Manufacturers force us to buy new products by making it difficult or impossible to fix what we’ve bought, while many shops no longer offer services to return items to working order.
Highgate now has a way to push back against planned obsolescence – the practice of designing products with limited lifespan.
On February 14, Haringey Fixers opened its first monthly Repair Café near the Village, giving locals a chance to bring faulty or damaged household goods such as clothing, small electricals, toys, and other items to attempt a repair rather than discard them.
Don Grubin is hoping that the Highgate Repair Café will grow as more people share their skills (Image: Don Grubin)
St Michael’s Church, South Grove, is providing a welcoming venue in the Upper Hall, while the Highgate Society is supporting the project through publicity and other local help where it can.
The café will normally be held on the second Saturday of each month, from 10am to 1pm.
Haringey Fixers’ volunteers have run repair cafés across North London since 2022 and are now looking for local people from Highgate to donate time, technical knowledge, and specialised tools to guide café visitors through diagnosis and repair.
Typically, about half of items brought in get fixed during the event, and if not, many visitors leave with an analysis of the problem and a way forward.
The aim is practical: to help save money, reduce waste, and extend the life of everyday possessions.
The environmental cost of throwing out our goods is significant: the UK is the second biggest producer of electrical waste per capita on the planet (keepbritaintidy.org/e-waste).
The Government’s recent Environmental Improvement Plan promotes a “circular economy”, encouraging reuse, maintenance, and repair so the finite materials found in what we buy stay in use for longer.
Chris Setz is part of Haringey Fixers which has been fixing items since 2022 (Image: Chris Setz)
‘Right-to-repair’ initiatives across Europe aim to make products last longer and be easier to fix via ‘Eco-Design’.
However, policy only works if people act on it locally. And when people repair items themselves, manufacturers receive a clear signal that durability matters.
We hope the Highgate Repair Café will grow as more residents come forward with technical skills and share them with neighbours who want to learn.
To bring an item for repair, offer your services, or help organise, please contact Haringey Fixers via haringeyfixers.org.
