You will soon see the repairability index on new products. The government has just extended the measure to a whole series of household appliances, including manual and robot vacuum cleaners, washing machines or dishwashers, among others.
The repairability index evolves. Just over a year after its implementation, new decrees published in the Official newspaper May 4, 2022 extend its display to new household appliances.
What new products are affected?
Until then, the repairability index concerned smartphones, computers, televisions, window washing machines and lawnmowers. This new salvo of decrees aims to widen the range of targeted devices and now includes:
In total, 10 product categories will display this famous repairability index. New entrants will have six months to get into the nails and display the famous pictogram on the packaging of their products.
As for the previous categories, resellers will also be required to include this note on the web page of each product. This expansion is welcome for the Halte à l’obsolescence programmed (HOP) association, which claims, however, that the government aims “more everyday objects in the index, starting with printers, products with a high environmental impact and often too little to repair“.
What are the scoring criteria?
The scoring grid for these new product categories is unchanged. We therefore find documentation, disassembly and reassembly, the availability of spare parts, the price of these parts, and “specific criteria” for the products.
Obviously, as a smartphone is not evaluated in the same way as a dishwasher, the sub-criteria have changed. On the documentation, for example, a dishwasher will earn points if the wiring and connection diagram is provided. For vacuum cleaners, each manufacturer will need to assess the ease of dismantling the hoses or vacuum motors in order to calculate the score. The availability of parts such as the nozzle or lance of pressure washers will also play a role in the calculation of the index. The criteria and sub-criteria are available on the orders for each product.
As for smartphones or televisions, these rating grids were developed in consultation with players in the sector, whether industrial or associative. This allows for relevant sub-criteria for each product, such as the ability to soft-reset robot vacuum cleaners, something a pressure washer can do without.
That doesn’t mean it’s all set in stone, though. The weighting of the criteria with regard to the final grade may, for example, change over time. Associations such as HOP or UFC Que Choisir are campaigning in particular for a tougher rating on the first round of products. There is no doubt that with hindsight and the arrival of the first ratings, avenues for improving the index will also emerge for these new product categories.
Since the goal of the index is always to encourage the general public to buy more durable and to repair more frequently, the more robust and credible this rating will be in the eyes of the general public, the better the situation.
At the same time, the government is still working on the implementation of the “durability” index, which should arrive in 2024. The latter will combine several criteria (in addition to repairability), to allow everyone to buy the products as durable as possible. In the meantime, if you want to buy responsibly, know that our rating of smartphones, TVs and computers takes into account the repairability index.