Why is obsolescence a problem?

What are the different types of planned obsolescence?

Planned obsolescence includes different types of obsolescence, mainly:

• software obsolescence;
• technical obsolescence, also called functional or structural obsolescence;
• marketing-induced obsolescence, also called aesthetic, psychological or cultural obsolescence.

Why do companies apply planned obsolescence practices?

Did you know that the world’s longest-burning lightbulb has been glowing since 1901? It illuminates the Livermore fire station in California. Nevertheless, the industry was not satisfied with this exceptional durability. It has been shown that the first joint planned obsolescence efforts date back to the 1920s.

A prominent lightbulb manufacturing group – the Phoebus cartel – took to selling only lightbulbs lasting 1,000 hours or less.

Bernard London is the father of the concept of planned obsolescence. It emerged in 1932 to reinvigorate a crippled economic model during the Great Depression.

Economic growth is driven by stimulating production and consumption. When consumption is on the rise, companies receive new orders and invest to increase production, which positively impacts their turnover and, theoretically, employment. Governments tend to promote consumption to improve public finances, including through value-added tax (VAT). Our social and economic model is based on overconsumption, which always needs a new impetus.

We can devise alternative economic models, such as the circular economy, that discard overproduction. Many companies transforming the current system (rental, repair, refurbishment, sustainable manufacturing, etc.) have shown that their models can be successful.

What are the environmental impacts of planned obsolescence?

Planned obsolescence affects the environment. While we face a climate crisis and widespread resource depletion, planned obsolescence drives exponential exploitation of raw material. Life cycle analysis of most consumer goods shows that manufacturing has the worst environmental impacts. Priority must therefore be given to lifespan extension!

Primary raw material wasting

Satisfying the artificially created demand comes at a huge environmental cost – massive earth-digging projects, clearing grounds, cutting down trees and destroying fertile land much needed for food security.

Household growing demand for high-tech electrical and electronic equipment is also a challenge, as it relies on rare-earth metals and requires massive amounts of energy. Our mobile phones can contain up to 50 metals! Some 200 kg of primary raw material must be extracted to produce a small mobile phone. Planned obsolescence drives an unsustainable ecological footprint.

Waste

The increasing share of waste also poses a crucial challenge. Waste that is incinerated, landfilled or dumped into water is a major source of pollution, undermining both biodiversity and human health. We must remember that 20 to 50 million tons of electrical and electronic waste are produced worldwide each year, and about half of it fuels the informal economy in developing countries. In France, between 16 and 20 kilograms of electrical and household appliances and equipment are discarded per person and per year.

What are the social impacts of planned obsolescence?

Everyone has already experienced planned obsolescence. It is reducing our purchasing power because it requires us to replace our devices. It generates frustration and alienation.

Planned obsolescence is also an indirect cause of harsh working conditions for contractors, particularly in the so-called “developing” countries. Reducing product lifespan implies reducing production costs, affecting employment. The production of consumer goods, such as mobile phones, is also fuelling competition over resources and social tensions.

Why is sobriety the best option for the future?

Infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible. In Europe alone, we generate 2.2 billion tons of waste every year! At the global level, and especially in the so-called developed countries, resource consumption exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate in a single year.

We must opt for sobriety, which is part and parcel of the circular economy. Sobriety is needed now to address the important environmental challenges. According to some academic experts, it is the moderation of the production and consumption of goods and services to reduce the consumption of energy and material resources.

Will product lifetime extension translate into reduced purchasing power?

Product lifetime extension will not reduce our purchasing power, it will increase it!

Some argue that low-cost manufacturing improves access to consumer goods with lower prices. This is not true, since planned obsolescence is antisocial. The most deprived people must not only deal with low-quality products, but they also have to repeat purchases more frequently and lose purchasing power in the long term.

Will putting an end to planned obsolescence jeopardise prosperity and employment?

If we want to tackle planned obsolescence, we have to change our economic model. It implies reducing production and consumption, improving our manufacturing processes and pursuing more local and ecological approaches. While putting an end to planned obsolescence would have impacts on employment, it would also create new opportunities in other sectors. The European Commission estimates that moving towards a more circular economy could create 700,000 extra jobs in the European Union by 2030.

Moving towards a collaborative, social and mutually supportive circular economy could create new employment opportunities in the repair business, services, sustainable development, local agriculture and many other sectors. This could translate into local employment in France and in Europe, while low-cost manufacturing activity is relocated to reduce costs at the expense of human rights and the environment. In the meantime, we need to promote a new way of thinking based on more environmentally friendly lifestyles, the exchange of goods and services, design and “deliberate simplicity”.

HOP’s action for a circular economy

In France, in Europe and globally, HOP is fully committed to accelerating the shift towards a 100 per cent circular economy.

• We have cofounded the International Alliance on Durability.
• HOP has contributed to formulating the French Anti-Waste Law and to achieving several breakthroughs, such as the repair bonus and the repairability and durability indexes.
• The association is one of the lead members of the Product Lifetime Extension Working Group from the One Planet Network. It contributes to the Right to Repair Campaign and is a member of the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS).
• In the European Union, HOP is playing an active advocacy role, including regarding the Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products and the Right to Repair Directive.
• Our association is a member of the French National Council for Circular Economy.
• In collaboration with Make.org Foundation, we organize the National Repair Days during the International Repair Day.
• The HOP association has created the Club de la durabilité (literally the “Durability Club”), a network of companies committed to showing, on a voluntary basis, that the circular economy is effectively working.

Much remains to be done to build a fair and eco-friendly model. HOP continues to raise awareness and pursues its efforts with new improvements and an approach focused on the European and global levels.