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Gen Z Londoners ‘flip the script’ ahead of the capital’s first ever Repair Week

7 October 2020

  • New findings challenge assumption that younger consumers are more likely to be throw-away generation: 85% of 18-24-year olds have repaired their possessions in the last year, compared to just 47% of over 55s
  • 69% of Londoners would repair more items including clothing, electricals and furniture if they knew how – with 40% not confident about how to carry out any repairs themselves
  • London’s first ever Repair Week takes place 12 – 17th October – offering Londoners tips, tutorials and techniques to help repair more themselves – or find local repair businesses to do it for them
  • More than 50 organisations across London are taking part in the week, including Currys PC World, Save Your Wardrobe, The Restart Project and more than 25 of London’s councils

New research commissioned by the London Recycles campaign ahead of the capital’s first ever Repair Week has revealed that Londoners are eager to repair and re-use things, with over two thirds (69%) stating they would repair more of their household items and possessions if they knew how.

The findings also flip the assumption that younger consumers are more likely to be the throw-away generation – 85% of 18-24-year olds and 83% of 25–34-year olds have repaired items including clothing, furniture or bicycles in the last year, compared to just 47% of Londoners aged over 55.

With 40% of Londoners not confident about making common household repairs, London Recycles is launching Repair Week on 12th October to help more people learn how to keep items like clothing, bikes, furniture and electricals in use for longer. The campaign will be celebrating local repair services and encouraging people to nominate themselves or repair businesses in their area using #LocalRepairHeroes – as well as encouraging Londoners to give repair a go themselves.

London Recycles will also be creating a Repair Hub at londonrecycles.co.uk/repair-week where residents can find hacks, tips, partner content and a repair guide, along with a mini-directory of local repair businesses and community repair projects.

A wide range of businesses, councils and community groups are supporting Repair Week to share tips, offer discounts on repair services and show how they can help make everyone’s possessions last longer. Partners include Currys PC World, which is offering a special discount on their ‘Fault & Fix’ in-store repair service on laptops all week. Others taking part include: Save Your Wardrobe, Clothes Doctor, TRAID, The Restart Project and over 25 of London’s councils.

45% of global carbon emissions currently come from producing the stuff we use every day, so keeping things in use for longer is an important part of tackling the climate crisis.

Wayne Hubbard, Chief Executive of the London Waste and Recycling Board (who run the London Recycles campaign), said:

By enabling many more people to carry out simple repairs, we can make a big difference to both the planet and people’s pockets, reducing the amount of stuff we send to landfill. It doesn’t matter if we do the repair ourselves or pay someone to do it for us; equipping people with the tools to make positive changes is more important than ever as we start to recover from the effects of the pandemic. We need a collective and urgent effort to tackle the climate emergency. Keeping our things in use for longer has a direct impact on the carbon emissions caused by making and transporting new products – so it’s hugely encouraging to see so many organisations come together for our first London Repair Week, which offers a practical route for positive action.

Currys PC World are one of the biggest partners involved in the week.

As the UK’s number one retailer tech recycler, we are delighted to be supporting this inaugural London Repair Week event and encouraging consumers to reuse and recycle their unwanted items. In addition to the nationwide discount on laptop repairs we are offering, anyone can bring in any unwanted tech for recycling, regardless of whether it has been bought from us.

The wide range of activity taking place across Repair Week includes:

  • London Recycles will be sharing stats and facts, top tips and hacks, and lots of social media content highlighting London’s #LocalRepairHeroes
  • Newham Council and Socko will be holding a virtual darning workshop on 17 October at 14:00
  • Save Your Wardrobe will be hosting a fireside chat with some of their service partners (Clothes Doctor, Shoe Spa and Blanc) and Glasgow University on 12 October at 15.30
  • West London Waste Authority will be holding a series of Dr Bike events where experienced mechanics from Cycle Confident will check bikes over and carry out any needed adjustments
  • Hackney Council has teamed up with Loanhood to hold a clothes swap on Saturday 17 October
  • Westminster Council and Clothes Doctor will be hosting a virtual darning and button –sewing tutorial on Friday 16 October at 18:00

To find out more about Repair Week, see what’s happening and for more information, visit: londonrecycles.co.uk/repair-week

ENDS

For more information, contact: georgie@forster.co.uk or call 07528 856 405

About the survey

The survey was conducted by Censuswide with 1,003 respondents in Greater London aged 18+, and took place from 3rd to 7th September 2020. The survey also found that:

  • A quarter of Londoners wouldn’t feel confident repairing a hole in an item of clothing
  • 90% of Londoners aged over 55 think we are losing repair skills that used to be commonplace
  • And yet, 62% of Generation Z (18-24-year olds) and 66% of Millennials (25–34-year olds) feel confident repairing a broken zip, compared to only half of over 55s
  • Mobile phones are the most common items to be repaired in a shop or by a professional (30%) whilst the least common items to be repaired in shops or by a professional were household furniture (10%), household electricals (12%) and domestic appliances (17%)

London Recycles

  • London Recycles is the consumer campaign which delivers both London-wide communications and borough support to help Londoners recycle more, no matter where they are in the capital.
  • The campaign is supported by the Mayor of London and underpins the capital’s push towards 65% recycling by 2030.
  • Visit the website at: https://londonrecycles.co.uk/

London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB)


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