PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE
WHAT IS IT?
The deliberate shortening of a products useful life in order to force the consumer to buy or 'upgrade' over and over and over again....in the name of Profit and Greed.
Have you noticed how your favorite music devices battery can't be replaced yourself? Your clothes fall apart faster than before? The things you use daily don't last like the used to and thats simply because they are engineered & made that way! A product designed to last, will only be bought once and there is not as much money in that for companies. So they con us into buying the same thing again and again and again.... what happened to quality products instead of cheap throw away crap?!
WHY IS IT AN ISSUE?
Its an awful waste of resources, destroys the environment, pollutes and makes our planet a more hostile environment for us to live in! Who wants that?
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT?
As a consumer
As best you can, only buy things that are either well constructed and made to last or made to be upcycled , recycled or biodegrade. Buy items from companies that consider the environment and the lifecycle of the product, not just profit. Most importantly don't by useless crap you don't need.
Fix things when they break, use Sugru, duct tape, glue, all tools in reach, your hands and the creative genius in each of us to prolong the life of your stuff.
As a designer, engineer, maker, creator
Design and manufacture necessary items that can be recycled, reused, up-cycled, upgraded and are designed and manufactured to last as long as possibly required. Consider the earth is a finite closed loop system and work out how your creation will effect it.
WHAT ELSE?
Watch the excellent documentary 'The Lightbulb Conspiracy- The untold story of Planned Obsolescence'
Read:- 'Cradle to Cradle' By William McDonough & Michael Braungart
-http://www.economist.com/node/13354332
-'Made to break - Technology & Obsolescence in America' By Giles Slade
Spread the world about Planned Obsolescence and end this throw away culture we live in!