I know EU has the Right to Repair initiative and that’s a step to the right direction. Still I’m left to wonder, how did we end up in a situation where it’s often cheaper to just buy a new item than fix the old?
What can individuals, communities, countries and organizations do to encourage people to repair rather than replace with a new?
Plus labor cost and transport. Repair locally and labor is much more expensive than in remote production. Repair remote-located for cheaper labor cost and you have to manage two-way transport, case management, with more concerns and distance, potentially increasing the mentioned issues of complexity and uncertainty mentioned.
Skilled or trained labor can be cheaper in remote locations, but that adds other concerns. Depending on the device under repair, customers may feel irritation when it leaves the country or “trusted countries” and with the time it takes.