Earlier this summer, Adam Fullerton’s mother-in-law was on vacation in Taiwan when she inadvertently splashed some water on her iPhone 6, killing it. She did what many customers with a broken device do, and took the phone back to the manufacturer to repair. But Apple told her the device was unfixable, and offered to sell her a replacement for $299. Instead, she turned to Fullerton, an expert phone fixer and operations manager for two Boston-based walk-in repair shops. For less than $40, Fullerton was able to purchase two replacement chips for the phone’s motherboard and a new screen, swap everything out, and get the device working again. Fullerton told that story to Massachusetts’ Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure last month during a public hearing over a digital right-to-repair bill that would make it easier for everyone to fix their electronic devices at home or by taking them to an independent shop. His story neatly makes a case for the right-to-repair movement, whose guiding principle is that if you buy it, you should be allowed to fix it. Manufacturers have long attempted to monopolize repair by voiding the warranties of customers who make fixes on their own, […]
Latest Articles
Halving Pesticide Use, Dismantling Dams: EU’s Ambitious Draft Law to Restore Nature
Takeaways: The European Commission has drafted a law that will halve pesticide use across Europe by 2030 and dismantle big dams to make rivers...
Why Growing Forests Are Awesome
Why Growing Forests Are Awesome Guest Post by: Job van Hooijdonk, co-founder of Regreener In 2016, a record of 29.7 million hectares of forest disappeared. That's2 90,000 square...
The Benefits of Adaptive Reusing Old Buildings into New
Takeaways: Reusing old buildings instead of building new ones can benefit communities, inhabitants and the environment.
Reusing these buildings helps maintain the community's roots...
How Replacing Coal with Renewable Energy Could Pay for Itself
Takeaways: Transitioning from coal to renewable energy can result in an economic gain of $78 trillion.
The benefits of ending coal use come from...
Unilever Invests in Biotech Alternatives to Palm Oil for Greener Cleaning
Takeaways: Unilever is investing in a plan to use plant-based ingredients in their extensive household product range.
The company has partnered with a U.S....
How Indigenous Traditions Are Saving Zimbabwe’s Endangered Wildlife
Takeaways: A mix of beliefs, taboos and myths, passed orally from generation to generation, has been at the centre of wildlife conservation in many...
