New “right to repair” laws in Europe aim to reduce waste, extend product lifespans, and move us past “throw-away” mindsets and products . To learn more about the moment and what’s ahead, Ashoka’s Maria Razquin caught up with Ugo Vallauri, co-founder ofUgo, you are saying that every product should be repairable and that repairs should be accessible and affordable for everyone. What is your starting point?At the most basic level, we want to fix our relationship with the products we buy.
But right now, communities with limited financial resources are too often stuck in a trap of buying either non-durable, throw-away products, or second-hand devices that quickly become no longer supported and obsolete So, repair laws will help global digital access.We expect that the new European legislation will have an impact beyond the region. Manufacturers will be less likely to make two versions of the same product—one for the EU and another for outside the EU.