Abstract
Repair initiatives are promoted as policy instruments to foster sustainable consumption practices within circular economy agendas. However, recent studies question their ability to achieve broader societal impact, noting that social inclusion remains limited. The study addresses this challenge by employing a participatory design approach to actively explore fields of action to enhance social inclusion in repair initiatives in Germany. Drawing on a literature review, we first conducted five expert interviews with repair initiative representatives, as well as 53 short interviews with visitors and people who had not previously visited a repair initiative, identifying barriers and opportunities for improvement. Second, we facilitated three participatory workshops with stakeholders to design possible interventions. Through its participatory design approach, our study supported the participating initiatives in reflecting on barriers to social inclusion in order to create more accessible repair spaces. Additionally, the analysis offers methodological insights into how social inclusion shapes circular transitions.
Keywords
Circular Economy, Social Inclusion, Participatory Design, Repair Initiatives
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1857
Citation
Burckhardt, A., Opeskin, L., and Augsten, A. (2026) Designing social inclusion in circular transitions: A participatory study of repair initiatives in Germany, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1857
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Designing social inclusion in circular transitions: A participatory study of repair initiatives in Germany
Repair initiatives are promoted as policy instruments to foster sustainable consumption practices within circular economy agendas. However, recent studies question their ability to achieve broader societal impact, noting that social inclusion remains limited. The study addresses this challenge by employing a participatory design approach to actively explore fields of action to enhance social inclusion in repair initiatives in Germany. Drawing on a literature review, we first conducted five expert interviews with repair initiative representatives, as well as 53 short interviews with visitors and people who had not previously visited a repair initiative, identifying barriers and opportunities for improvement. Second, we facilitated three participatory workshops with stakeholders to design possible interventions. Through its participatory design approach, our study supported the participating initiatives in reflecting on barriers to social inclusion in order to create more accessible repair spaces. Additionally, the analysis offers methodological insights into how social inclusion shapes circular transitions.