Mandatory on many products such as smartphones and laptops, the repairability index had to evolve into a durability index, with more comprehensive criteria. But the European Commission is opposed to it.
Have industrial lobbies taken control of the European Commission to the detriment of citizens? While, from 1er January 2024, the reparability index was to evolve into a durability index – which, like its predecessor, to be displayed by all sellers on electrical and electronic devices intended for French consumers – the European Commission has revoked the system, at greatest pleasure of industrialists. As the future sustainability index potentially concerned European sellers, France was obliged to alert the European Commission of its arrival in August 2023. However, as reported The Informedit refused the implementing decree and the five sectoral decrees, with a ban on publication in Official newspaper until next February.
The exact reasons which pushed Brussels to take this decision are not yet known. However, this could be an incompatibility with European law, given that a durability index at European Union level must be put in place by 2025. French and European repairability indices would therefore a duplicate and could create confusion in terms of display – especially since, according to manufacturers, certain criteria required by the French index were different from the European index. It is therefore likely that the Government will simply be forced to abandon its project to adopt the European system. This should delight industrialists, the French Alliance of Digital Industrialists – which represents several manufacturers including Apple, Google and Xiaomi – and the Federation of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Industries having found that France was going too far in its supervision.
Electronic devices: a serious problem of obsolescence
Many consumers are reluctantly forced to part with their electronic devices. A smartphone whose updates have been stopped, a washing machine that cannot be dismantled to change the worn part, a laptop that costs less to buy than to repair… All these situations are the consequences of planned obsolescence, an increasingly widespread practice among manufacturers. To realize this, you just need to look at The report of the association Stop planned obsolescence (HOP) published in 2019 on washing machines. There has been a sharp reduction in the lifespan of devices, which went from ten years in 2010 to seven years in 2018. The report particularly highlights“ inaccessibility […] and the exorbitant price of certain parts essential to the proper functioning of the device and even wearing parts (electronic cards, bearings and motor carbon brushes). For a number of brands (LGSamsung,…), raises the question of the intentionality of irreparability.”
The problem is that it is not only a question of money, because this practice maintained by certain manufacturers – who clearly push for (over)consumption – has a huge impact on the environment. Indeed, the production of a device is the most polluting phase of its existence, because of the extraction of raw materials. Consequently, the longer a piece of equipment is used, the lower its environmental impact will be. Also, to encourage more eco-responsible production and consumption, the French government implemented in 2021 A repairability index. An initiative which, certainly, was promising, but which in reality has certain flaws that must be urgently addressed.
What is the repairability index?
The repairability index of a product is a rating system developed by the Government in order to fight against the obsolescence – planned or not – of electrical and electronic devices for the general public. It is presented in the form of a score between 1 and 10 calculated according to several criteria. It is color coded from red to green to make the clue easier to read. Thus, the lower the score, the more the color tends towards red and the less repairable the device is. HAS Conversely, the higher the score, the more the color tends towards green, and the more repairable the equipment. Basically, the repairability index is the guarantee of its lifespan – and no, it is not because a device needs to be repaired that it will subsequently be less efficient!
The purpose of this rating system is twofold. First of all, it is a question of encouraging consumers to choose products that are more easily repairable, and therefore with a better lifespan – which, in passing, should allow them to make serious savings. It is also a way to remind them and even encourage them to repair their devices – themselves or via a dedicated service – because, faced with a breakdown, “ only 36 % of French people on average repair it, while there are 54 % on average to replace it “noted a report from Ademe (LEnvironment and Energy Management Agency). The Ministry of Ecology has set itself the objective of reaching 60 % repair within five years. In this way, the consumer becomes a powerful lever who will in turn encourage manufacturers to favor eco-design – which had already worked well with the energy label – by improving the way they produce their devices in order to benefit from a new marketing argument. Ultimately, this will help curb the production of electrical and electronic waste.
The repairability index of each device is calculated according to five criteria:
- Availability of documentation: the producer undertakes to make technical documents available free of charge, for a significant number of years, to repairers and consumers. The longer the duration of this availability, the more points the manufacturer scores. For a smartphone or laptop, the documentation must remain accessible for at least 5 years – 7 for high scores. For televisions, the minimum duration is 7 years to have at least one point, and 11 years to obtain the maximum score.
- Dismantability and access, tools, fixings: this is the ease of disassembly of the product – accessibility to components, replacement of parts, etc. –, the type of tools needed – accessories that can be found in your toolbox or that need to be purchased specifically? – and the characteristics of the bindings.
- Availability of spare parts: this is the producer’s commitment to the duration of availability of spare parts and their delivery time.
- Price of spare parts: this is the ratio between the selling price of spare parts and the price of the product. Replacement parts should be at an affordable price, so that it is more profitable to repair the device than to buy a new one.
- Specific criteria: the score is determined by sub-criteria specific to the product category concerned. For example, smartphones and laptops are rated on information about their updates, washing machines, dishwashers and robot vacuum cleaners must have a usage counter. For vacuum cleaners and pressure washers, the consumer must be able to access free assistance. The possibility of resetting the software is also taken into account.
However, although precise criteria provided by the government govern the repairability index, the products are rated by the manufacturers themselves. We must therefore remain very vigilant about what manufacturers display, so that the index remains credible. Since January 1, 2022, any failure or fraud is punishable by a fine of up to 15,000 euros – a sum which is ultimately not very dissuasive for large manufacturers…
Which devices are affected by the repairability index?
Since January 2021, the repairability index is mandatory for smartphones, computers, televisions, window washing machines and lawn mowers. On November 4, 2022, four other products were added to this list: top washing machines – those that fill from the top –, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners – robots, wired and cordless – and high pressure cleaners offered commercially.
The reparability index of a product must be displayed on the packaging or next to the price displayed when making a purchase in store. For online sales, it must be displayed on all pages allowing the purchase of the product concerned, near the price and with a character size equivalent to that of the price, so as to be readable on the screen. Of course, sellers can display the index on any other form of communication support, such as leaflets or promotional posters for example. HAS note that when purchasing, the consumer has the right to demand to see the complete rating grid used to calculate the repairability index, in order to become aware of each criterion evaluated and choose the device in perfect knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses.
Is the repairability index reliable?
While the repairability index is an excellent initiative, it suffers from some problems. Indeed, certain biases distort it, particularly at the level of documentation. It is entirely possible to have very detailed and easily accessible instructions many years after the product was released – and therefore obtain many points for this criterion – but to have to buy very expensive tools and spare parts for a device that is difficult to dismantle. Therefore, the final score is not very representative. This is particularly the case for Apple, whose repairability index of its products fluctuates on average between 4.5 and 6. Another problem: a repairable product does not mean durable. If a part of a machine breaks every year, it must be changed every year and, ultimately, this is not eco-responsible consumption. The device that pollutes the least is the device that never breaks down. This is why the Government wanted to move to a sustainability index by 2024 via the anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC law), by integrating new criteria such as the robustness or reliability of products.
But everyone would still have to play the game for it to work! The HOP association regularly points out the absence of display in certain physical stores and calls on the market control authorities to sanction it, as well as the unreliability of the calculation of the index, as reported Reporterre. For’NGOextending the lifespan of electronic devices is “an essential issue” and this index is a real way to encourage manufacturers to eco-design their products. For its part, the European Union is also working on a repairability index on a European scale because the larger the consumer market, the more manufacturers will have an interest in improving the design of their devices. We can only hope that everything will be put in place fairly quickly, because time is against us…