Europeans consume a lot. We buy many electronic devices, and when they break we often tend to replace them. However, consumers complain that the smartphones and devices that we buy are not made to last, leaving them with no alternative but to replace them.But buying new goods instead of repairing them costs billions of euros every year.
So how can we manufacture and consume differently, so that sustainable, repairable and recyclable products become the norm?Amsterdam is a second-hand paradise.
The Dutch city is also where the Repair café concept was created.There are now thousands of Repair cafés around the world. The principle is simple: fixing electronic devices to prevent consumers from having to spend more and throwing away repairable goods - thereby creating e-waste.
Former journalist Martine Postma created this concept in Amsterdam in 2009. "For me, it was a tryout, I wanted to check if something like this could work.