Sammendrag
Many strategies have been proposed to support the transition to a Circular Economy (CE). In most cases,
circular design and product life-extension practices specify repair as an essential element. In both the EU
and the U.S., policymakers are attempting to increase the amount of repairs made, through the introduction of recent EU Ecodesign regulation changes and proposed US Right to Repair legislation. This
review explores the current policy landscape for repair services by first outlining legal and market
barriers to stakeholder participation in repair activities, and which stakeholders are affected. The review
reveals a wide range of fundamental obstacles to both supply and demand of repair, including Intellectual Property, Consumer, Contract, Tax and Chemical laws, along with issues of design, consumer
perceptions and markets. Subsequently, the current and proposed policy solutions to address barriers
and increase repair activities are reviewed. A comparative assessment of the EU and the U.S. is followed
by a discussion on the current repair market governance structure, which is found to be primarily
centralized (i.e. repair services concentrated with manufacturers), with possible implications for
upscaling repair. New policy proposals challenge this governance. Introducing the concept of a Repair
Society Framework as a market transformation tool, we comprehensively discuss the current state of
repair and provide an outlook for research and policy in this area.
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