...Planned Obsolescence...

Exploring Solutions to Planned Obsolescence with a Rubik's Cube Analogy! It's hip to be square.

Planned obsolescence broadly refers to the limited lifespan of commodity goods. It entails manufacturing techniques, materials, and marketing strategies that manufacturers and competitive industries use to ensure consumers continuously upgrade and/or replace products. This is achieved via design techniques that cause products to fail or require replacement parts or upgrades, as well as through mass-marketing. Although industries gain financially from planned obsolescence practices as consumers enjoy new commodities, the larger picture reveals significant environmental consequences. (There's also notable social consequences. For example, a lot of our trash ends up in the Global South!)

Although planned obsolescence promotes technological and design innovations, the cycle of new purchases and disposals can be viewed as bolstering unnecessary and excessive waste. Via perceived obsolescence, which is in part stimulated by marketing industries, importance is placed on the need to be "fashionable" while having new, "high quality" items. Participating in fashion trends and fads is generally not regarded as having significant environmental implications. This may speak of how consumers are largely unaware of the environmental damage brought about by the Materials Economy and as a result of their consumption habits.

Thanks for reading/viewing!

Rachelle

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• analogy
• nerdy video
• planned obsolescence
• solutions
• consumption
• consumers
• environment
• Rubik's Cube

[MarkoKraguljac]

Well done. Thank you.