This is a guest post by Jesse Andrews, a person I’ve known since elementary school and with whom I’ve gotten reacquainted over the last couple of years as we’ve shared thinking around politics, economics, military, modern lifestyles, global warming, etc. You can read more about his lifestyle projects/improvements and general observations on his website, The Ripening. He brings a positive perspective to all his thinking, and his research of and knowledge around planned obsolescence is a great addition to my recent posts on reducing, reusing and reorganizing. 

Planned obsolescence is the process by which goods are manipulated so that consumers are pressured to go out and buy again.  This process plays a vital role in keeping the economy growing at a rate that is deemed acceptable.

As consumers we succumb to many examples of planned obsolescence whether we are aware of it or not.

One example we are all familiar with is the transition from DVDs to Blu-Ray.  How many of you know at least one person who has the same movie on VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray?

Mobile phones is another area.  People look at my two year old phone like it’s a payphone.  Those phones go through constant upgrades and redesigns.  It’s fashionable to have the latest phone.  People line up outside of the Apple Store for days before a new product comes out so that they’re the first ones to have it.

I don’t want to pick on Apple but while I’m at it the iPod is another great example.  I have a friend who has a regular iPod, an iPod shuffle, and an iPod touch.  They all basically do the same thing and you can only use one device at once, but Apple makes you think you NEED to own all of them.

I like to play video games so an example that I find frustrating is sports games.  Year after year, not much changes in these games other than having the latest rosters.  However, nobody is playing last year’s version.  When the new one comes out you are pressured to upgrade.

Disposable products are something most people don’t think about either.  Plastic cups and plates, razors, and lighters come to mind.  We use these products once or a few times and throw it away.  These products ultimately end up somewhere.

I could go on and on about the many ways planned obsolescence is used as a business strategy but I’ll spare you.  That’s the Wikipedia link for when you’re finished reading this post.

Business isn’t the only guilty party.  Our government helps.  Think “cash-for-clunkers.”  The program offered a tax rebate to trade in your older vehicle and go out and buy a new one.  Sounds like a great deal!  Except something had to be done with all of the old cars.  That’s just one example of many.

As a person who has become interested in voluntary simplicity, understanding that this practice exists was an important first step for me.  In the past, I sought cheap products because it had less of an impact on my wallet in the short-term.  However, I would find myself having to quickly replace those items.  It was a waste of money and a waste of my time.  Not to mention the original item was now in a landfill somewhere.

Now I look for items that are built to last.  It is better for everybody (including Mother Earth, excluding the greedy manufacturers and the like) to spend the extra time and money buying the more durable product that you will have for many years to come.  I also look for items that do multiple things and have a lot of utility.  I try not to buy products that only serve one purpose, unless that one purpose is really important to me.

I would encourage you to think of products in terms of their overall utility and expected life cycle; purchase only those that meet your highest expectations.  It takes a lot of resources for even the simplest products to come to fruition and return back to nothing.