Repair is widely valued, but it is often a hard option to put into practice. Most consumers end up replacing or recycling their broken products which comes at a financial and environmental cost. Making repair the easy, economic and obvious choice will drive a repair market that works for everyone. 

Euroconsumers members Altroconsumo, OCU and DECO PROteste are key partners in the REPper project, which began in 2023 to develop a culture of repair by taking action at the supply side, demand side and across skills development.  

REPper stands for Repair Perspective and operates across the Mediterranean countries of France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

REPper has run a series of indepth roundtables across the project countries, hearing from 137 stakeholders about the economic, behavioural and educational changes needed to make repair a viable option for consumers when products break.  

The roundtable discussions revealed that extending product lifespans reduces waste and resource consumption and creates local economic opportunities, especially for small businesses and skilled workers. 

However, repair is still often less attractive than replacement due to barriers such as high costs, limited access to spare parts, lack of skills, low consumer trust and regulatory challenges. 

Start Talking: how can Europe deliver on repair?  

This month, Euroconsumers widened the reach of the roundtable results and reflections  with a high level roundtable as part of the Start Talking webinar series. 

At the event we heard the EU perspective from experts from the REPper Consortium and consumer organisation OCU, the European Commission, WEEE Forum, community repair programme The Restart Project, BusinessEurope and ANEC who represent consumers in standards development.

Together, they brought together their views on the incoming EU Repair Directive, learnings from REPper and ideas about what needs to happen to make genuine, lasting changes to Europe’s repair system.

1. Repair needs an integrated approach

First up, the participants said that a strong repair culture can only embed and scale through an integrated approach. Pushing at individual levers won’t work, it requires a wholesale approach that combines regulation, financial incentives, education, consumer information and public strategies.

2. EU Repair Directive must go further

The new EU Directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods offers an important opportunity to shift the system, by putting the obligation to repair onto manufacturers. But for the moment, the list of product categories covered is limited.

Related measures will also be critical for success, such as the Ecodesign Sustainable Product  Regulation (ESPR) which sets out requirements to make products more durable, reusable, repairable and recyclable. 

Getting the design phase right means more durable products which in turn normalises expectations for long term use and makes repair a more obvious choice for consumers. 

3.  Unlock the potential of Digital Product Passports 

The ESPR also requires that some products include a Digital Product Passport (DPP) which allows repair professionals to easily access key information like repair options, materials and spare parts, while helping consumers better understand the product repair history.

Opinions on Digital Product Passports were mixed, with some seeing it a game changer at different levels:

Michela Vuerich from ANEC also pointed out added value in terms of reusability: 

But others were less positive, reminding us that it won’t be required for electrical and electronic goods, or most regular consumer products for many years when we need action now.

4. Get real about economic barriers 

Repair should save money, by keeping products in use for longer and overriding the need for replacement. But in practice, the cost of spare parts and repair services make it an expensive option.  

Solutions included repair vouchers like those used to incentivise repair in Austria, France and Germany. VAT reductions on spare parts and labour costs, and longer term funding options like producer responsibility schemes or public budgets are also options that could help repair compete on price with replacement.  

But competing with replacement is incredibly hard given the easy access to new, cheap and often low-quality products:

These more systemic market mechanisms need to be addressed, for example better market surveillance and stricter rules on product safety and quality. 

And, as well as incentivising repair supply, we also need to raise awareness on the demand side about the hidden social and environmental cost of cheaper imported products.

5. Clear information to build trust 

Better information at every stage is critical to help improve transparency and consumer trust.  First, there’s investing in education and awareness, to shift behaviour from the use and replace model to one of ‘care and repair’. 

There is an EU wide repair platform in development, and Altroconsumo, OCU and DECO PROteste have already launched online repair hubs with a wealth of information on all aspects of repair including: how legal warranties and guarantees work and when the seller should offer repairs for free; tips on maintaining household appliances and repair guides for some products. 

6. Repair innovation and skills are a competitive advantage  

Building up Europe’s skill base in repair can help drive competitiveness by positioning the EU as a clean, innovative, repair economy. 

At the moment there’s a shortage of skilled workers, but investment in repair training could reinvigorate the sector as a strategic employment priority. This is about training professional technicians, but also about the basic know-how that has been lost for the new generations. With more people employed in the sector, the expectations and normalisation of the repair option grow: 

From the industry side, Pedro Oliveira from BusinessEurope describes the opportunity: 

7. Repair culture: from good idea to go-to option

Getting repair to be seen as the norm – an obvious, convenient and sensible decision is so important. This goes further than just making it a good economic option, it’s also about making it attractive, acceptable and valued by consumers and their peers, and prioritised above getting a new product. 

This culture change can bring environmental, economic, and social benefits, including waste reduction, job creation and stronger local communities. Cultural shifts take time, and for those working in this area for a long time were optimistic:

Repair festivals, cafes, parties and networks are also in the mix as a way of building a community movement and changing hearts and minds. Ugo Vallauri estimates there may be around four to five thousand in Europe, and new concepts are emerging;

Taking on the repair challenge

The participants highlighted several areas where action was needed to address the challenges including: awareness campaigns, repair hubs, training programs, financial incentives, better regulations and improved access to spare parts.

Finally, they agreed that focusing on preparation, scaling, and long-term integration of repair policies is essential to make repair a mainstream, accessible, and attractive option, supporting a sustainable and circular economy with a long-term perspective.

Taking action now

• You can rewatch the full webinar here: REPper: How Europe can deliver on its repair promise  

• You can contribute to change: sign your commitment to repair in the Project Manifesto Pledge  and join consumers across Europe who choose repair as their first option. 

• My REPper pledge: https://repper.interreg-euro-med.eu/repper-pledge/