My local Montana landfill is full of the remains of short-lived coffee grinders, pens, peelers, laptops. After Christmas, I’ll need to reserve a bigger plot.
Since 2010 we have had three sets of Washers/Dryers. Different Brands, all expensive ,and all short-living, which is why the three sets are each from different companies.
We have been through 4 dishwashers, none of were worth a damn. Man, all of the Dishwashers were $800 or higher. The third one was $1400 and was the worst one.
I had a blender like your juicer. It was great. We finally decided to replace it with one of those high speed blenders but it wasn't just one. In the space of a few years we went through 3 cheap ones and then got one expensive one, but the smaller contraption failed and they made us buy the replacement part.
I'm late to the game here, but he Maytag washer and dryer I bought in 1976 are both still working fine--made with actual metal and capable of receiving replacement parts. But those parts, the repairman tells me, are soon going to run out!
So 47 years of use of two products, rather than buying replacements every 5-7 years--meaning buying 6-7 replacements, which would have had to be sourced, manufactured, and the old ones thrown out to the land fill. Then we have "shrinkflation."
Great article. There is a fascinating "Stuff You Should Know" podcast on planned obsolescence and surprisingly it goes back to the early twentieth century. So we were doing it to ourselves before trade opened internationally and then we were able to do it to ourselves for far cheaper. Ah Taiwan, what would we do without you. Thanks for a great article.
Grateful that my husband is an engineer. We are able to keep our young appliances longer because he discerned the motherboards in them are the things that sputter and die quickly. He replaced the computer component/or an entire control panel in each, and the otherwise hardy dishwasher, washing machine and microwave oven are living to perform a longer lifespan. He orders the components online. Can openers, timers, and other small inadequate tools are the sources of despair for me. I try to find the simplest tools with the least "features." I now use a simple can opener to pierce a can and pump up and down with muscle power until the can is open. Low-maintenance, high efficiency.
Our meager efforts will not stem the tide of planned obsolescence, but we live to fight another day.
I don't know about that. I have just had a computer tech fix my ten year old plus laptop, which had even lost it's keyboard usage. I was using an external keyboard and he managed to fix it. I have replaced it's battery several times, too. I replaced my old smartphone (probably over 5 years old) three years ago with a new one and hope to have it another five or six years. Some things CAN be repaired if you want to repair them and other things can be picked up at resale shops on the cheap, very often. But there will still be those out there who think that they have to have the latest and greatest. That will never change.
Things generally don’t go as well if people don’t have skin in the game. Parachutes get folded better if people have to take a jump once a week with a parachute they packed themselves.
In the software world we call using the program you work on “dogfooding”.
When we build our new house 17 years ago` we bought all new appliances. In a moment of overkill it was decided to put a new German made Miele in the kitchen and another in the pantry for entertainment overflow. As it turned out the one in the kitchen was used 5 or more times a week, while the one in the pantry was used perhaps five times a year. Two years ago the one in the pantry died. OK, no big loss but then, within a week, the one in the kitchen died. Same symptoms preceding death. Looked like planned obsolescence.
Product quality deterioration is so maddening...we have a saying in our house "everything is just a little bit shittier these days". To be specific (as Walter likes), why does every crappy dishwasher have to run for 2 hours+ to clean plates and glasses when 20 years ago you could complete a wash in 30 minutes? Because the EPA mandated electricity / water savings in every design and manufacturers are spending all their time/money on chips and electronics to save $0.05 of energy on every load rather than making a product that will run for 20 years (like a 1998 Toyota). If consumers had a "choice" (rather than buying a mandated product) they would almost always choose longevity for saving $0.05 / load. Great article!
Hear, hear. (Specific gripe: the new tumble dryer that won't work properly with an app, which doesn't work after downloading and harvesting my data.) The move from mechanical to digital is nearly always a change for the worse. Bah! Merry Christmas!
I think the article is true in so many depressing ways. But perhaps at least a partial antidote is included in the quote of William Morris. I think people are realizing more and more that living a digital life is not living at all. We need to get back to things that are tangible. To surround ourselves with things of quality and beauty and to have real actual human interactions. If you have a craft, make something with your hands and then put it in your house. If you’re all thumbs, find someone who has a craft, be it woodworking or pottery or basketweaving and buy something that appeals to you. In the process you’ll not only be supporting a creative person, but interacting with someone who can add dimension to your life. Last summer I made a point of shopping at a local farmers market. Buying produce from the woman who picked it that morning is just different, and better. After a few visits, she asked me what I was doing with all those tomatoes and she shared what she does with the bruised ones she can’t sell. Just human interaction. Wow. Try getting that experience in the self checkout line at Walmart.
The top Levi’s exec had to be Jennifer Sey. I certainly miss the 501s I could buy as recently as the 1990s. They were so much better
Love Walter…but does this mean I won’t be watching him on Friday with Matt Tiabbi on Racket?
No! Walter! You and Matt are the best! I only actually pay for Rackett & TFP…both great sources of information & entertainment…Walter!!☹️
Since 2010 we have had three sets of Washers/Dryers. Different Brands, all expensive ,and all short-living, which is why the three sets are each from different companies.
We have been through 4 dishwashers, none of were worth a damn. Man, all of the Dishwashers were $800 or higher. The third one was $1400 and was the worst one.
I had a blender like your juicer. It was great. We finally decided to replace it with one of those high speed blenders but it wasn't just one. In the space of a few years we went through 3 cheap ones and then got one expensive one, but the smaller contraption failed and they made us buy the replacement part.
I'm late to the game here, but he Maytag washer and dryer I bought in 1976 are both still working fine--made with actual metal and capable of receiving replacement parts. But those parts, the repairman tells me, are soon going to run out!
So 47 years of use of two products, rather than buying replacements every 5-7 years--meaning buying 6-7 replacements, which would have had to be sourced, manufactured, and the old ones thrown out to the land fill. Then we have "shrinkflation."
Great article. There is a fascinating "Stuff You Should Know" podcast on planned obsolescence and surprisingly it goes back to the early twentieth century. So we were doing it to ourselves before trade opened internationally and then we were able to do it to ourselves for far cheaper. Ah Taiwan, what would we do without you. Thanks for a great article.
Grateful that my husband is an engineer. We are able to keep our young appliances longer because he discerned the motherboards in them are the things that sputter and die quickly. He replaced the computer component/or an entire control panel in each, and the otherwise hardy dishwasher, washing machine and microwave oven are living to perform a longer lifespan. He orders the components online. Can openers, timers, and other small inadequate tools are the sources of despair for me. I try to find the simplest tools with the least "features." I now use a simple can opener to pierce a can and pump up and down with muscle power until the can is open. Low-maintenance, high efficiency.
Our meager efforts will not stem the tide of planned obsolescence, but we live to fight another day.
I don't know about that. I have just had a computer tech fix my ten year old plus laptop, which had even lost it's keyboard usage. I was using an external keyboard and he managed to fix it. I have replaced it's battery several times, too. I replaced my old smartphone (probably over 5 years old) three years ago with a new one and hope to have it another five or six years. Some things CAN be repaired if you want to repair them and other things can be picked up at resale shops on the cheap, very often. But there will still be those out there who think that they have to have the latest and greatest. That will never change.
Things generally don’t go as well if people don’t have skin in the game. Parachutes get folded better if people have to take a jump once a week with a parachute they packed themselves.
In the software world we call using the program you work on “dogfooding”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_your_own_dog_food
What a funny (but serious) essay. Thank you for this wonderful work, Walter. It won't fall apart or become useless anytime soon.
When we build our new house 17 years ago` we bought all new appliances. In a moment of overkill it was decided to put a new German made Miele in the kitchen and another in the pantry for entertainment overflow. As it turned out the one in the kitchen was used 5 or more times a week, while the one in the pantry was used perhaps five times a year. Two years ago the one in the pantry died. OK, no big loss but then, within a week, the one in the kitchen died. Same symptoms preceding death. Looked like planned obsolescence.
Great read
Lulz
Product quality deterioration is so maddening...we have a saying in our house "everything is just a little bit shittier these days". To be specific (as Walter likes), why does every crappy dishwasher have to run for 2 hours+ to clean plates and glasses when 20 years ago you could complete a wash in 30 minutes? Because the EPA mandated electricity / water savings in every design and manufacturers are spending all their time/money on chips and electronics to save $0.05 of energy on every load rather than making a product that will run for 20 years (like a 1998 Toyota). If consumers had a "choice" (rather than buying a mandated product) they would almost always choose longevity for saving $0.05 / load. Great article!
Hear, hear. (Specific gripe: the new tumble dryer that won't work properly with an app, which doesn't work after downloading and harvesting my data.) The move from mechanical to digital is nearly always a change for the worse. Bah! Merry Christmas!
"*without* an app", not "with an app"! Doh.
Submitting a correction. What a novel idea! Thank you.
I think the article is true in so many depressing ways. But perhaps at least a partial antidote is included in the quote of William Morris. I think people are realizing more and more that living a digital life is not living at all. We need to get back to things that are tangible. To surround ourselves with things of quality and beauty and to have real actual human interactions. If you have a craft, make something with your hands and then put it in your house. If you’re all thumbs, find someone who has a craft, be it woodworking or pottery or basketweaving and buy something that appeals to you. In the process you’ll not only be supporting a creative person, but interacting with someone who can add dimension to your life. Last summer I made a point of shopping at a local farmers market. Buying produce from the woman who picked it that morning is just different, and better. After a few visits, she asked me what I was doing with all those tomatoes and she shared what she does with the bruised ones she can’t sell. Just human interaction. Wow. Try getting that experience in the self checkout line at Walmart.