Consumers' repair practices and acquisition of new and used products identify the dynamics of resource flows in a society

In order to collect knowledge about Danish citizens’ practices with purchase of new versus used products, and repair needs and experiences, a survey was carried out October 2020 in the Capital Region of Denmark among a representative sample of 1005 citizens based on an electronic questionnaire with a focus on citizens' experiences 2019-2020 with the repair and reuse of electrical and electronic products, clothing and footwear, and furniture. The main reasons across the three product types for buying a new product instead of a used product is a wish to get the newest model of product and not believing a used product will have a long lifetime. The main reason for buying a used product is a lower price comparing to buying a new product. For footwear, sport clothes and beds, the main reason for not buying a used product is reluctance buying used products that is used close to the body. A lower cost for repair compared to buying a new product is the reason for having an electronic product repaired. For some types of clothes and furniture attachment to the product is an important reason for having such products repaired. The two main reasons for not having a not-functioning product repaired is a higher price for repair compared to buying a new product or product repair not being possible. Thus, prevention of waste is not the main reason for having a product repaired but it plays a role for some citizens. Lower repair costs and the ability to disassemble products could increase the number of repairs of electronic products. Re-design for disassembly seems especially to be able to increase the number of repairs of kitchen equipment like toasters, water kettles, etc.