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THE DESIRE TO OWN
SOMETHING A LITTLE
BETTER, A LITTLE SOONER
THAN NECESSARY
PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE
B
uilt to last may sound like
an essential in any form
of production, yet some
manufacturers produce items that
they know will become obsolete
in just a few years. This policy
ensures that customers continue
to buy new goods. Products are
replaced either because their
components wear out or because
they are surpassed by products
with new features.In the past, items such as
lightbulbs or stockings were made
to fail sooner rather than later.
Nowadays, items such as printer
ink cartridges, batteries, and
components for appliances can
be difficult or expensive to replace,
making it tempting to buy a new
version of the product instead.
Many goods, such as pens or
razors, have become disposable—
cheap to make and easy to replace.Products are more
durable than they were
in the past.To maintain profits,
companies have to find ways
to encourage replacement
purchasing.New versions of
existing products are
regularly restyled and
given added features......to create products
that existing owners
will want to buy.IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Maintaining salesKEY DATES
1924–39 Lightbulb makers
Osram, Phillips, and General
Electric form a cartel, working
together to prevent any product
development that would
produce lightbulbs that could
burn for more than 1,000 hours.1932 Bernard London writes
a leaflet titled Ending the
Depression through Planned
Obsolescence, urging the
UK government to pass laws
to limit the useful lives of
products to increase demand.1959 Volkswagen uses the
tagline: “We do not believe in
planned obsolescence, we
don’t change a car for the sake
of change,” to criticize rival car
manufacturers who allegedly
did not build cars to last.2013 Apple declares that the
original iPhone, launched in
2007, is now obsolete.