The Right to Repair and Climate Justice

By Keduse Bekele for BST 293 A - Social Justice in STEM

The Right to Repair is a movement that intends to restore product ownership to consumers. 

In the 20th century, many electronics and appliances came with repair manuals; and for anyone who requested it, schematics were also available to understand how the components on a circuit interact in order to do low-level repairs.

Today, finding repair manuals that come with a product or are available is something that has become increasingly slim. On top of that, obtaining schematics have become near impossible due to non-disclosure agreements and copyright laws. 

Consequentially, manufacturers that make devices have the final say in whether or not a device can be repaired, who can repair them, and how much a repair costs -- no matter what is actually wrong with it. 

It's not just repair, though. This also extends to how you use the device, even though you "own" it.