It came into effect today: What is the sustainability index if you buy a TV ?

The sustainability index, which informs consumers about the possibility of extending the life and use of certain devices, came into force this Wednesday for televisions.

This sustainability index will replace the repairability index for several categories – a tool provided for in the framework of the 2020 anti-waste law offering a score ranging from 1 to 10, with the aim of specifying whether a product is easy to repair and facilitating access to spare parts.

The repairability index has been deployed since January 2021 on five product categories – smartphones, laptops, televisions, lawn mowers, front-loading washing machines. It had been extended at the end of 2022 to four other categories: top-loading washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, high-pressure cleaners.

But a decree published in April 2024 announced that from 2025, this index would be replaced by a “sustainability” index for certain product categories, starting with televisions (January 8) and washing machines (all types of opening, April 8).

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“Good news”

“It includes new criteria, particularly relating to the reliability of the product”, or concerning resistance to constraints and wear, or even the existence of a commercial guarantee, the Ministry of Ecological Transition had indicated on its website at the end of December.

On Tuesday, in a press release, the association “Halte à l'obsolescence programmée” (HOP) welcomed “good news” with the entry into force of this new device on the label of televisions, which it describes as “more comprehensive” and “essential to inform consumers about the reliability of goods and encourage manufacturers to produce eco-designed goods”.

HOP regrets, however, that this ecological poster “still concerns too few products”.

The association also specifies that the ministry and the stakeholders concerned “initially worked together on three categories of products: televisions, washing machines and smartphones” and deplores “the exclusion of smartphones from this device following a decision by the European Commission” which had given an unfavourable opinion concerning the inclusion of these products in the device, HOP specifies on its site.