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In order to better support practitioners, the following information and some documents and tools have been translated into English. Please note, only the French versions are legally valid.
Since 1 January 2021, the repairability index is enforced for five categories of electronic and home appliance products. This tool, introduced by the law against waste and for the circular economy, aims at a better information for the consumer about the repairability of his / her purchases.
Objectives
The mandatory display of a repairability index for electric and electronic products is established by virtue of article 16 of law n° 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 against waste and for the circular economy.
Thanks to the display of a score 1 to 10, this index informs the consumers about the repairability of the products concerned. At first, the following product categories fall under the obligation: front-loading washing machines, smartphones, laptops, TV monitors, electric lawn mowers (three types: with electric cable, with battery, robot).
This information aims to raise the awareness of consumers about their ability to extend the use time and life span of their products, notably by steering them towards products that are easier to repair and by pushing them to resort to repair in cases of failure.
As such, this is also a tool for combatting obsolescence – either planned or not – in order to avoid the premature disposal of products and preserve natural resources.
Moreover, the law against waste and for the circular economy foresees that that by 2024 the index is replaced by – or becomes - a durability index through the inclusion of additional criteria related to product reliability and robustness.
The method for the index calculation
The calculation of the repairability index includes 5 criteria for all product categories:
- Documentation: the score is established in relation to the commitment of the producer to make available, for free and for a number of years, technical documents to repairers and consumers.
- Ease of disassembly and access, tools, fasteners: the score is established in relation to the ease of disassembly of the product, the types of tools necessary for it, and the types of fasteners.
- Spare parts availability: the score is established in relation to the commitment of the producer on the duration of the spare parts availability and on the delivery time.
- Spare parts price: the score is established by the ratio between the price of spare parts and the price of the product.
- Specific criteria: the score is established in relation to sub-criteria specific to the product category.