ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews current knowledge on repair activity, which has been in long-term decline in the industrialized world. Drawing from multidisciplinary sources, it considers the benefits of repair in the context of economic, environmental, and social sustainability, identifies barriers, and explores interventions that could encourage more repair work to be undertaken. Although the significance of repair work is increasingly accepted, economic, psychological, socio-cultural, and political forces continually drive sales of new replacement products typifying the throwaway culture. Change will require action by government, business models that generate revenue from product life extension, and scaling-up emerging grassroots repair initiatives.
