Today, July 1, is the day that right to repair laws go into effect in California and Minnesota, so the organizations that have been working to make this kind of legislation happen across the U.S. have declared it Repair Independence Day. Since I’m a Californian and have written about the new right to repair law in our fine state, it seemed like a good idea to post about it here. We’ll start with a link to my story from January.
“What California’s Right to Repair Law means for fixing home appliances and more” (Southern California News Group, gift link)
Basically, what this means is that parts, tools and documentation need to be made available to fix most of your gear for a specified period of time depending on the cost of the item. For things that cost between $50 and $99, that’s three years, for stuff that’s $100 or more, it’s seven years. So, when you hear news, for example, that Apple intends to make its products more repairable, that’s why. Elizabeth Chamberlain over at iFixit (who I interviewed for the SCNG story) broke down Apple’s announcement and you should read that article for more details.
If you haven’t noticed, one of the many problems with 21st century life is that we spend a lot of money on gear that is difficult, if not impossible, to repair. That’s all by design and it’s great for corporations, but terrible for both the environment and our wallets. Right to repair laws are one step in trying to rectify the problems that result from the all-too-short lifespans of items like cell phones and laptops. When these items can be repaired, it cuts down on the amount of crap sent to the landfill. Plus, it helps us avoid spending more than we can afford on gear every couple years and encourages business for mom-and-pop repair operations.
Honestly, I think that the right to repair movement is incredibly important and sorely underreported. Too often, we’ve resigned ourselves to simply existing in a shitty timeline, but there are groups putting in the work to get us out of this late capitalist hellscape where we’re continuously forced to hand over money we don’t have to mega-corporations that don’t care about anything other than profit. Right to repair, which is closely tied to both the anti-fast fashion movement and antitrust movement, is crucial to curbing the power big business has over our lives. So, if that’s at all important to you, follow along with iFixIt, Repair.org, Fight to Repair and others who deep the trenches.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs.
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