Design for Repairability: Why Right-to-Repair Laws Are Shaping Product Design

The product design of the 20th century followed a linear economic model: make, use, throw away. Durable was passed up for disposable, and repair became an oddity instead of the standard. That said, this method of producing and consuming is being disrupted today with the emergence of right-to-repair legislation, which is changing how companies think about design, ownership, and sustainability.

Roots of the Movement

The right-to-repair movement has emerged at least in part due to increasing consumer frustration with repairability. Closed batteries, tamper-resistant screws, or software locks have made it more expensive and difficult for buyers to receive affordable repairs other than by going to authorized service centres (Chamberlain, 2015). A design philosophy that builds in features to encourage the purchaser to only seek professional repairs leads to additional expense for users, and a staggering amount of electronic waste (Grossman 2006). With the push for repairability, legislature, policy institutions and activists alike are calling on corporations to embrace longevity, instead of the business model that thrives on planned obsolescence.

Shifts in Design Philosophy

Transitions in Design Philosophies with an increased emphasis on Repairability means that a different paradigm of design must be instantiated. Products are now being designed in terms of their modularity, standardized parts, and serviceability by manuals prescribed for the user. Laptops that have soldered memory, or batteries that can't be replaced are already not in accordance with regulatory guidelines of the new EU directives (European Commission, 2023). Similarly, smartphone manufacturers are directed to manufacture smart devices with removable batteries by 2027. These regulations are pushing the design from aesthetically pleasing sealed devices to manufacturers creating designs that accommodate both aesthetics and functionality.

Economic and Social Implications

Repairability will have a systemic impact that goes beyond engineering. It creates the ability for local repair economies, decreases reliance on global supply chains, and pushes product life cycles longer. In nations such as India that already have informal repair systems, formalizing this repairability could help support local repair technicians by reducing the import of electronic devices (Arya and Kumar 2020). For the customer, repairability also means autonomy; customers can own a product longer and keep it updated, instead of being forced to upgrade.

Challenges for Industry

For manufacturers, this change will not happen without some pushback from their side. Products designed to be modular may increase production costs in the short run and brands also worry about losing income from after-sale service (Lindsay 39). There are also concerns about intellectual property and sharing repair manuals or diagnostic tools that reveal trade secrets. Fairphone has shown that viable and profitable repair options can work in the marketplace and build brand loyalty among customers by aligning with values (Fairphone 2022).

Towards a Culture of Sustainability

In the end, right-to-repair laws might hinge on changing culture as much as on design. By bringing repairability into legislation, societies emphasize that sustainability is not an elective, but part of innovation (Pahl et al. 2007). Repairable products are meant to promote consumer values around durability, waste reduction, and participation in circular economies, where ownership is about stewardship instead of disposal. 

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Conclusion

A significant shift in design thinking is marked by the emergence of right-to-repair legislation. Designing for short-term profit and product aesthetics is not likely to justify sacrificing longevity and responsibility. To make repairability a design priority requires industries to confront sustainability and empowers consumers to hold them accountable. The future of product design is not sealing devices from the user; it is about increasing transparency, opening them—for repair, reuse, and resilience.

References

• Arya, Shashi, and Sunil Kumar. “E-waste in India at a glance: Current trends, regulations, challenges and management strategies.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 271, Oct. 2020, p. 122707, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122707.
• Chamberlain, Elizabeth. “Why We Need the Right to Repair.” iFixit Report, 2015.
• European Commission. Proposal for a Directive on Common Rules Promoting the Repair of Goods. Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.
• Fairphone. Impact Report 2022: Transforming the Electronics Industry. Fairphone, 2022.
• Grossman, Elizabeth. High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health. Island Press, 2006.
• Lindsay, Greg. “Designing for Disassembly: Why Tech Firms Resist Right-to-Repair.” Wired, 2022, pp. 35–40.
• Pahl, Gerhard, et al. Engineering Design: A Systematic Approach. Springer, 2007.