe has grown into a global nonprofit with more than 59,000 members, some 4,000 cafes and close to 850,000 items fixed a year.
" 'We need to change our mindset. We need to change the economy,' #RepairCafe founder #MartinePostma said. 'Even if Repair Cafes can’t solve the problem alone, then still they are a very clear sign that change is needed on a much higher level.' "
#SolarPunkSunday #RightToRepair #BuildingCommunity #ReuseRestoreRepair #DIY #SolarPunk #Degrowth
Repair Cafes urge consumers to fix their goods, not toss them
Repair Cafes are part of a new brand of anticonsumerism. The cafes and other efforts try to offer an alternative to mass-produced, disposable goods that have dominated the economy for the last half-century. Repair Cafes are free events where volunteers with technical know-how help neighbors fix household items. They started in the Netherlands with a single cafe in 2009 and grew to a global nonprofit. At a recent event in New Paltz, New York, volunteers helped attendees fix items from lamps and knives to sound mixers and balky zippers. There’s also the Buy Nothing Project and a growing number of tool-lending libraries. All are dedicated to repairing, trading, and giving instead of buying and selling.
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