Refurbished Tech Is Always an Option for You, and It Could Be a ‘Joyful’ One Too

I wrote on The movement of the right to repair And find more sustainable ways to buy technology for years, but it was not until earlier this year in a routine course through London that I have heard of the back market market, a renovated technological market from France.

While avoiding any possible visual contact with foreigners, just like a good tube label, my gaze derived towards a rear market ad above the window shutter. “Sorry, cats. Tech now has several lives too,” he said. It was fun and immediately made me want to know more.

It turned out that I was late at the party, and it was only a great cheeky advertisements that Back Market broadcast on the London Underground Network and beyond. The company’s campaigns aim to normalize the purchase of renovated technologies by making it fun, said the CEO of Back Market Thibaud Hug de Larauze SXSW London Tuesday.

“Do not make people feel guilty, as if you were a bad person because you buy again,” he said. “It won’t work. It will not change people’s behavior.”

Extend the life of our phones,, laptops And other technological products, whether by repair, responsible exchanges that prioritize recycling or the purchase of renovated devices, is essential to ensure that we do not waste precious minerals and exerting pressure on the natural world in a way that contributes to the climate crisis. It’s a serious thing, but Back Market’s approach is to trigger “a joyful revolution” in the world of renovated technology, said Hug de Larauze.

Buying this revolution is good for the planet and protecting the well-being of residents of developing countries, whose health is affected by mining for minerals or recover it from thrown electronic waste. It is also good for another reason – Avoid price increases On new technology priced.

The repair and renovation movement

The rear market is not the only market To pay for your old technology And Sell ​​you a renovated deviceBut it is a part of a more widespread movement for change. Earlier this year, the company In partnership with IfixitThis allows people from around the world to the tools they need to repair their own technology while pleading for legislation on the right of reparation.

“We want to allow people to repair by default, if they wish and if they can,” said Hug de Larauze. “If they cannot, let’s exchange easily and adopt one and adopt it.”

Together, companies encourage people to increase the time they hold their phones at five, rather than the current average of two and a half years. They also apply pressure to phone manufacturers to increase software support to 10 years.

But Hug de Larauze has an even more important demand for technological companies, which he describes as “the next fight for which we must push”.

When technology manufacturers cease to provide continuous support for the devices, they want them to unleash the equipment they have manufactured so that it can be fully divorced from the operating system. The idea is that an old iPhone, for example, could get a new lease on life like something like a baby monitor or security camera If it is combined with different software.

It looks like a large demand from technological companies, with the main argument against the proposal likely to focus on security problems. However, the world of renovated technology changes quickly. More than a million renovated devices were bought via the rear market last year only and, according to Hug de Larauze, there are already signs that people keep their smartphones longer and are negotiated more often.

“For me, it is a question of creating a global ecosystem of service so that everyone has access to the default repair,” he said. “Obviously, keep the device longer, but if for any reason, you cannot, then exchange easily and access renovated devices instead.”