Repair, don't replace
We are proud of our high-quality and durable products. They are designed to be dependable, day-to-day companions and are manufactured for intense use. But even the best product can break at some point.
Just because there is a problem with a product doesn’t mean that its life is over. Our own VAUDE repair shop has long fixed minor and major damage, exchanged defective pieces and prolonged the life of your beloved products.
There are a lot of replacement parts available at the VAUDE Webshop – just enter “spare parts” into the search field. Our retailers also have spare parts for your VAUDE products in stock or they can order them. They can also give you good advice on the proper care of your VAUDE product.
Learn more about our repair services here. (german)
Do-it-yourself with iFixit
With a little craftsmanship, many repairs can often be easily made yourself. If you enjoy sewing and fixing thing and want to save yourself the time and effort needed to send in your product for repairs, you can use the do-it-yourself repair instructions at iFixit.
You can order any spare parts you need or special tools and have them delivered directly to your doorstep.
»We think the do-it-yourself idea is fantastic – which 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 means our products can be used even longer.«
Hilke Patzwall, CSR Manager at VAUDE
»Ideally, manufacturers should already be thinking about the repairability of their products during the design stage and encouraging this by providing repair manuals and spare parts. VAUDE is one of those producers, which is why we at iFixit are very happy about this collaboration.«
Matthias Mayer, Managing Director of iFixit Europe
VAUDE cooperates with Repair Cafés.
Need help with a repair? Try visiting a local Repair Café!
The Repair Café concept fits perfectly with VAUDE's sustainable approach. Repair Cafés are a great place to find support for your do-it-yourself project.
Repair Cafés can order VAUDE spare parts for you or you can get them yourself at a specialized retailer or through iFixit.
If you can't fix a VAUDE product yourself or with the help of a Repair Café, then you can turn to the VAUDE Product Service team.
UPDATE, October 2, 2017: VAUDE Repair Café in the Obereisenbach factory outlet
In October 2017 we opened our own Repair Café at our factory outlet in Obereisenbach where customers can sew or repair their own jackets, backpacks, tents or bags (from other brands as well) with the support of experienced VAUDE employees. Expert instruction and the use of equipment and tools is free of charge. The only costs are for any materials or spare parts needed. More information and opening hours here.
Nearly everything is designed so that it can be repaired
Repairing things rather than throwing them out is all very well but what happens if a product can’t be repaired? Sometimes this is really a problem – despite the fact that reparability is playing an increasingly important role as a criterion in product development, and our designers are working hard to find good solutions so that more and more products are repairable.
Some types of functionality involve a trade-off. For example, zips in the high-stretch fabrics used for cycling jerseys or soft shells. Clearly we can replace a zip, but taking out the original sometimes leaves behind stitching holes that can create a run in the fabric.
There’s still room for improvement on this issue, or rather, we have to make some tricky decisions about what we think will be more important in the future: technical performance or reparability.
Donations with small defects
Our goal is to repair even more products and extend their lifetime with the help of clearly defined repair decision criteria in our VAUDE Repair Handbook.
Products that cannot be repaired but essentially still “work” (such as when a zip on an inside pocket no longer functions but the jacket is otherwise in good shape) are donated to FairWertung, an umbrella organization of non-profit organizations. Read more here
Within the guarantee period, VAUDE has the right to repair any defective article. Sometimes, however, customers expect the item to be replaced or to be given a store credit rather than a product repair.
Product claims by type of processing
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The data in this graph shows all product claims and includes products returned after their warranty period. Data with “no recycling method” is not calculated in the EDV system, for example, for products that were made long ago. Many of these products are donated to FairWertung. Our aim is to repair as many products as possible.
