Products lifetime: Ceced defends the industry with data and facts

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Paolo Falcioni, Ceced director general
Paolo Falcioni, Ceced director general

After the recent charges made by the French Parliament to the home appliances industry, suspected of voluntarily shortening products lifetimes, Ceced decided to pronounce about the matter, with facts and studies proving the groundlessness of the accusations.
“Ceced considers it very important – Paolo Falcioni, director general of Ceced declared – that trust and confidence in household appliances are maintained. Any attempt to mislead consumers must be condemned”.
During a roundtable organised by the European Economic and Social Committee, Ceced sought to ensure a fact-based approach to the debate. During the meeting, Falcioni presented an analysis about the life of a washing machine, which included a series of studies that demonstrate that there had been in recent years no substantial shortening of household appliance product lifetimes. A specific study from Altroconsumo, an Italian-based consumer organization, even concluded that product reliability had improved in recent years.
Furthermore, he emphazised that household appliance manufacturers typically compete on a series of consumer-orientated parameters, including quality and reliability. It was not in household appliance manufacturers’ interest to compromise on such criteria as it would inevitably damage brand image and reputation. Industry was also responding to the needs of a circular economy whereby materials recovered from industry-financed recycling schemes (secondary raw materials) were increasingly being used in new appliances or other consumer products.