When we buy any item, we plan to use it for a considerable amount of time. Especially in regards to electronics, many people tend to use those for 5-6 years. For example, when we buy a new phone or a laptop, we wish to be able to use them for at least 5-6 years before we need to change.  

But this is not ideal for the industries that are making these products for use. Because, if we refer to the basic rule of economics, we find the term “Supply and demand”. If there is no demand, then the supply has nowhere to go. And this is why manufacturers need to ensure that after a certain time, the consumers feel a need to change or upgrade. This is where “Planned Obsolescence” comes into play.  

What is Planned Obsolescence?  

Planned Obsolescence describes a strategy of deliberately ensuring that the current version of a given product will become out of date or useless within a known period. This proactive move guarantees that consumers will seek replacements in the future, thus bolstering demand.  

Obsolescence can be achieved through introducing a superior replacement model, or by intentionally designing a product to cease proper function within a specific window. In either case, consumers will theoretically favor the next generational products over the old ones. 

How Does Planned Obsolescence take Place?  

Planned obsolescence runs in the background. It is never understood or detected by just looking at the product. Again, different industries have different ways of implementing it.   

For example, in the food industry, many food products are given a “best before” date. Meaning that it is best to consume the food before the given time. Most of the time these dates are not accurate as they are set way earlier than the food goes bad. Sometimes these dates are true, but most of the time, that is not the case. Sometimes, industries go a step further to intentionally mix substances in the product that will make it go bad.   

Now let us shift to the clothing and fabric industry. This industry is also guilty of making the products “die” early. But often they take a more creative approach. Since the entire industry is based and driven by trends and “current” fashion, they can easily manipulate and drive the consumer base to new types of designs that make the old designs feel “dated” and “uncool”. As such it is seen that the consumers are unintentionally buying new clothes when their old ones are still usable.  

Moving on to the technology industry, one might try to justify that technology is developing at a rapid pace. And as such, obsolescence is bound to happen. But that is not the case. This can be easily explained with an example. The “Centennial Light” is a light bulb that has been shining for a staggering 115 years. Light bulbs nowadays need to be changed every year at best. Why? Because if a light bulb is running for 100+ years, then it is bad for the light bulb companies as no one will buy new ones. Devices like mobile phones and TVs and laptops etc. get new refreshes every year. These new models include minor upgrades that incentivize the consumer to buy those. One might argue that it’s the buyer’s decision whether they want to upgrade or not. But certain companies have been known to intentionally lower the performance of the older devices through software updates that promise quite the opposite.   

Another way that devices become obsolete is by breaking. Most consumer electronics, if repaired by a non-certified technician, lose their warranty. And repairs from certified shops cost so much that adding a bit more money brings in a new model of that product. But this cause falls under another topic which is known as “right to repair” and it is an ongoing issue that has faced many court battles between manufacturers and repair shops. But that is a topic for another day.  

So, the above scenarios and examples and examples help to portray the use of Planned Obsolescence in various industries. But however bad it might seem from a consumer perspective, there is a reason why it has managed to stick around for so long.  

The Need for Planned obsolescence:  

The economy is not just a word. The production and manufacturing companies aren’t just robots. Actual people are working there. And, people need money. The economy of a country needs to be dynamic. Otherwise, there will be no flow of money within the country. If the products do not degrade or the consumers don’t feel a need to upgrade, money will not spend itself. Every country has a specific amount of money in circulation at any given time. As such, if the money does not flow, it will coagulate within a certain portion of society. That portion will be the people who get a salary from government sources. Since those people aren’t spending, the business and industrial portion of the society will not receive any money. If they don’t receive the money they can’t work. If they can’t work then the progress of the country will be halted.  

A stellar example of this is the Great Depression of 1932. The economy was haywire. Bernard London published his essay “Ending the Depression Through Planned Obsolescence”. And because of the planned obsolescence, the economic crisis was overcome. In the essay, planned obsolescence was placed alongside jobs, innovation, value engineering, and a dynamic economy. It is like cholesterol. There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Good obsolescence involves “value engineering” with the purpose being to use as little material as possible while providing an acceptable lifespan, this is well suited to hi-tech goods and fosters continuous innovation. But that is not the current state of planned obsolescence.  

Present Condition of Planned Obsolescence and its Impacts:  

There is a saying “Die a hero or live long enough to become the villain” and it completes the entire story of planned obsolescence. The process that saved a dying economy, is now one of the biggest contributors to waste, impracticality, and pollution. It is now associated with business conglomerates making a huge profit and manipulating customers into buying things that are not needed. Google describes planned obsolescence as a culture of wastefulness by perpetuating a “buy new and buy often” mentality. 

Planned obsolescence now serves to fill the landfills, create waste, environmental pollution, and much more. It has become a far cry from what it was originally envisaged for. The Savior of Economy became the Destroyer of Environment.  

The is a reason why “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is written in that exact order. Reducing waste is easier and more environmentally friendly than reusing or recycling. And nowadays, reuse and recycle are an after-thought to product design and production, while reduction is out the window.  

A Real-Life Example:  

I bought a Phone in 2016. With my present knowledge, I know that phone was supposed to be obsolete by 2018. But I pushed it and I kept it using it until very recently when I bought my next phone in 2021. If I were to follow the trend and buy a new phone in 2018, it would have been obsolete by 2021 and I would have had to buy a new one in 2021 anyway. So, in roughly 6 years, I would have bought 3 phones if I followed the trend. But I ended up needing only 2. One phone that didn’t go to the landfill. 

It is not that I knew not to follow the trend, I just didn’t have the money nor the urgent need to buy a new one. Because my old one was running just fine. I wouldn’t have even bought this one if the battery of the old one didn’t die completely. And still, I didn’t throw it away because it holds some personal value to me. (6 years is a long time). Someone can now say, why I didn’t just change the battery and use it again. Yes, I could’ve. And this is where my previous point, “Right to Repair” comes into play. Anyone who uses a somewhat modern smartphone will know that the battery compartments are completely sealed off. In the past, around the 2012-13 time, the backs were removable, allowing for easy battery change if the old one wore off or died by some accidents. But the companies realized that it was not profitable for them and so, nowadays to change the battery or do any sort of repairs, we need to seek the help of a professional repairman. Even so, if we don’t go to an officially validated repair shop, our warranty will be voided meaning the product can’t be sent back to the manufacturer to fix something that they had done wrong.  

Even after 6 years, I wouldn’t have had any warranty but I still changed. I wanted something new because the phone was starting to lag and heat up. So, I decided it was time to upgrade. But the device lasted 6 years. 3 years more than they wanted it to. Software updates stopped at 3 years; security updates stopped the next year.  

What We Can Do:  

Companies have started to realize that consumers have started to catch up to their tricks. Many companies have started to publicize that they are “Eco-friendly” and are “working” to reduce their carbon footprint. And that is the future we want. Most companies are actually trying. And now it is up to us.  

Money is everything for a product. If a product does not bring in enough money, then the company does not need to produce that. So, we must vote with our wallets. We must refrain from buying things that are not eco-friendly or are planned to be obsolete. We must also support the right to repair, as it not only gives us freedom over our products but also reduces waste.   

Finally, Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.