Throwaway culture under threat from repair ratings
The makers of smartphones and electronic and household appliances will have to specify how their products can be repaired under a French move to curb the practice of planned obsolescence.
A ‘‘ repairability rating’’ between one and 10 is to be displayed on packaging and advertising from next year, so consumers can see whether they can expect to be able to have a product mended when it breaks down.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government aims to make electronic products and common appliances work longer in the face of manufacturers’ efforts to hasten their obsolescence and their replacement by newer models.
From January 1, the repair rating will be compulsory for smartphones, televisions, laptop computers, frontloading washing machines, and lawn mowers. The list will be expanded, and the ‘‘repair’’ label will become a ‘‘ durability rating’’ in 2024.
Sixty per cent of personal electronics and household appliances are thrown away or recycled when they break down because repairs are too expensive or in many cases impossible. France’s government aims to reduce that to 40 per cent within three years.
The new labels will be based on factors including the availability and cost of spare parts and software upgrades, and the ease with which the product can be opened for repair.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has ordered an investigation into practices involving spare parts.
Ministers and environment groups are especially worried about the expected rapid replacement of smartphones, with the launch this year of 5G networks. More than 100 million unwanted old mobile phones are already estimated to litter French drawers and cupboards.
Under pressure from the government, Orange, France’s biggest mobile phone operator, promised this month to raise from 2 to 10 per cent the share of reconditioned phones on sale in its outlets.
The French push is a response to a ‘‘right to repair’’ package announced in Brussels this year as part of a European Union green deal to promote sustainable growth and prevent waste.