03 March 2014

The failure of planning to fail

Benjamin Franklin is attributed with saying "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail".  And although planning to fail seems counter-intuitive, it is exactly what a large number of today's business models are based on.  It's known as 'Planned Obsolescence', and it's all about designing products to have a limited lifespan.  Think of a tablet/mobile phone with a battery you can't replace, or the latest fashion, which the owner will only want to be seen wearing for a very short period of time.  Eradicating planned obsolescence would be a significant step towards a more environmentally sustainable economy, but is it achievable?

There is a terrific documentary which I watched a year or so ago, whilst staying in Finland to photograph the Northern Lights. It's well worth a watch, but I've also included some of the key historical points below, with my additional thoughts:

A brief history of Planned Obsolescence

As early as the 1920s, manufacturers realised they should be able to sell more products if they design them to fail prematurely.  The most prolific example was a cartel called Phoebus, involving the major lightbulb manufacturers (perhaps slightly embarrassing for Philips and GE who are now sustainability pioneers!).  They collectively agreed to design lightbulbs with a lifetime limited to only 1000 hours, ensuring repeat purchasers from consumers.  A publication called "Printer's Ink" in 1928 articulated the phenomenon as "...any manufacturer of a quality product will tell you that the article which refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business.”

Roll time forward a little and in the US, in the 1930s, the depression had hit, and there was a desperate need to stimulate the economy, and reduce unemployment. Bernard London proposed making planned obsolescence a legal requirement in the US.  This proposal wasn't taken forward.

In the 1950s, as the economy in the US boomed, there were additional pressures to introduce planned obsolescence, and consumerism was born.  Brooks Stevens popularised the term 'planned obsolescence', as "instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary". Coupled with cheap credit and clever marketing, it became highly desirable to have the latest products, even if they weren't needed.  The transition from a 'Make do and mend' to a 'throwaway society' had been born.

Today of course, whole segments of the economy rely on selling cheap products to consumers, or marketing the latest disposable fashions.  If they are not explicitly designing products to fail, they are psychologically nudging consumers to want a newer version.  In a world with finite resources, this simply isn't sustainable anymore.

Clothing: from Style Obsolescence to secondary durable markets

Sustainability professionals aren't about to stop fashion seasons ('fast fashion'), but if the products are designed to be durable, there are plenty of options in secondary markets, or extending their lifetime:

Either clothing manufacturers directly, or perhaps retailers if they can survive, will need to develop business models which derive additional revenues from durable clothing.  This might include:

  • Providing a wardrobe service, renting-out clothing for key events (an extension to the wedding suit hire services)
  • Charge a small fee for a repair and cleaning service, perhaps partnering with local dry-cleaners to provide this
  • Take-back 'previously loved' clothing, to resell (perhaps sharing proceeds with the owner and a charity)
  • Nudge marketing away from the short-term fashion of a garment, to its longevity

Electronics/electricals: from Technical Obsolescence to repairs and upgrades

New models of products can bring huge innovations to consumers, e.g. new features, and improved performance.  But that doesn't always mean that the old product needs to be thrown-away.  Why not:

  • Embrace the growing movement for people to repair products themselves, with the help of the likes of iFixit?
  • Continue to develop new functions via software, rather than hardware, e.g. App Stores via a smart phone
  • Design products to support physical upgrades, e.g. Phonebloks
  • Embrace new business models where products are not sold, but rented-out by the manufacturer, deriving revenues from regular monthly payments, but including service within the price

Where do we go from here?

As the costs of raw materials either creep upwards or have volatile movements, manufacturers will start to explore some alternative business models, using the momentum of the 'Circular Economy' movement to develop collaborations; and in competitive sectors, some will succeed by differentiating themselves with an explicitly sustainable message.  But with entrenched interests in the incumbent business models and its associated marketing messages, it may be that regulation will have to play a role in order to create the required step-change.

1 comment:

  1. Richard - once again, excellent insight. The flip side of the article is that our mentality to throw away has allowed for the creation of whole new business sectors. For example, companies that buy old mobile phones were set up (approx?) 10 years ago, whereas before that you didn't have an easy second hand market (apart from maybe eBay). This means people are now more willing to buy a new phone, as they can get relatively good money for an old one. Now these companies are branching out to buy anything from you - from CDs to jeans