Decrees published in the Official Journal of 4 May 2022 formalised the extension of the repairability index to six new product categories.
New categories include top-loading washing machines, dishwashers, robot vacuum cleaners, wired and non-wired and high pressure cleaners. The obligation to display the repairability index on these devices will be effective in six months.
Flagship measure of the anti-waste law for a circular economy, the repairability index came into force on 1 January 2021. Its objective is two-fold: to better advise consumers and to change the practices of manufacturers, to ultimately fight against the premature obsolescence of our objects.
It has so far concerned five product categories: smartphones, TVs, televisions, porthole washing machines and lawnmowers.
Halte à l’obsolescence programme (HOP) pleaded for the creation of such an index and participated in its development. In a constructive approach, HOP has also published a report proposing ways to improve the index.
The extension will come into effect in six months, which means that from November 2022 the display of the repairability index will be mandatory on these products. HOP welcomes this extension, which broadens the scope of the repairability index and therefore enables consumers to own more repairable items.
HOP said: “It is necessary to continue this enlargement work, by including more everyday objects in the index, starting with printers, products with a high environmental impact and often too little to repair.”
At the same time, HOP continues to invest in the work of developing the durability index, which should be launched in 2024. This new index will complement repairability with reliability and scalability criteria in order to rate the ability of products to last over time. Hop added: “It must be ambitious enough to guarantee consumers information that reflects the real durability of objects.”
