Background information
Repairing instead of throwing away: what the EU’s Right to Repair provides
by Jan Johannsen
Right to repair, and how the new TÜV inspection service will test the repairability of products
26/2/2024
Translation: Elicia Payne
Consumers in the EU will have a right to repairs in the future, meaning they’ll be entitled to fixing their devices and won’t have to replace them at their own expense. TÜV Rheinland (German Association for Technical Inspection) is being offered a new service by manufacturers whereby they’ll check whether their products can be restored.
The right to repair is on its way. A new EU law will give customers the right to have broken goods repaired – both within and beyond the legal guarantee for products, as has been decided by the European Parliament and the Council.
Repairability index
A new service at TÜV Rheinland has now been launched so that companies and manufacturers can indicate how well their product range can be restored to working order. It offers manufacturers the opportunity to outline a repairs list for the products in their possession.
Although the ‘right to repair’ only applies to the EU, the service offered is also of interest to non-EU countries such as Switzerland. After all, these are often based on the regulations of EU countries in order to avoid trade barriers or a stagnation in the flow of goods. The analysis of repairability is therefore country-independent and offered globally by TÜV to all manufacturers.
There’s no limits for having repairability as criteria for sustainable design in the circular economy.
TÜV Rheinland employees analyse a variety of factors to determine the index, such as product documentation or parts that are important for the product to get it working again. The object is also disassembled in the process to check whether and how the goods in question can be restored to their original condition.
What else goes hand in hand with the ‘right to repair’
In addition to basic repairability, the following reforms have been included in the policy:
Good for consumer protection and the environment
We can no longer afford to live in a throwaway society.
The law will help consumers make more sustainable consumption decisions in the future. Less waste will be produced and resources will be conserved. In technical terms, this is referred to as «Strengthening the circular economy».
This change would benefit the climate and environmental targets from the European Green Deal, a set of measures with a series of political initiatives to be more environmentally friendly. The overarching goal is for Europe to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050.
If you’d like to find out more, you can find a good summary of the Green Deal in the following video (in German):
What’s next
The European Parliament and Council still have to formally adopt the proposal. It will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 20 days after its publication, the ‘right to repair’ will then automatically come into force.
Header image: TÜV Rheinland
Cat lady and coffee lover from up north. Always on the lookout for «News and Trends».
Background information
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show all
