In a world where replacing a broken device is often easier than fixing it, Jiya Garg is asking a simple but radical question: What if products were built to last?
Modern consumer products – from smartphones to small appliances – are often designed with short lifespans. Jiya’s research highlights a troubling pattern of sealed designs, lack of spare parts, restricted repair manuals and proprietary components making repair difficult or financially impractical. The consequences are global. Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams worldwide, contributing to environmental damage, higher carbon emissions, and rising costs for households. According to Jiya, this is not simply a matter of consumer behavior. It is a systemic design issue rooted in business models that prioritize frequent replacement over longevity.
Rather than relying on theory alone, Jiya tested her core assumption through a research-based MVP and small-scale repairability audit. In this, she tested everyday electronics including phones, chargers, headphones and small kitchen appliances to measure the ease of opening products, availability of spare parts and the cost of repair versus replacement. The results were striking. Jiya discovered that most products were sealed, lacked accessible repair manuals, and required expensive proprietary parts. She found that repair nearly always cost as much as buying a new product.
Through her policy proposal titled The Mandatory Repairability and Product Longevity Act, Jiya is tackling one of the most overlooked drivers of environmental degradation – planned obsolescence. Her proposed legislative shift uses a combination of legislation, regulation and incentives to transform how products are designed and sold by companies. Her focus is on reducing waste at its source rather than managing it after the fact.
Her work aligns with SDG Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. By targeting the design stage, Jiya’s proposed policy connects directly SDG targets 12.5 (reducing waste generation), 12.6 (encouraging sustainable business practices) and 12.8 (promoting sustainability awareness).
The expected impact of her proposal goes beyond environmental gains as Jiya envisions reduced electronic and plastic waste, longer product lifespans, lower consumer costs and growth of local repair economies. Consumers, small repair businesses, environmental agencies and communities that are burdened by electronic waste all stand to benefit directly. At its heart, Jiya’s venture is not just about fixing products – it’s about fixing the system. By reframing repair as a right rather than a privilege, her work strengthens the circular economy and redefines sustainability as a design principle and not as an afterthought from a policy perspective.