It used to be that if something you bought broke, you could bring it to any local repair shop, or even try yourself. Most things were built of basic components widely available in your local stores. As we have moved to a consumer society, and price of mass products have dived, it is most of the time cheaper and more convenient to just dispose of something rather than try to fix it.
The “right to repair” is a new trend in legislation that has been enacted in twelve states where manufacturing companies of certain products such as technology and automobiles obligated to offer manuals, tools, and other supplies to the consumers so they themselves have more options on how to fix their products. This is beneficial to both the consumer and company as the costs of repairing the product by the company itself is cheaper than going to repair shops which asks for an unreasonable price to repair the product. The consumers in these permitted states now have the option to receive the parts and information from the manufacturer that is needed to repair the product themselves instead of relying on the manufacturer or other repair companies to fix it at a high price.
A widely known actor in this drama is Apple, who is against consumers repairing their own products. #Apple is opposed to this “#righttorepair” as they believe it is dangerous for their consumers to attempt to repair their #iPhones. Apple went to the extent to protect their designs with patents and create proprietary fasteners and tools such as screws and screwdrivers so that nobody could replicate them and try to access Apple’s products on their own. Other examples are car and other capital goods products such as tractors, where repair of the products is still very cost effective, versus getting a new one or paying big money for an authorized repairman to come to your farm and repair your harvester. This new trend in connection with other global initiatives such as Scandinavian countries giving tax incentives for repairing mundane products can not only mean a sea change for how we treat high end products, but also provide relief to our planet in terms of environmental damage inflicted when a mostly good product is thrown in the trash.
The “right to repair” is a new trend in legislation that has been enacted in twelve states where manufacturing companies of certain products such as technology and automobiles obligated to offer manuals, tools, and other supplies to the consumers so they themselves have more options on how to fix their products. This is beneficial to both the consumer and company as the costs of repairing the product by the company itself is cheaper than going to repair shops which asks for an unreasonable price to repair the product. The consumers in these permitted states now have the option to receive the parts and information from the manufacturer that is needed to repair the product themselves instead of relying on the manufacturer or other repair companies to fix it at a high price.
A widely known actor in this drama is Apple, who is against consumers repairing their own products. #Apple is opposed to this “#righttorepair” as they believe it is dangerous for their consumers to attempt to repair their #iPhones. Apple went to the extent to protect their designs with patents and create proprietary fasteners and tools such as screws and screwdrivers so that nobody could replicate them and try to access Apple’s products on their own. Other examples are car and other capital goods products such as tractors, where repair of the products is still very cost effective, versus getting a new one or paying big money for an authorized repairman to come to your farm and repair your harvester. This new trend in connection with other global initiatives such as Scandinavian countries giving tax incentives for repairing mundane products can not only mean a sea change for how we treat high end products, but also provide relief to our planet in terms of environmental damage inflicted when a mostly good product is thrown in the trash.