UK Government Introduces Laws To Force Right To Repair Appliances

From this year on, people in the UK shopping for appliances will gain a lot of power over manufacturers with new right-to-repair laws being introduced. 

These provide two unique benefits to consumers who felt pushed into a corner by many of the leading electronics and appliance manufacturers. 

First of all, all manufacturers selling products in the UK will have to make spare parts available to all professional repairers, and not just the chosen few that end up making a repair so expensive that it forces people into buying new machines. 

The other thing this new law will do is ensure that people can get spare parts for up to 10 years. That means that they will be able to extend the lifespan of appliances and further reduce their environmental impact. 

An interesting article on Treehugger.com also had some details to share about the new rules around energy ratings in the UK. 

“The rules also include new standards for measuring energy efficiency. Up until now, the A+, A++, and A+++ rankings on U.K. appliances have been overly generous, with 55% of washing machines earning A+++. The plan is to tighten this up by creating an A to G scale, a move that could "directly save €20 billion ($24 billion) on energy bills per year in Europe from 2030 onwards”