Choose brands built to be repaired
When it's time to buy, pick makers who design for repair and fairer supply chains — Fairphone, Framework and co — so your device lasts longer and treats people better along the way.
Most electronics are designed to be admired, not opened. Glued batteries, soldered storage, proprietary screws and a fresh model every autumn all quietly push you towards replacement over repair. A handful of makers have set out to do the opposite — building devices meant to be cracked open at the kitchen table, upgraded a part at a time, and kept going for the better part of a decade. Fairphone did it for phones; Framework did it for laptops; others are following because regulators and customers are finally asking for it.
Choosing one is a one-off decision with a long tail. You’re not just buying hardware — you’re buying the ability to replace a screen yourself, slot in more memory, fit a fresh battery, and keep getting security updates years after a sealed rival has been quietly abandoned. That’s what turns a two-year gadget into a ten-year one, and the embodied carbon of all those skipped replacements never gets emitted.
The honest caveat: the most repairable brands aren’t always the cheapest on day one, and they may not have the flashiest camera or the thinnest body. But the comparison that matters is the decade, not the launch-day price tag — and across a decade, a device you can mend usually wins on cost as well as conscience. Even if you stick with a mainstream brand, picking the model with the better repair score and update promise nudges the whole industry in the right direction.
How to do it
- Before buying, look up the device's repairability — France's repair index (indice de réparabilité) and iFixit's teardown scores rate how easy it is to open and fix.
- Favour designs with modular, user-replaceable parts: a swappable battery, screen and ports beat a single glued-together slab.
- Check the spare-parts promise — do they sell genuine batteries, screens and cables years after launch, with guides? Fairphone and Framework build their whole model around this.
- Check the software-support window: a phone promised 5–7 years of updates stays safe to use long after a 2-year one is abandoned.
- Weigh the ethics, not just the specs — Fairphone publishes its supply chain and uses fairer-mined and recycled materials; that's part of what you're buying.
- Buy the device, register any warranty, and keep the repair guides bookmarked for the day you need them.
Pro tips & pitfalls
- Repairable doesn't always mean pricier over time — a Framework laptop or Fairphone you upgrade and repair piece by piece can cost less across a decade than three sealed devices.
- If a mainstream brand is your only option, still compare their repair scores and update promises — Samsung, Google and Apple now publish longer support windows and sell parts, so reward the better one.
What it's good for
Good for the planet
- Saves resources A device you can open, upgrade and repair stays in service for many years, sparing all the mined metals a replacement would demand.
- Cuts waste Modular, fixable design means a single failed part gets swapped, not the whole device binned.
- Cuts CO₂ Stretching one well-made device across a decade roughly halves or thirds the embodied carbon you'd rack up replacing it every few years.
Good for people
- Fairer & ethical Makers like Fairphone trace their supply chains and pay into fairer wages and conflict-free, recycled materials — your money backs better working conditions.
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