The knowledge of how to repair one’s own clothes and gear was once commonplace, but consumerism fueled by low prices have made it almost obsolete. Ben Blischke, ESG Manager in Circularity and Products at Intersport International, points out that while DIY repairs may not generate short-term profitability, there are many important benefits to promoting them.

There’s a famous scene in The Wizard of Oz where the curtain is pulled back to reveal the great mastermind behind the whole story, much to the shock of everyone. Was he really behind everything? What is our new reality? What do we do now?

The same moment is experienced, says Jon Alexander in his book Citizens, when people first realize how deeply “the idea of the Consumer infuses their everyday life, at work and at home.” His reasoning is that since the early postwar years, a market-driven approach has transitioned us from subjects of monarchies and empires, to consumers with an inflated sense of entitlement through our choices of products and brands. We have (literally!) bought ourselves so deep into this mindset, that it can be a truly curtain-dropping moment when we realize how much consumerism is controlling our actions and thoughts, and not the other way around.

Over the last year, from industry events to daily discussions, it has been inspiring to see a growing number of people within the sports industry having their own curtain-dropping moment, and starting to question what a post-consumer world may look like for their business. What is our purpose beyond selling products? How can we connect to local communities? What does a transition to services look like?

From Consumer to Citizen

The way through this transition, suggests Jon Alexander, is to shift our identities as consumers to that of citizens. To look within, recognize our shared connection to each other and our communities; and to take back our creativity and agency, rather than looking for authority or companies to do things for us. This resonates well with the views of Zac Stein, who argues strongly that we need to reclaim education and the transfer of “tacit knowledge” (what we might call in the outdoor industry as “hands-on” skills) in order to solve the overlapping social-political-environmental issues forming the polycrisis.

It is also what we will need more of, if we want to work towards a thriving and fair future, such as proposed in the Dubai Outdoor Solution Declaration launched at COP28 and expanded at Outdoor by ISPO 2023.

So, although the role of paid-for repair is an important pillar in a circular future, and something that is rapidly expanding throughout the sports and fashion industry, what excites me the most is self-repair. The type of repair that connects you, the fellow citizen, back to your product instead of sending it away for repair out-of-sight-and-out-of-mind. The kind of repair that forces you to dust off your grandparent’s sewing machine, or spend 15 minutes of bewilderment selecting the right glue, or asking a friend if they know what to do. These kinds of actions are deeply human, rooted in community, and are the things that living a good life needs. The more you slow down and think, the more calm your mind becomes; and the more you reclaim your agency to fix something back to imperfect and not perfect, the more you reawaken your creativity and self-worth. Repairing your own stuff, and getting hands-on is known to be good for us, so why do we shy away from it? Why do we pay (consumer logic) for yoga retreats and wellness apps, when we have a cupboard full of broken stuff to patch up and tinker with?

The repair guides already exist

Blazing a trail towards personal empowerment and do-it-yourself attitude is iFixit, an online wiki platform specialized in community-submitted repair guides. For over 20 years they have been at the heart of community repair, leading international movements, empowering citizen-level change, and promoting community repair cafes and spaces. So when we at Intersport started thinking about repair guides, about the right to repair, iFixit was the natural choice and one we’ve not regretted. Working alongside iFixit has kept us grounded in a community and citizen-led approach, riding over the tempting waves of consumerism (“But how do you monetize it?” I’m often asked). This keeps us inspired by being part of a community-led movement, and it opens our minds to pluriversal ways of being and doing.

I encourage anyone looking into circularity, services, and repair to pause and consider: “What am I doing to empower citizens and communities, not only the bottom line?” And if this raises some uncomfortable questions, then iFixit is a great place to start loosening the curtain from its rail, ready to drop and reveal the new world of possibilities ahead.

Lead graphic: The Wizard of Oz