In the past, there have been several unilateral attempts by different Member States to try and address a public perception that “things don’t last as long as they used to”.

On 4 July, the European Parliament Plenary voted in favour of a Resolution on a longer lifetime for products. This could eventually lead to legislation but at the moment they are just formulating an ambition.

So the key statements include the need to design “robust, durable and high-quality products” and promote reparability and longevity. There is also reference to strengthening consumer rights in relation to how long they have to claim a product is faulty which is linked to the persistent myth of “built-in obsolescence” with particular mention of protecting consumers from software obsolescence.