A tear in a jacket, a broken backpack buckle, a worn out suitcase wheel – who hasn’t been there? Whether for outdoor adventures or everyday use, even the best products can get broken or eventually wear out. The question is, what happens next? We at VAUDE say: repair it – and do it at home! VAUDE has just become the first European outdoor brand to make repair manuals available at the international online platform iFixit. Customers can perform simple repairs on VAUDE products themselves and order spare parts and tools when necessary. With this addition, the outdoor manufacturer is supplementing its in-house customer repair service and adding another component to its sustainability concept.
At VAUDE, just because a product has a problem doesn’t mean its life is doomed. For years, VAUDE’s own repair shop has been fixing minor and major damage, exchanging defective parts and prolonging the life of beloved products. With a little craftsmanship, many repairs can often be easily made at home. For those who enjoy sewing or fixing things, the new do-it-yourself repair instructions will provide the help needed. If replacement parts are needed, they can be purchased from a local retailer or ordered directly at iFixit online. Customers save time and effort when they don’t have to send the product in to the manufacturer.
VAUDE values product longevity
At VAUDE, sustainability is a common green theme that runs through the entire company. VAUDE products are manufactured with maximum environmentally friendliness and fairness. During the phases of material selection and processing technologies, a great deal of emphasis is placed on highest quality and product longevity. This means that early on – when a product is just being developed – it needs to be designed so that those parts subject to wear will be easily replaceable and any possible defects will be easily repairable. The longer a jacket or a tent stays in use, the better it is for the planet. The person using the product also has a significant influence on the longevity of a product. Good product maintenance is crucial, especially for high quality technical products. In order to retain their specialized properties, for example, during washing or follow-up waterproofing, one needs to know what to look for. Sometimes small repairs on parts that can wear out will also be needed to make a product functional long-term. VAUDE supports its customers in making these repairs themselves with the iFixit platform. “Ideally, manufacturers should already be thinking about the repairability of their products during the design stage and promoting this by providing repair manuals and spare parts. VAUDE is one of those producers, which is why we at iFixit are very pleased about this collaboration,” said Matthias Mayer, Managing Director of iFixit Europe
Collaboration with iFixit
In many areas of everyday life, fixing things is a lost art. But these days, more and more people are developing a greater awareness of sustainable living; they’re thinking about wasted resources in our throwaway society and reflecting on the value of their products. To keep favorite gear going as long as possible, the online platform iFixit offers simple instructions and replacements parts for a wide array of products. This complements VAUDE’s sustainability philosophy and is why the outdoor manufacturer has started making repair and care instructions available at iFixit which can be continually be added to. Using photos and short videos, each repair is clearly explained, step for step. “We think this do-it-yourself idea is fantastic – that is why we are collaborating with iFixit to create repair manuals for many VAUDE products and have made the necessary spare parts available. We would be delighted if this helps our products be used even longer,” said Hilke Patzwall, CSR Manager at VAUDE. Those who still need help with repair can continue to use the VAUDE Repair Shop services. At its headquarters in Tettnang, a 15-member team with access to an extensive stock of spare parts manages repairs of all types.
About iFixit
Many people want to repair their broken gear, but they often lack the means to do so. With special tools and free step-by-step instructions, iFixit is lowering the hurdle for repairs – even for beginners. It offers instructions for repairs ranging from cars to electronics and clothing to tents, so that people all over the world can access the instructions necessary for repairing their devices instead of throwing them away. iFixit was founded in 2003 by Luke Soules and Kyle Wiens in California. In 2013, the European branch opened which supports the German community and fans in other EU countries from its headquarters in Stuttgart. From here, spare parts and tools are sent out to 30 European countries. Currently about 2 million registered users worldwide use iFixit. About 200,000 users visit the iFixit website in Germany each month. Currently there are over 20,000 repair manuals for nearly 7,000 individual products available. iFixit writes and publishes repair instructions for items ranging from computers to cars, so people all over the world can repair their belongings instead of throwing them away.
INFO: VAUDE
