PLANNED

OBSOLESCENCE

What does Planned Obsolescence

mean? Planned Obsolescence is a commercial strategy used by companies to make products being obsolete earlier than usual.

It runs under the logic of

consumerism…

IS IT A NEW PHENOMENA?

• Technical obsolescence 1932

• Repetitive consumption MID 1920

• The term planned obsolescence 1932

• Psychologycal obsolescence MID 1950

It all started with the phoebus cartel…

Thomas Edison created a lightbulb witch lasted over 2500 hours. By the 1920’s, some lightbulbs manufacturers and sellers started worrying about the liquidity of their companies if people didn’t buy lightbulbs so often. Consequently, The Phoebus cartel was created by Osram, Philips and General Electric from 1924 until 1939 and was in charge of controlling the manufacture and sale of light bulbs. The cartel prevented the worldwide manufacturers from producing long-lasting lightbulbs.

AIMS OF THE PLANNES OBSOLESCENCE

• Short-term economic gains • Stimulates demand • Big earnings for the manufacturer • It forces the consumer to:

o Repair the product o Buy another similar

• New ways of business: o Insurance after the warranty period o Repair the damaged product o Buy new pieces

HOW DOES PLANNED

OBSOLESCENCE TAKE

PLACE? It just happens by three simple facts…

• A demand for a new fashion/style or style is

created.

• New features and updates are introduced from

time to time.

• Producing products that will break before they are

expected to.

TYPES OF OBSOLESCENCE:

TECHNICAL OBSOLESCENCE

Apple uses technical obsolescence by incompability (E.g. Ios 8.0, 8.1, 8.2…).

Indirect technical obsolescense: battery

TYPES OF OBSOLESCENCE:

psychologycal

OBSOLESCENCE Instilling in the buyer the desire to own

something a little newer, a little better, a

little sooner than necessary… •

Brook Stevens

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE

STOPS WORKING AFTER 15000 PRINTED COPIES The printer also alerts you when the cartridges are running low… or it just doesn’t let you use the printer if one color is running low, regardless the ink you need is just a different one.

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE BY NOTIFICATION

ECOLOGICAL OBSOLESCENCE

Cars and domestic electronical

manufacturers create

«greener» products to make

you buy the newest.

CONSEQUENCES

• Background aspects like: o Pollution and no sustainability o Excessive consumption of natural resources.

POLLUTION

• The planned obsolescence generates large quantities of waste and pollution.

• Waste mostly goes to areas such as… o Rivers o Seas and oceans o Dumping sites close to the nature…

• Mostly of these places are third world countries where whole poor families pick up waste so as to collect products such as silicon (Si) or copper (Cu) with the aim to sell them.

No sustainability

• Planned obsolescence does not guarantee sustainability as useful items are thrown away and new items are manufactured.

DEBATE… • Each of you will be a different agent who has a relation with planned obsolescence. Defend the position each character has regarding the current issue…

a) The consumer b) The manufacturer c) The Environment