New tech regulation promotes affordable repairs over wasteful disposal, says Marie Castelli, Head of Public Affairs at Back Market.
Earlier this year, the EU finalised a new law empowering consumers to fix their tech devices, even when their warranties end. The “Right to Repair” legislation promotes the repair of devices instead of their disposal and supports independent repair shops by regulating fair pricing for original parts and forbidding software that limits independent repair.
Legislation like this, which is becoming more common globally, saves consumers money and limits environmental harm caused by technology. Yet, despite the movement’s popular appeal, the legislation is often difficult to digest and understand.
Laws often only apply to certain product categories or types of repair and vary between countries and even states. This can make it difficult for consumers and businesses to navigate.
Right to Repair will define consumers’ and businesses’ future relationship with technology and its manufacturers. It’s therefore important to understand what it is, how it’s progressing, and how it might affect them in the future.
What is ‘Right to Repair’?
Existing practices promoted and exercised by the technology industry are often unsustainable. Purchasing of new devices is encouraged to increase profits and restricting options to repair them is commonplace. It also contributes considerably to carbon emissions. To produce a new smartphone, a considerable amount of energy and resources are required – 90% of a device’s carbon footprint is emitted before it ever leaves the factory.
If nothing is done to mitigate these emissions, the sector will be responsible for 14% of worldwide CO2 emissions by 2040. This will account for more than half of the current relative contribution of the whole transportation sector and way more than aviation.
The Right to Repair movement seeks to address this problem by raising awareness, promoting better practices, and lobbying to introduce legislation that makes repair more accessible and affordable. This increases devices’ lifespans and makes it easier for people to reuse their parts, which might otherwise be lost to landfills. It also reduces the cost of technology for people who may not be able to afford new devices when their old ones break.
As a result of this movement, local, regional, national, and multi-national governments have introduced a wave of legislation to improve people’s right to repair their devices and reduce e-waste. This legislation is forcing tech companies to make radical changes to their business models.
What are the challenges facing the movement?
The ability to repair devices offers clear advantages to consumers and the environment. But for many businesses, it demands adjustments to operations that some tech companies perceive as detrimental to profitability. ‘Planned obsolescence’, for example, is a strategy that tech companies use to limit the lifespan of their devices, incentivising consumers to purchase new ones when their old ones degrade. Under new Right to Repair legislation, this strategy is becoming increasingly difficult for them to put in place.
How can the UK use Right to Repair to enable a green economy?
Despite opposition from some tech companies, popular support will likely continue the new legislation. According to Eurobarometer, 77% of EU consumers would rather repair their devices than buy replacements. With the right measures, this might mean the realisation of a future where all the parts in a full range of technological devices are easy to swap out for affordable spares.
There is a way to go until we reach that point though. In a recent event at the UK parliament, Back Market and The Restart Project, a people-powered social enterprise, laid out the five most important principles for politicians to commit to: affordable repairs, accessible repairs across all product categories, indices to signal new devices’ repairability, ambitious repair targets, and vocational support to promote the creation of green jobs.
Right to Repair is already changing people’s relationship with technology and will continue to do so in the future. It’s important as a consumer or a business to keep up to date with the latest legislation, as it may affect how you choose to purchase and repair the devices you use.
