Page 28 from: First issue of 2022!

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and repair more but don’t have
enough employees,’ Vangerow says,
pointing out craftsmen and women
follow an apprenticeship of four to six
years to be able to fix everyday
household appliances. ‘This is ridicu-
lous. I mean, are we a doctor? If so,
please pay us as much!’
The entrepreneur underlines that small
companies are making a significant dif-
ference in local communities. ‘I’m glad
to say that Germany has a long tradi-
tion of repair and celebrating crafts-
manship and technology. Look around,
do-it-yourself projects and repair cafes
are very popular right now. On the
other hand, consumer behaviour and
technological trends change so fast…’
Small businesses usually only employ
two or three people so they tend to
focus on the practical day-to-day
work. ‘Not many of us have time to
participate in fancy events such as
these, so we are never really heard,’
Vangerow laments. ‘You could say
that, in an arena full of big global
players, independent tech businesses
are slowly dying.’
Another problem he identifies is nega-
tive attitudes to repair from main-
stream brands like Apple. ‘You’re only
allowed to dismantle and fix devices if
you are working for Apple and using
proprietary tools. Recently, though,
the company suddenly changed its
mind. The questions are: Did they just
lie to us for all those years? Are they
really going to support tech geeks
around the world? Is this change of
heart just a PR stunt?’

REBORN LUXURY
One member of the repair panel was
Efrat Friedland, founder of Materials
Scout, which helps companies devel-
op sustainable brand strategies. She
insists the industry doesn’t make
refurbished products appear attractive
enough. ‘Consider this: what does lux-
ury mean to us? We think of words
like new, shiny, sleek etc. At the heart
of it, we’re dealing with an image
problem,’ she insists.
‘We have to reinvent luxury. We have
to promote second-life products with
pride, rather than selling them via the

person in Germany creates around
20kg of e-waste per year? Can you
even remember the last product you
repaired?’ A slight murmur filled the
room, a response that is unsurprising,
Vangerow concedes. ‘There are barely
any spare parts these days, or their
prices are excessive. To many people,

Steffen Vangerow: ‘Most producers don’t want to encourage
repair as it doesn’t earn them any extra money.’

Jelle Slenters: ‘Greenstocking’ parts and components can help match electronics demand
and supply in a sustainable way.

SURVEY SAYS…
‘Did you know that Germany hoards around 32 million tonnes of e-scrap?’
Alexander Süssmilch, consultant at circular economy compliance firm
Cirecon, asks the expo audience. ‘Most people nowadays have more elec-
tronics at home than plants.’ Less than 20% of German e-scrap is officially
recorded as being recycled.
Süssmilch cites a recent survey amongst college students indicating that a
third (35%) of broken devices is repaired; 30% is stored away at home,
almost 10% is thrown out with household waste and 10% is given away. The
main reasons for keeping devices include: ‘I’ve upgraded to a newer model
but I’m unsure what to do with my old one’ and ‘I still have data on my old
device that I need to back up’.
When asked if they are interested in having the device repaired (either with
help from a friend or in a shop), 61% of the students answered ‘yes’. Even
with full warranty, a remarkable 10% said ‘no’. ‘Some people are simply not
interested in extending the life cycle of their old devices,’ Süssmilch notes.
Meanwhile, around half of the students are willing to pay ‘a little more’ for
an eco-friendly device. ‘The amount comes to about an extra 5%,’ the con-
sultant reports. That doubled to 92% of respondents if they were convinced
it was a fee for recycling.

repair is simply not attractive any-
more.’

NEW VERSUS NEWER
‘Inspired by my father and grandfa-
ther, you may say I am a third-genera-
tion repair fanatic,’ he laughs. ‘What I
know is this: equipment is quite cheap

nowadays, owing to big sales. Having
your washing machine fixed, for exam-
ple, can cost up to EUR 170. A recent
consumer survey stated that 65% of
people don’t want to invest that much
money; they prefer to buy a new one.’
Using this logic, Vangerow argues that
one in every three vacuum cleaners is
thrown out. But many faults can easily
be resolved by replacing components
in a shop or by the consumer sending
it back to the producer. ‘The reality is,
this doesn’t happen on a large scale.
People consider it too much hassle,
and the industry doesn’t want to
encourage repair as it doesn’t earn
them any extra money.’
Meanwhile, the lockdown lifestyle dur-
ing the coronavirus pandemic saw
sales of fancy coffee machines and
autonomous cleaning mobile robots
reach new highs. The global vacuum
cleaner industry exceeded EUR 10 bil-
lion in 2020 and is expected to reach
EUR 19 billion by the end of 2027.
Sales for coffee machines topped EUR
6 billion and are heading towards EUR
8.5 billion by 2027.

E-WASTE DOCTORS
‘From what I know, 70% of repair busi-
ness want to grow their operations

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