Repairing or replacing furniture after damage to household contents?

CE Delft was commissioned by Unigarant to calculate the climate impact of repair versus replacement after damage to household contents. The repairs were carried out by Nomot, a furniture repair company. Three typical types of damage were investigated and in all cases repair proved more sustainable:

• Cleaning stains (sofa/chair): 24-33 times lower climate impact than replacement.
• Re-upholstering in the case of holes or burn marks (sofa/chair): 3-4 times lower climate impact than replacement.
• Repairing burn marks (wooden table): 7 times lower climate impact than replacement.

The greatest savings are made by avoiding new production and the processing of waste. Nomot generates its own electricity with solar panels, which minimises the impact of its activities. The results provide Unigarant with useful information for customer communications and CSRD sustainability reporting.