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Sophie Benson & Nate Tyler
Making products difficult to take apart, both physically and financially, leads to wasted materials and wasted money. More than 50 million metric tons of e-waste is generated globally each year, while we're expected to spend GBP 45,000 (USD 54,425) on new technology throughout our lifetime.
In many cases it has become cheaper to replace than repair, but consumers are growing tired of this wasteful system. Globally, 54% of consumers would rather repair broken tech, and the needle is finally moving in their favour. France implemented a Repairability Index in 2021, requiring manufacturers to tell consumers how repairable their products are. If a manufacturer plans for its devices to stop working after a certain amount of time, they can be sentenced to two years in prison. The UK and EU have also introduced Right to Repair laws, requiring manufacturers to make spare parts and technical information available, and New York's Digital Fair Repair Act takes effect on July 1st 2023, requiring "manufacturers to make non-trade secret diagnostic and repair information available to third party repairers," as well as ensuring they are accessible to the everyday consumer. Further Right to Repair legislation is proposed in 38 of 50 states.
In order to repair our goods, we need to be able to take them apart, which is where the necessity of design for disassembly becomes clear. Under the design principle, easy disassembly is built in from the beginning, with factors such as universal screws and fixings, manufacture without adhesives, and modularity all coming into play.
While design for disassembly was a lever of the Right to Repair movement, its impact reaches further, facilitating other elements of the circular economy such as modular upgrades, efficient recycling, and remanufacture. It's early days as some brands continue fighting to uphold the lucrative cycle of obsolescence, but a group of pioneers are showing how design for disassembly can — and should — be done.
US states have proposed Right to Repair legislation
of precious metals were found in e-waste in 2019, with a value of USD 10 billion
The average sneaker is made up of 40 different materials, bonded with toxic glue
Released in March 2023, the Nokia G22 bucks the trend of most modern smartphones, replacing tricky fixings and expert-only repairs with an easy-to-disassemble design and readily available repair information. The model's 'QuickFix Repairability' allows users to repair regularly-broken or worn parts: screens, batteries, charging ports, and back covers. The launch of the G22 comes in partnership with iFixit, which will sell official spare parts and repair kits and host the free-to-access repair guides.
Taking apart most smartphones requires adhesives to be melted, but G22 owners can simply unclip the back cover. Once inside, standard screws and pull tabs make further disassembly easy. The G22 doesn't quite have the span of modules and spare parts that are available for the Fairphone — perhaps the best known repairable smartphone on the market — but at GBP 169 (USD 206) compared to GBP 499 (USD 610) for the Fairphone 4, it's an affordable inroad into repairable tech with the added appeal of a global brand behind it.
It’s estimated that 5.3 billion mobile phones were thrown away globally in 2022, with the average lifecycle for each device just 2.65 years. The cost, inconvenience, and time of repair are cited as the leading drivers for replacing rather than upgrading. To bolster the appeal of the G22, the model comes with three days of battery life, three years of warranty, monthly security updates, and two years of Android updates. According to Nokia, the G22 is just the start.
More than 22 billion pairs of shoes were produced in 2021. Due to their complex makeup — a single shoe can contain 65 parts — and the use of strong adhesives during manufacturing, around 90% of them are destined for landfill. It's simply not possible to take them apart and recycle them.
Timberland and Pangaia set out to tackle this problem with their collaborative Slip-On Mule. While 35% of footwear materials are PVC and EVA, this shoe's upper is made from 50% abaca twill (derived from Banana Fibre) and 50% organic Cotton. The sole is made from natural Rubber, and the lining is made from Tencel Refibra. But the real innovation lies in the design. The mule is composed of just two parts: an outsole and a removable inner 'bootie'.
A clever webbing system keeps the bootie in place while also making it easy to remove for cleaning, repair, or — at its end-of-life — recycling. The mule is aligned with Timberland's take-back system Timberloop. After returning their mules via Timberloop, customers can track whether they were repaired and resold or disassembled and recycled.
Thread is part and parcel of clothing construction, but it's a stumbling block for recycling. Usually made from polyester, thread must be removed prior to recycling, and the quickest, easiest way to do that is to cut the seams out entirely. Just 15% of textiles are recycled, and less than 1% of textile waste is recycled into new fibres for clothing. With the aim of increasing those figures, designer Yuima Nakazato did away with thread entirely for his TYPE-1 collection.
Both a collection and a proprietary production system, TYPE-1 garments are constructed using 'dots', two-part snap fasteners available in a variety of materials and colours including brass and gold. Bodices, sleeves, collars, cuffs, and hems — made from fabrics such as organic cotton, lace, and silk — are all manufactured separately and snapped together in a multitude of configurations, reworked by the wearer whenever they want a change of style.
The ease of disassembly makes designers out of all TYPE-1 wearers, and it also enables the repair of separate pieces as wear and tear occurs. At end-of-life, the absence of thread means the pieces, which are 3D knitted, can be unravelled and turned into new modules.
Cosmetic brands go to great lengths to make their packaging sleek and appealing, but once the product is finished, all the design consideration (and resources) go straight in the bin, unless they're among the minority which is recycled. With its Iconic Edition, Kjaer Weis gave beauty packaging the permanence it deserves and spearheaded a beauty refill revolution.
Designed to last a lifetime, Iconic Edition cases are made from Zamac, a zinc alloy consisting of Aluminium, magnesium, and copper. They act as a housing for refills, which can be easily popped out once the product is finished using a small wire-like tool. While the case is for life, the compact refills are made from Tin, designed to be recycled.
The idea of being able to remove a pan and recycle it rather than throwing an entire compact away seems like an obvious choice, but when the Iconic Edition was released in 2010, Kjaer Weis became the first brand with an entirely refillable makeup system. Within one week of launch, the line was picked up by the UK's largest retail beauty chain. The Iconic Edition has expanded to include lipstick and mascara, and Kjaer Weis now reports sales growth of 200% YOY.
Dell's Concept Luna laptop can be fully disassembled in seconds using only a push-pin tool. With a conventional laptop, you would need to unscrew hundreds of screws to access internal components for repair. The first Luna had only four, the second edition eliminated them entirely. The design is completely modular, meaning every component — batteries, speakers, motherboard, CPU, screen, and more — can simply be snapped into, and out of, place. Dell says this reduces the time for repair by 1.5 hours.
In evolving the laptop between the first and second iterations, Dell commissioned a microfactory to guide its design team, resulting in a device that both robots and people can easily take apart. Scannable QR codes on each component make it easy to find replacement parts online.
As the name suggests, the Concept Luna is a concept model and not for sale, but Dell asserts that "if all the design ideas in the Concept Luna were realised, we could expect an estimated 50% reduction in overall product carbon footprint". The ability to disassemble and repair the laptop is also essential in combatting the loss of USD 10 billion worth of precious metals to e-waste each year. It's unclear when or if the Luna will be launched commercially but the success of the first-to-market Framework laptop shows it can be done.
