What is Right to Repair?

What is Right to Repair?

Right to repair is the principle—increasingly codified in legislation—that consumers and independent repair providers should have access to the parts, tools, documentation, and software necessary to repair products they own. It challenges manufacturer practices that restrict repair through proprietary components, software locks, design choices that make disassembly difficult, and restrictive licensing agreements. The movement spans electronics, appliances, agricultural equipment, medical devices, and automotive sectors.

Why It Matters

The economic and environmental stakes are substantial. Europeans discard approximately 151 million smartphones annually, the majority with repairable faults. The U.S. generates over 6.9 million tonnes of e-waste per year, making it the world's largest e-waste producer per capita. The UN Global E-waste Monitor 2024 reports that only 22.3% of global e-waste is formally collected and recycled, with the remainder landfilled, incinerated, or informally processed under hazardous conditions.

Repair extends product lifespans, which directly reduces the embedded carbon, water, and material impacts of manufacturing replacements. A European Environment Agency study found that extending the lifespan of all washing machines, laptops, and smartphones in the EU by just one year would save nearly 4 million tonnes of CO₂ annually—equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road.

Legislative momentum has accelerated dramatically. The EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (2024) establishes repairability requirements for electronics and appliances, including mandatory availability of spare parts for up to 10 years. France's repairability index, introduced in 2021, requires manufacturers to score products on ease of repair at point of sale. In the U.S., over 30 states have introduced right-to-repair legislation, and federal executive orders have directed the FTC to address anti-competitive repair restrictions. New York's Digital Fair Repair Act (2023) was the first comprehensive state-level right-to-repair law.

The economic case extends beyond waste reduction. The independent repair sector supports hundreds of thousands of jobs globally and provides more affordable maintenance options for consumers. Restricting repair funnels revenue to manufacturers while imposing costs on consumers and communities—a dynamic that disproportionately affects lower-income populations.

How It Works / Key Components

Right to repair operates across three dimensions: legal frameworks, product design, and market infrastructure. Legislation establishes manufacturers' obligations to provide spare parts, repair manuals, diagnostic tools, and software updates for reasonable periods after sale. It also addresses anti-circumvention provisions in intellectual property law that have been used to restrict independent repair.

Design for repairability is the upstream lever. Products designed with modular components, standardized fasteners, accessible battery compartments, and clear disassembly instructions are inherently more repairable than those using proprietary screws, soldered components, and glued assemblies. The EU's repairability scoring framework evaluates products on criteria including documentation availability, disassembly ease, parts availability, and parts pricing.

Market infrastructure includes the network of independent repair shops, refurbishment operations, parts suppliers, and training programs that enable repair at scale. Manufacturer-authorized repair networks typically cover only a fraction of the installed product base. Independent repair providers fill the gap but depend on access to parts and information that manufacturers have historically restricted.

Digital products add complexity. Software locks, paired components (where replacement parts must be digitally authenticated by the manufacturer), and over-the-air updates that disable third-party repairs represent growing barriers. The right-to-repair movement increasingly addresses these digital restrictions alongside physical design issues, arguing that software should not be weaponized to prevent hardware repair.

Council Fire's Approach

Council Fire advises organizations on product lifecycle strategy that incorporates repairability and extended use as core design principles, connecting right-to-repair compliance with broader circular economy, climate resilience, and ocean pollution reduction objectives. We help clients navigate the evolving regulatory landscape while identifying commercial opportunities in repair, refurbishment, and product-as-a-service business models.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does right to repair void product warranties?

No. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in the U.S. and equivalent consumer protection laws in the EU prohibit manufacturers from voiding warranties solely because a consumer used independent repair services or non-OEM parts, unless the manufacturer can demonstrate that the third-party repair caused the defect. Despite this, many manufacturers use warranty language and design choices that create a perception of warranty risk around independent repair.

How does right to repair affect manufacturers' business models?

Manufacturers that derive significant revenue from proprietary repair services and replacement product sales face disruption. However, companies like Fairphone and Framework have demonstrated that repairability can be a competitive advantage, attracting customers who value longevity and sustainability. The shift toward product-as-a-service and extended producer responsibility models also aligns manufacturer incentives with product durability and repairability.

Which product categories are most affected by right-to-repair legislation?

Consumer electronics (smartphones, laptops, tablets) and household appliances (washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators) are the primary focus of current legislation. Agricultural equipment is also heavily targeted, driven by farmer advocacy against manufacturers like John Deere that have restricted independent repair of tractors and combines. Medical devices, automotive systems, and powered wheelchairs are additional categories where repair restrictions have drawn legislative and regulatory attention.