Planned Obsalescence

In this crazy world of environmental concern, with everything from solar panels to smart cars, it is fascinating that no one ever mentions the concept of planned obsolescence.

Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time.

How many of our clothes were created and designed with this in mind?

Did you know Bic razors have a metal strip with a thin coating of shaving soap on it that washes away after a few uses and makes the razor irritate your skin so you think you need a new blade? How much do you think that costs? And how many landfills has it filled up?

This is done in everything from toasters to cars. 

I have gone towards buying things that have no planned obsolescence built into them. 

I am switching to the old fashioned razors, the kind that use a double sided razor blade instead of the fancy blades that really don't cut as well. 

I have my son using shaving soap and a brush. The one bar of shaving soap I bought him for Christmas two years ago is still going strong. I can get a new one at CVS for around $3 I think... when was the last time a can of shaving gel did that?

I have an antique folding travel iron that I bought on E-Bay to go with my Singer Featherweight sewing machine. I did not realize until I used it just how awful my current iron is. No wonder I never ironed clothes. Why would I? The iron didn't actually work. And the steam ensures that the iron becomes useless after a few years. The antique one doesn't use steam, just heat, and it irons way, way, way better. Like night and day better. And my Singer Featherweight, well, it is worth its weight in gold. No modern sewing machine can compete.

Essentially, our modern marketplace is full of junky products designed to break or become obsolote, so we can buy new ones, and keep the company in positive cash flow. But at what cost?

Did you know the earliest light bulbs could last 30-40 years? They were not designed with filaments that snap after a year. There is one in California still going strong and it has been 113 years.

http://priceonomics.com/the-mysterious-case-of-the-113-year-old-light-bulb/

I think we are overdue for a rebellion against this, and I think in the near future we will begin to see more value given by consumers to products that last as opposed to prematurely die. At least I hope so.