How many years does a television or a washing machine last without breaking down? What if it could be easier to repair than to buy a new product? The European Commission has proposed this Wednesday a directive that will force manufacturers to fix products that have been damaged up to ten years after purchase.
Brussels wants to enshrine the right to repair products and thus put an end to "the spiral" of buy-use-throw-buy. The new proposal introduces changes in the right to repair for consumers both inside and outside the legal guarantee.
Currently, the products have a two-year warranty, —something that will be maintained as until now—, during this period, the sellers will be obliged to offer the repair, except when the replacement is more expensive.
After two years, after the guarantee, consumers will have more rights and facilities to opt for repair, instead of buying, since currently many buyers prefer to buy a new product due to the difficulties or the enormous cost that it can have fix the product.
The objective is twofold: to put an end to what is known as planned obsolescence, "the invisible expiration date" that technological products have especially; and facilitate the repair, right now very limited and difficult to access. Often this type of product can only be repaired by official operators without the ability to solve it yourself or in a more affordable workshop.
Thus, with the new standard, consumers will be able to ask manufacturers to repair electrical appliances such as televisions or dishwashers and they will be obliged to repair them between five and ten years after purchase (depending on the product). They can only be denied if it is technically impossible.
“We want to incentivize manufacturers to make repair possible, instead of engaging in a never-ending race to buy new products that we, the consumers, don't need. This is not sustainable”, assured the vice president in charge of Values and Transparency, Vera Jourovà.
Among the products that can be repaired are dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, televisions or dryers. Mobile phones and tablets will be added soon. Manufacturers will also have the obligation to inform consumers which products they will have to repair themselves.
To this end, an online repair platform will be created to put consumers in contact with repair shops according to the place of residence and that have high quality standards, —for which a list endorsed by the authorities will be prepared — and with enough variety to allow freedom of choice.
The European Commission aims to reduce the enormous volume of waste of products that, in reality, could have been repaired. The result is 35 million tons of waste and 261 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In addition, consumers lose around 12 billion euros a year by choosing to buy instead of repair.
The proposal is a response to a request in a non-binding resolution of two years ago from the European Parliament, which already called for measures to be taken to facilitate the right to repair. Now the proposal must be negotiated with the States and the European Parliament for it to enter into force.
At the same time, Brussels has also proposed limiting what is known as "ecopostureo" or "ecological bleaching" (known as greenwashing in English) that many companies apply to sell their products, but which in some cases may be false. For example, claims such as “T-shirt made from recycled plastic bottles”, CO2 offset delivery”, or “packaging made from 30% recycled plastic” will need to be proven.
A study by the European Commission found that 53.3% of environmental claims in the EU were "vague, misleading or unfounded" and 40% were unsubstantiated. “The lack of common rules applicable to companies that formulate voluntary ecological declarations favors 'greenwashing' and creates unequal conditions of competition in the EU market, to the detriment of truly sustainable companies”, argues Brussels.
With the new rule, companies will be forced to demonstrate that the claims are supported by real data and require transparency, and that they are independently verified. But if companies want to make these kinds of claims on their products, they will need to guarantee their reliability. For the European Commission, this will offer a competitive advantage for companies that make a "real effort" to create environmentally friendly products.
Member States will be responsible for establishing verification processes, which will be carried out by independent experts to check that claims are based on recognized scientific evidence.
"Ecological claims are everywhere: ocean-friendly t-shirts, carbon-free bananas, bee-friendly juices... Unfortunately, all too often these claims are made without any evidence or justification," the Commission vice-president rejected. Commission for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, in a statement.
