What is planned obsolescence

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Your Money. Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Business Essentials Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions. Business Business Essentials. What Is Planned Obsolescence? Key Takeaways Planned obsolescence is the calculated act of making sure the existing version of a product will become dated or useless within a given time frame. In technology circles, the replacement cycle for smartphones has historically been two to three years, as their underlying components wear down.

In the clothing space, nylon stockings are likely to snag, snare, or run, thereby demanding replacement on a regular basis.

When we buy for life, we are investing in an item that could even outlive us. Whilst some brands have a solid reputation for making high-quality items, often it's not obvious whether a product will stand the test of time. It always pays to do a little research into what you're buying. What materials is it made from? Which parts could break? Is this a timeless design you'll love forever? A great indicator of longevity can be a fixed-period or lifetime warranty. This indicates that the manufacturer has confidence in their product and stands by their quality promise.

For some items, like shoes and clothing, guarantees are very rare - but some companies will repair or refurbish your item for a fair fee, sometimes even for free. Another interesting consideration is to look for products with modular parts. Modular designs acknowledge that there are some parts of the product that are likely to wear out, which you can easily change up instead of buying a whole new unit.

You can read more about our own in-depth research process here. Buy Me Once research and sell the longest lasting products in the world. We're tackling planned obsolescence by championing manufacturers who buck the trend, and go the extra mile in quality.

By carrying out thorough, independent research into product longevity, we want to facilitate smart shopping choices for the long term. Our aim is to be the trusted destination for finding fantastically reliable items. We know people are sick of badly-made stuff. Shop our Bestsellers range here.

Switch to U. So it would seem for the Centennial Light. An astonishing, record-setting years after someone first flipped it on, this light bulb is still faintly shining in a fire station in Livermore, California. You can see it for yourself on a webcam that refreshes every 30 seconds. Surely, if an incandescent bulb made with 19th Century technology can last so long, why not new-fangled, 20th and even 21st Century bulbs?

The Centennial Light is often pointed to as evidence for the supposedly sinister business strategy known as planned obsolescence. The answer: yes, but with caveats. Beyond the crude caricature of greedy companies wantonly fleecing their customers, the practice does have silver linings. To an extent, planned obsolescence is an inevitable consequence of sustainable businesses giving people goods they desire.

In this way, planned obsolescence serves as a reflection of a ravenous, consumer culture which industries did create for their benefit, yet were hardly alone in doing so. Sticking with light bulbs as a product, they provide amongst the most emblematic case studies of planned obsolescence. Thomas Edison invented commercially viable light bulbs circa These early, incandescent bulbs — the Centennial Light included — relied on carbon filaments rather than the tungsten that came into widespread use almost 30 years later.

Part of the reason the Centennial Light has persevered so long, scientists speculate, is because its carbon filament is eight times thicker and thus more durable than the thin, metal wires in later incandescent bulbs. If you have ever been in school, you know how much textbooks can cost.

There are many courses where the required reading is a textbook that is highly specialized and costly. It would be easy to complete the course and resell your textbook, but that would cut down on profits for authors and publishers. To stop this, textbooks are often reprinted with small changes, often skewing the page numbers when compared to the previous issue.

This means that students are forced to buy these new copies instead of purchasing second-hand copies. New editions make previous versions of a textbook obsolete, and it forces students to hand over their cash. Unfortunately, fast fashion brands are not leaders when it comes to changing styles, they are followers. They keep track of popular clothing choices and bring to market those fashions while they are still in style.

That means they could be flooding the market with these clothes a couple of weeks after a fashion begins trending. The problem with this is that to bring these clothes quickly to market, there have to be sacrifices. The clothes may be affordable, but they are almost certainly low-quality and have a detrimental effect on the people who are making them and the environment. We recommend buying fashionable clothing if you want to, but it is always a better investment to pay a little more for the fashion-forward brands that are setting the styles and using high-quality materials and production methods.

There are many ways that automakers use planned obsolescence, and it is no coincidence that they bring out a new model almost every year.

The older your model of car, the less likely you are to find the parts needed to repair it, and this is often down to the manufacturer discontinuing the part.

Many newer models the ones that come in the yearly-cycles give you not much more than cosmetic updates. They often change parts year on year, even if those parts work great, for that would mean more available parts for older models, and they would not be able to tempt you with the newer models. There is also the idea that cars are fashion accessories, and people will buy a newer model, not because it is better, but because it can make them look better.

Thank you, marketing team! There are many types of planned obsolescence used by car manufacturers, and each new model uses a lot of our resources for not much more functionality. Used cars are not seen as fashionable or cool, but they do reduce the use of resources.

Cars lose a lot of their value as soon as they leave the lot, so why would you want to pour your cash down the drain with a new car when you can buy a perfectly good used car? When you look at doing it yourself, it is next to impossible with some devices, and manufacturers have a second trick up their sleeves. When you go to have a device repaired, or a part replaced more specifically, the battery , the repair or replacement is often priced a little lower than a new unit, making it hard not to throw the device away and upgrade to a new one.

Many batteries have a set life-cycle, helping to prevent fires when the battery wears down. The combination of all these points means that you will eventually have to replace your battery, and, when you do, it might be easier to just upgrade. We are slowly moving towards LED bulbs and into the realm of long-lasting bulbs but, did you know that old bulbs were originally long-lasting? By creating bulbs with a short lifespan, you have to keep coming back for more.

Longer-lasting bulbs may cost you a little more, but they will save you money in the long run.