One Reason Why Sustainability Will Never Work In The Current Economy

Sustainability/ efficiency don’t produce profit in a capitalist economy

It was the summer of 2016, the mid-afternoon. I told my daughter to go get her swimsuit: we are going for a swim. After a few laps in the water, we went to pool loungers.

When I grabbed my towel to dry, my phone which was laying down at the pool lounger, fell on the hard concrete, causing the screen to shatter.

Oh my God! What am I going to do? Should I get a new one?

After some time considering it, I determined no, I would not succumb to consumerism aka planned obsolescence.

Planned Obsolescence

If I can discover another connotation for obsolescence, the term uselessness would be appropriate.

Simply said, a Planned Uselessness. This means many of the products we buy today are built to fail. They are completely futile.

For example, the average life of a smartphone is one year. This digital product is built to break after a certain amount of time and it is difficult or expensive to fix it.

This trend is increasing exponentially, leading us directly to the disposable society. Where nothing can be repaired, replaced, or recycled. Where many times, the products are disposed of in landfills that are not equipped to handle their disposal.

So, what is planned obsolescence?

Simply put: it’s a strategy for selling more goods by producing things that have a limited lifespan.

The concept of planned obsolescence was conceived by the marketing pioneer Justus George Frederick in 1928. He stated:

It is essential to modern industry that its machinery should be so designed that, once adopted, its use will quickly become indispensable.

What for?

To drive profitability for companies.

Finally, I think on one hand we have the business owners and on the other side you and me.

Who is behind this grand conspiracy?

To paraphrase Upton Sinclair:

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on not understanding it.

The origin of this conspiracy, we could consider ourselves as victims of capitalism and its free-market economy. This is all about maximizing profits, and with it, we understand the importance of the concept.

It is difficult for a company to maintain high prices with low costs and good quality. Therefore, they must constantly innovate new products that replace those that already exist, forcing their disposal and generating higher demand for new ones.

Planned obsolescence is nothing new. It is simply a strategy that has been around for decades.

You must upgrade your device, software, computer et cetera.

The Planned Obsolescence model was created not only to make a profit for companies but because consumers demand it. In 2014 Google started a Project called ARA which was supposed to build a smartphone for $50.

Its product was a phone with easily replaceable modules, so it would be possible to upgrade it without buying a new one. This innovation should help with the E-waste problem. But in 2016, Project ARA failed.

Why?

Because the Project Ara concept was simply too hard to implement back in 2016. It was probably way ahead of its time.

Planned Obsolescence is an unsustainable economic model, and it is both futile and wasteful, not only for consumers but also for our planet.

How to stop Planned Obsolescence

Change the mindset by giving a stop to shopping.

We need to change our mindset about consuming and spending habits. If we, as consumers, stop buying new gadgets or upgraded devices, companies will stop with the planned obsolescence. The reason the Google Project ARA failed is that consumers weren’t ready.

How do we change our mindset? We can start taking baby steps. Instead of upgrading our devices every year, we can upgrade them every three to five years. Try to recycle. If companies will not have enough consumers each year, they will change their mindset too and build products to last.

Buy only ISSOP certified products with longer warranties.

The warranty is given by the company for free. In European Countries particularly Spain, FENISS certifies companies.

to produce environmentally respectful goods and services, without planned obsolescence, preferably by fair trade, contributing to emissions reduction and correct waste management.

Reduce E-waste by not buying new things and by supporting the companies who create brands that last.

So if this is the case, why are we so afraid of being called recyclers?

If I haven’t mentioned recycling before, let me say it now— we must stop thinking about recycling as something optional, rather than an integral part of our consumer action. Without it, we cannot achieve a sustainable planet for future generations.

Today is 2022, I still have my cracked iPhone 6 repaired. And I am proud of it. It still works perfectly.