Eco Network Po

Leyla Acaroglu :: www.EcoInnovators.com.au

Leyla Acaroglu Director, Eco InnovatorsMelbourne, Australia www.ecoinnovators.com.au

Planned Obsolescence Life Cycle Thinking

EcoNetwork 23rd

July 2009Ecodesign Centre Wales

http://www.ecoinnovators.com.au/


Planned Obsolescence


•

The intentional failings of a product

•

The shortening of a products life

•

Manipulation of a market through product

lifespans

What is planned obsolescence?


“the deliberate policy of making a product

become rapidly out of date or unserviceable, as

by changing minor characteristics of a model, in

order to ensure continual sale of new goods”. -

The Macquarie Dictionary (2005, p1459)

Definition of Planned Obsolescence


Descriptions


•

Great Depression and post World War economy

•

Used to stimulate economic growth and generate employment and combat ‘frugality’

•

Wanted to facilitate growth by making people have to consume more frequently

•

Corporations realised they could make more profits from continual consumption

•

Create long term sales volumes by reducing the time between repeat purchases

When did it start and why?


•

Count how many mobile phones you have owned

and list the reasons that you had to purchase a

new one

•

Consider how often your have had to replace

household electrical items such as kettles and

toasters

Does it really exist?


Vance Packard and the Waste Makers

•

The Waste Makers was published in the 1960s and

set out to expose the social and environmental

degradation resulting from wasteful society and

planned obsolescence in products

•

“the systematic attempt of business to make us

wasteful, debt-ridden, permanently discontented

individuals”.


•

“our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way

of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual

satisfaction, our ego satisfactions, in consumption…

We need things consumed,

burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate”

‐

George Nelson, Industrial Designer


Types of Planned Obsolescence


Technical

•

Technical: an existing product becomes dated

when a new product is introduced that improves

the function of the product in some way.


Aesthetic

•

Aesthetic

(style): a product that is still functional becomes unfashionable in our minds because styling

changes make it less desirable.


Functional

•

Functional: when a product is intended to

break down or wear out within a given time.


Service / system

•

When the service of system that supports the

product is changed or altered to encourage the

consumption of a newer product


Notification

•

Lights or parts that change colour to inform

consumers that they need to purchase a

replacement product even through the product

will still function



Advantages

Manufacturers•

Increased revenue from sales

•

Repeat customers

•

Seen as a technological leader, rapid innovation

Consumers•

Cheaper upfront purchasing costs

•

Satisfaction of buying the latest,, safest or ‘best’ products

•

Being a ‘trend setter’

or fashionable

•

Being able to afford to have ‘everything’


Disadvantages

Manufacturers •

Increased dissatisfaction from customers

•

Legal ramifications

•

Bad reputation / media coverage

Consumers•

Competitive consumption ‐

"keeping up with the Jones"

•

Forced into continual consumption cycles

•

Ongoing replacement or upgrading costs

•

Pressure to consume from advertising, peers and media


Why is PO a problem?

•

Environmental impacts

•

Because everything created comes from nature

•

All resources are finite, some more then others

•

Creates inequity as consumers are not in control or aware of

the lifespan of the products that they purchase

•

Promotes wasteful society


Product Life Cycles


Designer influences

•

Over 80% of a products social and environmental

implications are decided and ‘locked in’

at the

design stage (USA EPA)

•

Designer’s are the agents that have some of the

greatest capacity to dictate the social and

environmental implications of consumer goods


Resource extraction

•

All resources come from nature at some stage

•

Resources are finite and should be used

conservatively

•

Equity issues around the use and waste of

resources

•

Generates huge amounts of waste


Manufacturing

•

Inputs includes: materials, energy, water etc

•

Outputs include carbon emissions, waste water, toxic substances, waste materials etc

•

Equity issues with current manufacturing practices


Packaging & Transportation

•

Transport and packaging happens at

EVERY stage of a products life

•

Greater impacts from air and road

transportation

•

Over packaging is a waste of resources


Use

•

Resource use during life such as energy or water etc

•

Continual consumables such as cartridges or

cleaning products creates impacts

•

Equity issues over safety, toxicity etc


End of Life

•

Loss of resources to landfill

•

Limited recycling systems and capacity

in different countries

•

Recycling is often ‘down cycling’


Ramifications of PO

Leyla Acaroglu

:: www.EcoInnovators.com.au

Leyla Acaroglu


Final Thoughts

•

Its not someone else responsibility to solve

social and environmental problems –

its

everyone's responsibility

•

Designer’s are in a unique position to

influence change over corporations and

consumers alike

•

Don’t wait to be asked –

just do it

•

Be a subversive designer

Leyla Acaroglu


Thanks for your time

Questions: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Date post:	21-Oct-2014
Category:	Design
View:	757 times
Download:	2 times