🌱 What are reparability indexes?
The reparability score of a product indicates how easy it is to repair. It is typically measured on a scale from 0 to 10 and displayed on or next to the product. The indexes are used to inform consumers, counter planned obsolescence and premature disposal, and to move towards a more circular economy. For electronic devices, manufacturers are currently “responsible for calculating and communicating” on the index.
🌱 What will the Belgian index entail?
On 2 June 2023, the Belgian Council of Ministers adopted a draft bill introducing a reparability index. The index includes considerations such as “ease of dismantling, availability of technical information and spare parts, delivery times, [and] price of spare parts”. The reparability index will apply to household appliances, such as dishwashers, laptops, lawnmowers, pressure washers, televisions, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines. The Belgian system is compatible with the French system, as both countries’ laws set out the same criteria and product groups. The index is expected to come into force in 2026, but the draft bill must still be adopted by the Belgian Federal Parliament.
🌱 What does the French index entail?
France introduced a reparability index under its anti-waste and circular economy law in January 2021. It is based on five criteria, namely “availability of technical documents to aid in repair, ease of disassembly, availability of spare parts, price of spare parts, and a wild-card category for repair issues specific to th[e] class of products”. The index initially applied to laptops, lawnmowers, side-loading washing machines, smartphones, and TVs. It was then extended to dishwashers, pressure washers, top-loading washing machines, and vacuum cleaners. In 2024, France plans to replace the reparability index for certain product groups with a “life expectancy index” or “durability index”, which will add products’ “overall robustness” to the criteria.
🌱 Do indexes work, and should there be a European index?
In principle, “manufacturers are likely to feel pressure to make devices easier to fix”, if the indexes influence consumer behavior. Yet, to be effective, reparability indexes also need to “be based on detailed impact assessments” and they should consider the entire lifecycle. While the EU has worked on EU-wide reparability labeling, there is currently no European reparability index. This is said to “plac[e] a burden on both manufacturers and consumers” as they must navigate different national standards. Therefore, a future introduction of an EU-level regulation should optimally replace or unify the existing indexes. Otherwise, consumers may be confronted with several different indexes, which could be confusing or even misleading.
Read more about the Belgian reparability index here:
- https://euro.dayfr.com/sports/312172.html
- https://catapa.be/en/coming-soon-a-repair-index-in-belgium/
- https://khattabi.belgium.be/en/pr-repairindex
- https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7070370848250941440/
Read more about the French reparability index here:
- https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/indice-reparabilite
- https://www.itu.int/hub/2021/10/frances-repairability-index-inches-toward-circular-economy/
- https://www.halteobsolescence.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rapport-indice-de-reparabilite.pdf
- https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/sites/default/files/from-crm/23_02_02_Case_Index.pdf
- https://www.ecr-community.org/implementing-the-reparability-index-in-france/
- https://www.wired.com/story/frances-new-tech-repairability-index-is-a-big-deal/
- https://grist.org/climate/why-frances-new-repairability-index-is-a-big-deal/
- https://www.ifixit.com/News/64508/french-repair-index-one-year-later
- https://repair.eu/news/the-french-repair-index-challenges-and-opportunities/
Read more about repairability indexes in general here: