The majority of consumers believe in household appliance circularity, trust recycled parts and would use refurbished spare parts, according to a recent report.

Market research institute Innofact surveyed 1,000 German consumers, on behalf of Miele, and found over 80% would buy refurbished spare parts if it came with a warranty and at a cheaper price.

Speaking at IFA 2024, executive director human resources & corporate affairs, responsible for sustainability, Rebecca Steinhage explained how Miele is working to conserve resources and prevent waste with refurbished programme for appliances and spare parts.

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The company is selling refurbished washing machines in the Netherlands and reconditioned electronic parts for repairs in five EU countries, at 30% cheaper than brand new spares.

Steinhage commented: “We all know the European Union is pushing for the Right to Repair. The good news is that at Miele repairability is a key feature in our appliances and it plays into the quality aspect of durability.

“We test our appliances for 20 years lifetime use and we also have more than 72,000 spares in stock. And we also have our own repair services – great colleagues, great teams – in the markets we operate in – and also online tutorials to support consumers.”

As part of a design study, Steinhage presented a concept study on a vacuum cleaner with a fully modular design –  which is almost completely recyclable – and is itself made almost entirely out of recycled material.

She commented on the topic of circularity: “If we are honest, we all need to recognise the world is changing. Knowing and caring about your material and your resources becomes increasingly important.

“The current consumption rate, either as companies or societies is not sustainable in itself and we need to see that resources are limited in the amount or simply in access to it.

“When we look at circularity it feels like its moving from noble purpose to business continuity and business opportunity.

“It’s all about managing the lifecycle of the material, making sure you use it again and again and prolong the lifecycle. Why is it important? You are saving resouces, you are lowering CO2 footprints and saving money. So, in the end, if we get it right – together – it’s good for consumers, it’s good for the planet and also for us as a company.”

She pointed to digitalisation enabling consumers to be more sustainable, also saving money and time.

Following the launch of Miele’s consumer dashboard, 12 months ago, the company found consumers saved 8million litres of water and 92MWh of electricity (or 600,000km in an electric car).

It has now added an AI Diagnostic feature to enable consumers to solve fault messages, to save time and money.