Repair and Reuse Before Replacement: Rethinking Product Lifetimes in the Circular Economy

The circular economy is frequently discussed in terms of recycling, resource efficiency and waste reduction, but an earlier intervention is often overlooked: extending the useful life of products already in circulation. Repair, maintenance, refurbishment and reuse can delay replacement demand, preserve embedded materials and reduce the frequency with which products become waste. This article examines the product-lifetime question through an analytical review rather than a conventional hypothesis-driven framework. It develops a "Lifetime Extension Ladder" that places maintenance, repair, refurbishment, component replacement and reuse before material recycling. The analysis identifies five recurring barriers to longer product lifetimes: repair cost, information asymmetry, spare-part availability, design constraints and consumer replacement habits. It then compares how these barriers operate across three illustrative product categories - small household appliances, smartphones and clothing - showing why a single circular-economy intervention cannot be applied uniformly. The article proposes a practical diagnostic tool for organisations and policymakers to determine whether a product should be maintained, repaired, refurbished, reused or recycled. No original survey results or fabricated empirical observations are presented. The contribution is an analytical synthesis intended to support future empirical research and practical circular-economy planning.