Sustainability Atlas
Circular Economy·9 min read·

Case study: Repair, reuse & refurbishment — An emerging standard shaping buyer requirements

New right-to-repair laws and refurbishment standards are transforming buyer expectations. Here's how emerging regulations shape procurement decisions.

Case study: Repair, reuse & refurbishment — An emerging standard shaping buyer requirements

The world generated 62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2022—enough to fill 1.55 million trucks stretching around Earth's equator. Yet only 22.3% was formally recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills, informal recycling streams, or mixed waste. The gap between what we discard and what we recover represents not just an environmental crisis but a $72 billion annual loss in unrecovered materials. This reality is driving a fundamental shift in how products are designed, sold, and procured. Emerging repair, reuse, and refurbishment standards are now reshaping buyer requirements across industries, turning what was once a niche sustainability concern into a mainstream procurement criterion.

Why It Matters

The circular economy transition has moved from theoretical framework to regulatory mandate. The EU's Right to Repair Directive, adopted in June 2024, requires manufacturers to repair products beyond warranty periods for up to ten years after the last unit is placed on market. Starting July 2026, this obligation applies to household appliances, smartphones, tablets, and electronic displays—with furniture, clothing, and mattresses expected to follow by 2030.

For procurement professionals and sustainability leads, these regulations create new baseline requirements. Products without repair documentation, accessible spare parts, or reasonable service pricing will face market access restrictions. France's repairability index, which grades electronics 0-10 on ease of repair, has already demonstrated that transparent scoring influences purchasing decisions. The country set a goal of increasing repair rates by 60% within five years of implementation.

Beyond regulatory compliance, the economics increasingly favor repair and refurbishment. E-waste recycling prevents 93 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually at current recovery levels. The e-waste management market is projected to reach $143.9 billion by 2028—triple its 2020 size—indicating significant investment in circular infrastructure.

Key Concepts

Right to Repair

Right to repair legislation establishes legal frameworks requiring manufacturers to provide spare parts, repair documentation, and diagnostic tools to consumers and independent repair shops. The EU Directive mandates that manufacturers cannot refuse repair if it is technically possible, must complete repairs within reasonable timeframes at fair prices, and cannot use software to block compatible or reused replacement parts.

The movement extends beyond electronics. Thirty-four US states have introduced right-to-repair legislation covering agricultural equipment, medical devices, and home appliances. This fragmented regulatory landscape creates complexity for global manufacturers but signals clear market direction.

Design for Longevity

Design for longevity encompasses engineering practices that extend product lifespan through durability, modularity, and ease of disassembly. The EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), adopted alongside the Right to Repair Directive, establishes binding requirements for product design including disassembly instructions, standardized components, and software support duration.

Repairability labels for smartphones and tablets became mandatory in the EU on June 20, 2025, using an A-E grading system based on ease of disassembly, spare parts availability and pricing, and software support length. These labels directly influence consumer choice and procurement specifications.

Refurbishment Standards

Refurbishment standards establish quality benchmarks for restored products, addressing buyer concerns about reliability and performance. Certified refurbishment programs provide warranty protection, documented testing procedures, and verified part authenticity. These standards enable secondary markets to compete with new product sales while maintaining quality assurance.

The refurbishment sector is scaling rapidly. Patagonia's Worn Wear program has repaired over 415,000 garments since 2005 through 70+ global repair centers. Rwanda's national e-waste facility refurbishes 600,000+ items annually while creating 300+ green jobs. These examples demonstrate that refurbishment at scale is operationally viable.

What's Working

Regulatory Harmonization

The EU's comprehensive approach—linking Right to Repair, Ecodesign, and Consumer Empowerment directives—creates coherent market signals. Manufacturers know that repairability requirements trigger repair obligations, and that products must display clear durability information at point of sale. Germany's national repair act adds domestic requirements including 10-year spare parts availability and 14-day delivery mandates, demonstrating how regional variation can push standards higher.

Manufacturer Adaptation

Leading manufacturers are converting compliance requirements into competitive advantages. Apple's Self-Service Repair program, launched in 2022 and now available in 34 countries, supports 42 products with genuine parts, tools, and repair manuals. The company's 2024 expansion to accept used parts for repair—including biometric sensors—signals industry acceptance that circularity doesn't compromise quality or security.

Trade-In Economics

Trade-in and refurbishment programs are proving commercially viable. Companies like SWAP in Bangladesh sell 7,000-8,000 refurbished devices monthly. Patagonia's trade-in program, which provides store credit for used gear, feeds a resale platform selling 120,000+ refurbished items while reducing the carbon footprint of each purchase by up to 60% compared to buying new.

What Isn't Working

Fragmented Global Standards

While the EU leads regulatory development, global manufacturers face a patchwork of requirements. Only 78 countries have e-waste legislation, and standards vary significantly. Companies operating across jurisdictions must design products meeting the strictest standards or manage regional variants—adding cost and complexity that can slow adoption.

Price Competitiveness of Repair

Repair often remains more expensive than replacement, particularly for low-cost electronics. Independent technicians report manufacturer parts markups of 3x or more. Spare parts pricing for televisions scores between 0/10 and 7.5/10 in consumer evaluations. Without price controls or VAT reductions—currently implemented by only 7 of 27 EU member states—repair economics will continue favoring disposal.

Infrastructure Gaps

The repair sector lacks adequate infrastructure, particularly in developing regions. Africa's e-waste recycling rate sits at 0.9%; least developed countries manage just 0.2%. The EU's planned pan-European Repair Platform, targeting 2027 launch, acknowledges that connecting consumers with repair services remains a barrier even in developed markets.

Examples

EU Right to Repair Directive

The EU's comprehensive framework demonstrates how policy can restructure markets. The Directive requires repair beyond warranty for covered products, extends legal guarantees by 12 months when consumers choose repair over replacement, and mandates spare parts availability at reasonable prices. The 2025 introduction of repairability labels for smartphones and tablets provides the first standardized scoring system, enabling direct product comparison based on circular economy criteria. Procurement teams can now specify minimum repairability grades in tender requirements, making regulatory standards directly actionable in purchasing decisions.

Apple Self-Service Repair Program

Apple's program illustrates how major manufacturers can operationalize repair access. Covering 42 products across iPhones, Macs, iPads, and displays, the program provides genuine parts, professional tools (available for rental), and detailed repair manuals in 25 languages. The 2024 addition of used parts support, complete with the same calibration process as new parts, addresses supply chain sustainability while maintaining security through Activation Lock verification. With 5,000+ authorized service providers and 3,000+ independent repair providers globally, Apple has built infrastructure supporting both DIY and professional repair pathways.

Patagonia Worn Wear

Patagonia's program represents the most mature example of integrated repair, trade-in, and resale operations. The company operates North America's largest repair center in Reno, Nevada, with 45+ permanent staff repairing 30,000+ items annually. Mobile repair tours have visited 1,354 locations across 14 countries, bringing free repair services directly to consumers. The ReCrafted collection, launched in 2019, creates new garments from irreparable products, demonstrating closed-loop material recovery. Research shows wearing garments nine months longer reduces their carbon footprint by 27%, water consumption by 33%, and waste by 22%—metrics that sustainability teams can incorporate into scope 3 emissions calculations.

Action Checklist

  • Audit current procurement specifications for repairability requirements and update tender documents to include minimum repairability grades where available
  • Map your product categories against EU Ecodesign and Right to Repair coverage to understand current and upcoming compliance obligations
  • Establish baseline data on product lifespans and repair rates in your organization to measure circular economy progress
  • Identify certified refurbishment suppliers for key product categories and evaluate quality standards against new equipment specifications
  • Review supplier contracts for spare parts availability commitments, pricing caps, and repair documentation access
  • Calculate potential scope 3 emissions reductions from extended product lifecycles and refurbished equipment procurement
  • Train procurement teams on repairability labels and circular economy criteria now becoming market standards

FAQ

Q: How do right-to-repair laws affect warranty coverage? A: The EU Directive extends legal guarantees by 12 months when consumers choose repair over replacement during the warranty period. Repairs must use genuine or equivalent parts and cannot void remaining warranty. Manufacturers must inform consumers of this extension right before providing remedy options.

Q: What products are currently covered by repair regulations? A: The EU Directive covers products with existing ecodesign repairability requirements: washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, mobile phones, tablets, electronic displays, servers, and e-bike batteries. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will expand coverage to furniture, textiles, and additional electronics through 2030.

Q: Can procurement teams require refurbished equipment? A: Yes, and many are already doing so. Certified refurbishment programs with documented testing, warranty protection, and parts traceability meet enterprise quality standards. Organizations including government agencies increasingly mandate refurbished equipment percentages or lifecycle cost analysis that accounts for repair and resale value.

Q: How do I evaluate repairability when purchasing new equipment? A: Use available repairability indices (mandatory in France, coming EU-wide for smartphones and tablets) as comparative benchmarks. Request spare parts pricing and availability commitments from manufacturers. Verify that repair documentation and diagnostic tools are accessible. Check for modular designs enabling component-level repair rather than full unit replacement.

Sources

Topics

right to repaircircular economyrefurbishmente-waste reductiondesign for longevityEU repair directiverepairability standardssustainable procurementproduct lifecycleextended producer responsibility

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