Product lifetime, Right to Repair, and Repair Cafes

Abstract

Achieving a more circular production and consumption pattern will require consumers to make proactive choices regarding practices such as repair and product life extension. However, galvanizing such choices and practices may not be left alone up to consumers because their behaviors are driven not only by internal factors (e.g., attitude and motivation), but also by external (e.g., economic, social, and political) factors. Having a clear understanding of these factors in play will help to set expectations for behavioral change from consumers’ side and to plan behavioural interventions that are effective in terms of the expected results, efficient in terms of the cost of implementation, and feasible in terms of social and political acceptance. This paper explores these behavioral and non-behavioral elements affecting the decision to participate in circular practices. It takes the repair case of electrical and electronic products at public repair events to document factors governing the facilitation of repair practices. A questionnaire survey was conducted among nearly a thousand volunteer repairers with experience in repairing two product groups: small electrical appliances (e.g., vacuum cleaner, mixer, and coffee maker) and small electronic equipment (e.g., smartphone, laptop, and tablet). (Less)