A NEW LEASE OF LIFE

WHAT TO DO WITH PRODUCTS AT THE END OF THEIR LIMITED LIFESPAN? FRANCES AMBLER INVESTIGATES

Ever cursed when the toaster stopped working, just weeks after the guarantee ran out? Or wondered exactly how long a £500 washing machine is going to last? Then you’re familiar with the reality – if possibly not the concept – of ‘planned obsolescence’. The idea was first voiced in Bernard London’s catchily titled 1932 essay, ‘Ending the Depression Through Planned Obsolescence’, which suggested the Great Depression was caused by people using products for much longer than expected. If only, London thought, consumer demand could be guaranteed. “I would have the Government assign a lease of life to shoes and homes and machines,” he wrote. “After the allotted time had expired, these things would be legally ‘dead’ and would be controlled by the duly appointed governmental agency and destroyed.” While such Big Brother…

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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, 01-Nov-15

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