Longer Lasting Products

Longer Lasting Products

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Longer Lasting Products Alternatives to the Throwaway Society

Edited by Tim Cooper

© Tim Cooper 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Cooper has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editor of this work. Published by Gower Publishing Limited Wey Court East Union Road Farnham Surrey, GU9 7PT England

Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA

www.gowerpublishing.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Longer lasting products : alternatives to the throwaway society. 1. Product life cycle. 2. New products. 3. Quality of products. 4. Sustainable design. 5. Consumers--Attitudes. I. Cooper, Tim. 658.5'752-dc22

ISBN: 978-0-566-08808-7 (hbk) 978-1-4094-1043-0 (ebk) I

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Longer lasting products : alternatives to the throwaway society / [edited] by Tim Cooper. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-566-08808-7 (hbk.) 1. Product life cycle. 2. Product obsolescence. 3. Consumer behavior--Environmental aspects. I. Cooper, Tim, 1957HF5415.155.L66 2010 658.5'6--dc22 2010010155

The cover photograph is of Paul Bonomini’s design for the RSA’s Weeeman Project and the image has been used with his kind permission. The robotic figure is made of scrap electrical and electronic equipment that weighs 3.3 tonnes, the average amount that each person in the UK throws away during his or her lifetime.

Contents

List of Figures List of Tables About the Contributors Acknowledgements Foreword Preface Part 1

Overview

1

The Significance of Product Longevity Tim Cooper

Part 2

Design for Longevity

2

Re-evaluating Obsolescence and Planning for It Brian Burns

3

Subject/Object Relationships and Emotionally Durable Design Jonathan Chapman

vii ix xi xiii xv xix

3

39

61

4

Defying Obsolescence Miles Park

5

Understanding Replacement Behaviour and Exploring Design Solutions Nicole van Nes

107

Adjusting Our Metabolism: Slowness and Nourishing Rituals of Delay in Anticipation of a Post-Consumer Age Alastair Fuad-Luke

133

6

7

Durability, Function and Performance Walter Stahel

77

157

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Part 3

Public Policy and Product Life-Spans

8

Durability and the Law Cowan Ervine

181

9

The Law on Guarantees and Repair Work Christian Twigg-Flesner

195

10

Policies for Longevity Tim Cooper

215

Part 4

Marketing Longer Lasting Products

11

Rethinking Marketing Ken Peattie

243

12

Marketing Durability Tim Cooper and Kirsty Christer

273

13

Can Durability Provide a Strong Marketing Platform? Dorothy Mackenzie, Tim Cooper and Kenisha Garnett

297

Part 5

Product Use and Reuse

14

Consumer Influences on Product Life-Spans Siân Evans and Tim Cooper

319

15

Product Life Cycle Management Through IT Matthew Simon

351

16

There are Times and Places: Systems and Practices in the Domestic Processing and Reuse of Packaging Janet Shipton and Tom Fisher

367

Extending Product Life-Spans: Household Furniture and Appliance Reuse in the UK Anthony Curran

393

17

Index

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List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2 Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4 Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 4.3 Figure 4.4 Figure 4.5 Figure 4.6 Figure 4.7 Figure 4.8 Figure 4.9 Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3 Figure 5.4 Figure 5.5 Figure 5.6 Figure 5.7 Figure 6.1

Product longevity as a means of integrating efficiency and sufficiency Forms of relative obsolescence Aesthetic obsolescence – new, worn-in and worn-out fashion jeans Social obsolescence – an ashtray Technological obsolescence – successive modes of data transfer Economic obsolescence – a sofa that was economically not worth recovering Ephemeral electronics: Lighting Bugs, battery-illuminated confectionery Defying obsolescence: category groupings, from micro to macro iPods, new and not so old Nicks and scratches are aesthetically acceptable on rugged tools A silent performer: demoted within the household but still valued Aeroplane made out of discarded packaging and sticky tape A passionate collector who never threw anything away!  Car boot sale QR code, containing 250 characters The replacement decision as a deterioration of the actual and desired state The three groups of factors that influence the product replacement decision The hierarchy between the three groups of factors that influence the product replacement decision Model of factors influencing the arousal of the replacement need Telecommunication device ‘Teletangram’ Audio set: ‘Sound 2000’ Personal computer Model for design and well-being

14 16 46 47 48 49 80 82 84 85 89 90 92 96 98 110 111 115 117 125 126 127 142

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Rebotijo (summer jug) Tache Naturelle (natural stain) Strategies for extending product:user relationships Making and localization Ways of designing and making From ownership to sharing Evolution of shares in life cycle costs for a car over a 50-year period Figure 12.1 Advertisement promoting longevity, with specific reference to expected life-span – Miele Figure 12.2 Slogan used in marketing campaign to highlight product durability – Marks and Spencer Figure 12.3 Examples of long guarantees – (a) Magimix and (b) Siemens Figure 12.5 Consumer leaflet with technical information and reference to quality standards – Westex Carpets Figure 12.4 Use of brand name to signify product durability – Tilley Endurables Figure 12.6 Life-span label on long life bulb – Philips Figure 14.1 Simplified conceptual framework Figure 15.1 The ELIMA system Figure 15.2 Plot of records from fridge-freezers of number and cumulative duration of door-opening events Figure 15.3 Image of the additional circuit board inserted into a standard Sony PS2 console Figure 15.4 Detailed temperature records and energy transmitted from a fridge-freezer over a 24-hour period Figure 16.1 Cardboard nappy box used as toy box Figure 16.2 Glass wine bottle on display Figure 16.3 Plastic bottle used as cloche in garden Figure 16.4 Space and time matrix Figure 16.5 ‘Nice’ carrier bags Figure 16.6 Sturdy plastic bag used to protect equipment Figure 16.7 Carrier bag made into a hat Figure 16.8 The domestic packaging process flow Figure 16.9 Old Oxo tin Figure 16.10 First design test Figure 16.11 Second design test Figure 17.1 Source of household bulky items, by discard route Figure 17.2 Reuse rates for household bulky items, by discard route Figure 17.3 Source of all reused items, by discard route Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4 Figure 6.5 Figure 6.6 Figure 6.7 Figure 7.1

144 144 147 147 148 149 161 277 277 278 279 279 282 325 354 354 355 357 371 372 372 373 375 375 376 380 383 385 386 399 400 403

List of Tables

Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3 Table 5.4 Table 5.5 Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 6.3 Table 7.1 Table 7.2 Table 7.3 Table 10.1 Table 11.1 Table 12.1 Table 13.1 Table 14.1 Table 14.2 Table 14.3 Table 14.4 Table 14.5 Table 14.6 Table 17.1 Table 17.2 Table 17.3 Table 17.4 Table 17.5 Table 17.6 Table 17.7

Product characteristics affecting the replacement decision 118 Situational influences upon the replacement decision 119 Consumer characteristics affecting the replacement decision 120 Design strategies for longevity 123 Comparison of design strategies from workshop with lists from literature 124 Expressions of slow activism 137 Slow Design manifesto, 2003 139 Strategies and approaches for extending the product:user relationship 146 Advantages in manufacturing, after-sales services and utilization of component standardization 167 Performance comparison of Volkswagen Golf GTI, 1976 and 2004 170 Selling performance versus selling products 172 Potential policy measures 227 Contrasting the sustainability and conventional marketing mindsets 264 Recommended information on product life-spans 288 Marketing platforms for durability 303 Taxonomy of consumer influences on product life-spans 324 Consumer influences on product life-spans, by product 327 Summary of consumer influences, by phase of consumption 328 Examples of behaviour, by different types of consumer 329 Key factors affecting consumer influence on product life-spans 331 Examples of inconsistent consumer behaviour 339 Methods of discarding bulky items typically resulting in disposal 398 Methods of discarding bulky items typically resulting in further use 402 Consumers’ opinions of the reuse potential of bulky waste 404 Previous potential reuse estimates for bulky waste 405 Items collected for reuse at HWRCs 407 A typical reuse organization 410 An advanced reuse organization 410

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About the Contributors Brian Burns is Associate Professor at the School of Industrial Design, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada. (email: [email protected]). Jonathan Chapman is Principal Lecturer in the Centre for Research and Development Research Centre, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, University of Brighton, Grand Parade, Brighton BN2 0JY (email: j.a.chapman@brighton. ac.uk). Kirsty Christer is Research Associate in the Art and Design Research Centre, Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB (email: [email protected]). Anthony Curran is a member of the Waste Management Research Group within the School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (email: [email protected]). Tim Cooper is Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU (email: [email protected]). Cowan Ervine is Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN (email: [email protected]). Siân Evans is a former Researcher at the Centre for Sustainable Consumption, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB (email: [email protected]). Tom Fisher is Professor of Art and Design, School of Art and Design, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU (email: tom.fisher@ntu. ac.uk). Alastair-Fuad-Luke is a Sustainable Design Facilitator, consultant, educator, writer and activist. He founded and constructed SLow in 2003–2005, was a

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member of the Board of SlowLab 2005–2009, and continues with his activities in the slow (design) movement (email: [email protected]). Kenisha Garnett is a former Researcher at the Centre for Sustainable Consumption, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB (email: [email protected]). Dorothy Mackenzie is Chairman of Dragon Rouge, 1 Craven Hill, London W2 3EN (email: [email protected]). Miles Park is Program Director of Industrial Design at the Faculty of the Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia (email: [email protected]). Ken Peattie is Professor of Marketing and Strategy and Director, BRASS Research Centre, Cardiff University, 55 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT (email: [email protected]). Janet Shipton is Divisional Design and Development Director at Chesapeake Branded Packaging, Hollingwood Lane, Lidget Green, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 2RQ (email: [email protected]). Matthew Simon is Principal Lecturer, Department of Engineering and Mathematics, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB (email: [email protected]). Walter R. Stahel is Founder-Director, The Product-Life Institute, 7 chemin des Vignettes, Geneva, CH-1231 Conches, Switzerland; also Visiting Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey (email [email protected]). Christian Twigg-Flesner is Professor of Commercial Law and Convenor, Trade and Commercial Law Centre, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX (email: [email protected]). Nicole van Nes is a Researcher at SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research, PO Box 1090, 2260 BB Leidschendam, The Netherlands; she was previously at Erasmus University of Rotterdam and Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands (email: [email protected] or [email protected]).

Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without enthusiasm, interest and support from the growing community of members of the Network on Product Life-Spans. The creation of the Network was made possible through a series of events held from 2004–2008 and I am grateful to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for providing the financial support that enabled it to take place and to Peter Marshall and Kenisha Garnett, in particular, for their assistance in organising the events. I would like to express appreciation to all of the speakers and participants and, looking further back, to colleagues in the Eternally Yours network in the Netherlands, sadly no longer active, whose events in 1996 and 2003 were truly inspirational. I am grateful to all of the contributors not only for providing material for this book but for their patience during the process of editing, their gracious acceptance of my attempts to shape the book into a coherent and consistent whole, and their willingness to offer comments on other chapters. On behalf of all of them I would like to express appreciation to other specialists who provided comments on draft chapters, notably Alice Baverstock, Tracy Bhamra, Marilyn Carrigan, Rose Cooper, Mark Godson, Jennifer Hamilton, Craig Hirst, Caroline Lee-Smith, Poppy Maltby and Ben Shaw. Alastair Fuad-Luke, author of Chapter Six, offers thanks to Martin Ruiz de Azúa for permission to reproduce images of his designs in Figures 6.2 and 6.3, Rebotijo (summer jug) and Tache Naturelle (natural stain) respectively. Matthew Simon, author of Chapter Fifteen, acknowledges the contributions to the ELIMA research made by the project partners Sony, Indesit, De Montfort University, Motorola, Cybernétix, ReUse and SAT. The ELIMA project was part funded by the EC 5th Framework programme (project no. GRD2-2000-30097). I would like to thank the staff at Gower Publishing for their patience, support and encouragement throughout the publication process. I am grateful also to Miles Park for suggesting the idea for the cover.

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Foreword There is something odd and at the same time utterly predictable about our failure to design, produce and maintain longer lasting products. The odd thing is that it ought to be – most of the time, at least – in our own best interests to have things that last. Appliances that don’t break down at crucial moments. Laptops and phones that don’t need replacing every year. Clothes that continue to sit comfortably in our wardrobes and our identities for several years. Not to mention the considerable environmental and resource benefits to be had from not filling up our atmosphere with carbon, our rivers with pollution and our landfills with junk. The predictability stems from our implicit understanding that to keep an economy going we are required, almost obliged, to consume and throw away more and more stuff. The ‘throwaway society’ is not so much about thoughtless plundering. It’s not just a confluence of carefree consumers with little or no concern for their own future or the future of the planet. It’s a society locked into perverse consumption practices by its own ineluctable logic. Nowhere was this more evident than in political responses to the recent recession. In the years immediately preceding the crash, consumer debt in advanced economies had reached unprecedented levels and household savings had already plummeted – below zero in some countries. Despite this fact, the almost ubiquitous call from politicians across the spectrum was for us all to ‘go out shopping’. No surprise at all then to find, as Tim Cooper points out in his introductory chapter to this varied and thoughtful collection of essays, that the origins of the term ‘planned obsolescence’, coincided precisely with the Great Depression – an economic crisis of similar proportions. The logic of this is critical. Fast consumption is the inevitable partner of fast production. If we don’t consume, then who is going to produce? And without production who will employ us? Without jobs how will we maintain our ability to go on and on consuming? Indeed the underlying dynamic here is not just about continuing to consume, but about consuming more and more. The stability of the economy itself in the ‘advanced’ consumer societies calls on

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us not simply to maintain our productive capacity but to pursue a strategy of continuing, exponential growth. The dynamic that feeds this strategy relies on the relentless production of novelty by firms and the relentless consumption of novelty by households. The inevitability with which this leads to a throwaway culture is patent. In principle, of course, it’s possible to decouple this rampant economic expansion from material expansion and perhaps even from the rapid proliferation of products. If our products last longer, they offer enhanced economic value. Could we not produce fewer of them, service them more effectively, invest in their continual renovation and repair and expand our economy by charging more for these longer lasting ‘servicised’ products? This tantalizing possibility has haunted the environmental debate about product durability for at least three decades. But the job of achieving this vision is not to be underestimated. And, as the contributions in this excellent collection make abundantly clear, that task is not just a technical one. It’s not even simply an economic one. What links expanding production to the relentless consumption is an apparently voracious appetite for novelty – embedded in the social logic of the throwaway society. Like it or not, we’re all deeply implicated in that logic. The throwaway society. How quaint that term seems now! I am old enough to remember the shock that attended its arrival as a description of modernity. The wastefulness it implied. The damage it evoked. The erosion it predicted, not just in terms of product durability but in terms of social durability, in the durability of society itself. And yet today the concept is so deeply entrenched in our cultural self-image as to be almost redundant. Very soon, I imagine, there will no longer be a generation that remembers what it was like to live in a society other than this. Was there really ever a time of make do and mend, of repair and reparability, of continuity and durability? Or was it just a dream? A figment of history books and senile imaginations? Our children have already inherited a very different view of the world. In which it is taken for granted that things don’t last. That relentless novelty is the order of the day. And for a few years they may even be able to sustain the belief that things don’t need to last. That today’s fashion is tomorrow’s junk. Today’s functionality is tomorrow’s dysfunctionality. Today’s beauty is tomorrow’s tawdry reject.

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They’ve also inherited a future in which society itself has fallen into a very real danger of being ‘thrown away’. There is no such thing as society, trumpeted Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, leaving us bereft of anything other than individual material dreams and aspirations. How convenient this narrow framing of human nature, of social organization! Because it provides us with exactly the kinds of people, the kinds of society that will keep us running to the shopping malls and supermarkets for more and more stuff. It is of course utterly predictable that this logic, however intractable, is leading us in only one direction: towards economic, social and ecological collapse. The odd thing is that it ought to be in our own best interests – and definitely in those of our children – to avoid that collapse. In summary, this timely and provocative volume of essays is not just another academic tome in a longstanding debate – a debate to which its editor and many of its contributors have been worthy contributors for over a decade. On the contrary, the creation of product durability, a long lasting solution to our throwaway culture, emerges as an absolutely vital element in the pursuit of sustainability. Tim Jackson Author of Prosperity Without Growth – Economics for a Finite Planet (London: Earthscan, 2009)

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Preface There has long been awareness within industrialized nations that a throwaway culture is environmentally unsustainable and that to move onto a new path of development is inevitable at some future point in time. It has, however, taken a protracted period for this predicament to be properly addressed in depth by academic researchers or those who drive environmental policy: governments, their policy advisers and environmental campaigners. Only recently has a substantial network of researchers interested in exploring product longevity emerged and the policy community’s waste agenda shifted from waste management to waste reduction. My own work in this area began some 17 years ago as a researcher at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a London-based think tank which has been at the forefront among philosophers, policymakers and practitioners seeking a more environmentally sustainable and socially just model of economic development. Concern at large and ever-rising volumes of household waste had, by the early 1990s, led to considerable attention being given to the potential for increased recycling. Improved waste management was clearly necessary but, in the context of long term sustainability, appeared inadequate: managing postconsumer waste is, after all, acting after much damage has already been done. The response at NEF was to embark on a research project that was intended to reconfigure the waste debate by exploring the possibility of increasing the average life-span of consumer durables and, ultimately, prevent unnecessary waste from being created. The primary output of this project, a report entitled Beyond Recycling, attracted a significant amount of national media coverage when published in 1994. The Secretary of State for the Environment at the time, John Gummer MP, requested and received a personal briefing, a headline in one popular daily newspaper referred to the relatively short life-span of washing machines manufactured in Britain as a ‘scandal’, while a leading white goods manufacturer, Miele, took the unusual step of citing the NEF report in a national advertising campaign. Nonetheless these signs of interest in product life-spans within influential circles ultimately proved to be a false 

Daily Mirror, 29 November 1994.

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dawn. The report made no significant impression on subsequent government policy and there was no noticeable shift in the consumer goods sector towards longer-lasting products. Similarly, environmental organizations, while welcoming the report, retained their focus on recycling and did not prioritize the theme of waste reduction through increased product longevity in their campaigning. Beyond Recycling was published only two years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which in 1992 brought together over 100 world leaders to discuss the state of the planet. Since then, the need for strategies to bring about sustainable development has become far more widely recognized. In particular, the potential implications for industrialized nations have become more apparent. The World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002 promoted greater awareness of sustainable production and consumption and since then there has been a substantial growth in expertise in this field: networks and conferences link together hundreds, if not thousands, of researchers with the aim of developing the knowledge and evidence necessary to underpin appropriate government policies. Meanwhile significant progress has been made within the more specific area of product longevity. One of the aims of this book, to which many of the most significant contemporary thinkers in the field have contributed, is to consolidate the growth in knowledge. Its origins lie in a series of seminars and workshops that brought together several hundred academics, policy specialists and representatives from industry and civil society organizations over a fouryear period and led to the formation of a research network, the Network on Product Life-Spans. During this time it became apparent that many of the ideas, research findings and other forms of knowledge were of relevance to the broader debate on sustainable development and would be of interest to a wider audience: hence this book. The complex range of issues associated with product life-spans demands a multidisciplinary approach and this is reflected in the contributions. The historical context, design, engineering, marketing, law, politics, consumer behaviour, technology and systems of provision are all covered, although critics will note that other fields, notably human geography, anthropology and economics, are perhaps inadequately represented in the current volume. Contributors are from three continents (North America, Europe and Australasia), highlighting the international significance of the topic, although a majority of chapters are written by authors from the UK, reflecting the origins

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of the Network. Several, notably those on consumer law, relate specifically to the UK but nonetheless will, it is hoped, be of wider interest. The primary focus of the book is on consumer durables such as vehicles, kitchen appliances, audio-visual equipment and other domestic electrical products, furniture and floor coverings, hardware, garden tools, clothing and footwear, household textiles, recreational goods and DIY goods, although the reuse of packaging is also addressed. The life-span of buildings, infrastructure and industrial goods are, of course, of considerable environmental (and social) significance, but beyond the scope of this particular book. Even within its limited remit, readers will be mindful of the risk of generalization, both in terms of geographical location and type of product. The book is structured in five parts. The first of these, Overview, comprises an introductory chapter by Tim Cooper, ‘The Significance of Product Longevity’. Starting from a premise that sustainable development will only be possible if the throwaway culture is challenged and there is an overall increase in the life-span of consumer products, Cooper provides a conceptual and theoretical overview of the topic, reviewing the influences upon product life-spans, the case for (and against) longer lasting products, and possible implications of increased product longevity for industry and consumers. Noting that product longevity is influenced not only by the intrinsic durability of products but by consumer behaviour, Cooper concludes that progress away from a throwaway culture will require change across society: in public policy, design and marketing, consumer attitudes and behaviour, and socio-cultural norms. The second part comprises six chapters on the theme Design for Longevity. Chapter Two, ‘Re-evaluating Obsolescence and Planning for It’, by Brian Burns, focuses on the end of the product life-span, the point at which ‘obsolescence’ becomes reality. The end of a product’s life, he argues, represents an opportunity to assess the value derived from utilization during its useful life against the costs of manufacture and use and against environmental and social impacts. Contrasting the life expectancy of products such as stainless steel dining forks with products based on fast-changing technologies, Burns explores the state of obsolescence with the aim of supporting more effective and sustainable product development. Waste may be seen as a symptom of a failed subject/object relationship. In Chapter Three, ‘Subject/Object Relationships and Emotionally Durable Design’, Jonathan Chapman considers the potential role of design in the creation of longer

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user:product relationships. Sustainable design methodologies, he argues, have attended almost exclusively to the bodily survival of manufactured objects, to ‘after-effects rather than causes’. Chapman proposes strategies for emotionally durable objects, including new, alternative genres of objects, which engage users on deeper levels and over longer, more rewarding, periods of time. This, he suggests, will demand models of sustainable design capable of empowering consumers to transcend the ‘superficial urgencies’ of conventional consumerism and forge deeper connections with their possessions. In Chapter Four, ‘Defying Obsolescence’, Miles Park considers a range of product attributes, consumer behaviours and societal factors associated with prolonged product life-spans in order to identify lessons from design and consumer behaviour that might enable products to defy obsolescence. He presents a collection of examples, mostly drawn from the consumer electronics sector, and notes that these were often informal responses to impending obsolescence and not planned or anticipated by the designer or manufacturer. Park concludes that new and collaborative approaches between designers and users are needed in order to meet the challenge of engaging with obsolescence effectively. The fact that many products are still functional when discarded means that to understand the determinants of product life-spans it is necessary to investigate replacement decisions. In Chapter Five, ‘Understanding Replacement Behaviour and Exploring Design Solutions’, Nicole van Nes reports on qualitative and quantitative research aimed at a better understanding of replacement decision making. Van Nes argues that people’s motives for replacing goods are diverse but in essence what they want are well-functioning and up-to-date products that meet their changing needs. She suggests that this will require the development of products that are dynamic and flexible and proposes strategies that include designing products for reliability and robustness, repair and maintenance, upgradeability, product attachment and variability, illustrating these through practical examples. Chapter Six, ‘Adjusting our Metabolism’, by Alastair Fuad-Luke, discusses the emergence of a new movement of ‘slow activists’ and its implications for design. Fuad-Luke examines ‘slow design’ activities and considers how slowing the metabolisms inherent in product:user relationships might generate improved relationships and experiences for the user while helping to create positive social, environmental and economic change. He concludes that slow design and co-design offer fresh approaches for revitalizing thinking about

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product life-spans and novel ways of designing, making and producing that could encourage new visions of enterprise and improved human flourishing. In the final chapter of this part, ‘Durability, Function and Performance’, Walter Stahel explores the potential for product durability and longevity as economic objectives in a ‘functional service economy’ focused on selling performance. He argues that the traditional industrial economy, is focused on producing goods for sale and in such an economy producers operating in saturated markets may regard durability as an undesirable quality, as it represents an obstacle to replacement sales. By contrast, in a functional service economy product ownership remains with supply-side actors, which will provide an economic incentive to the prevention of waste. Producers will exploit the existing stock of goods in order to make more money with less resource input. Meanwhile the ‘consumer’ becomes a ‘user’ as ownership is replaced by stewardship. The third part of the book, Public Policy and Product Life-Spans, reviews the current state of legislation in the United Kingdom relating to product lifespans and considers a range of measures that governments might take in order to encourage product longevity. In Chapter Eight, ‘Durability and the Law’, Cowan Ervine explores the contribution which the law makes to the durability of goods. He argues that it has become clearer that durability is a characteristic consumers may expect from goods as a result of an amendment in 1994 of the law relating to the quality standards implied in contracts for the supply of goods. He notes, however, that the limited case law on the reform does not suggest that in practice it has made a dramatic difference. The chapter’s main focus is the role of contract law in relation to durability, although Ervine also addresses the role of tort law and safety legislation. In Chapter Nine, ‘The Law on Guarantees and Repair Work’, Christian Twigg-Flesner analyses the law relating to guarantees and repair work. Although recent legal changes have the effect of introducing repair as a consumer right, its availability is restricted and consumers are more likely to be given a replacement or refund when goods are faulty. If a product is under a guarantee consumers may ask for a repair, but there is no legal requirement to provide a guarantee nor to include repair as one of the remedies offered. Twigg-Flesner argues that obtaining repair is made difficult by the absence of any legal requirement on a retailer or manufacturer to stock spare parts or

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to make available appropriate servicing facilities. He concludes that the law on repair work is unsatisfactory and examines the approach taken in other jurisdictions in considering possible ways forward. The next chapter, ‘Policies for Longevity’, by Tim Cooper, addresses possible options for governments to promote increased product longevity, most of them applicable to any industrialized nation. The case for public policy intervention to optimize product life-spans is based on potential benefits to the economy, the environment and consumer satisfaction. Cooper argues that the policy measures necessary to transform a throwaway culture have not been introduced because it has hitherto been politically expedient for governments to succumb to the electorate’s apparent desire for more (and newer) consumer goods. He presents a framework within which to assess specific measures to encourage longer lasting products and, drawing upon policies advocated by past and present critics of planned obsolescence, proposes a range of potential regulatory, market-based and voluntary measures. The fourth part comprises three chapters on Marketing Longer Lasting Products. Chapter Eleven, ‘Rethinking Marketing’, by Ken Peattie, sets the context by proposing that the quest to develop longer lasting products will demand changes in how people think about marketing. Although marketing has been under pressure to become more environmentally orientated, materially efficient and sustainable for most of the last 20 years, the conventional marketing paradigm has proven resilient, acting as a barrier to change. In order to progress towards a more sustainable economy, it is necessary to address systems of consumption and production, which are driven in part by the management discipline of marketing. Peattie concludes that what is needed is a new, sustainable marketing paradigm. In order to select products with life-spans that are environmentally optimal and appropriate for their requirements, shoppers need to be adequately informed about the design life of their prospective purchases. The findings of a research study that assessed the quality of information on product life-spans available in retail environments are presented in Chapter Twelve, ‘Marketing Durability’, by Tim Cooper and Kirsty Christer. The study included visits to retail outlets that revealed few specific examples of life-span labelling but uncovered a variety of means by which consumers might predict the durability of products. A review of information available on the design life of 10 types of product was undertaken and an assessment made of the potential value of lifespan labels. Cooper and Christer’s conclusion is that the quality of information

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on product life-spans currently available is inadequate. They propose a range of measures to address this, including an increase in life-span labelling. As consumer societies have evolved over the past century, many products have been sold less on the basis of their functional characteristics alone and more on the strength of an image, association or lifestyle preference. A shift towards longer lasting products would demand a reappraisal of this trend and require marketers to identify strategies by which to promote products on the basis of durability. Chapter Thirteen, ‘Can Durability Provide a Strong Marketing Platform?’, by Dorothy Mackenzie, Tim Cooper and Kenisha Garnett, presents a range of marketing platforms through which the durability of products could be highlighted as a positive attribute. These would need to be attractive to consumers in order to add to brand strength. The authors identify some potential risks and opportunities in adopting such a strategy. The fifth and final part addresses Product Use and Reuse from a variety of perspectives. In Chapter Fourteen, ‘Consumer Influences on Product LifeSpans’, Siân Evans and Tim Cooper present results from research on the influence of consumer behaviour on the life-span of three types of household product: everyday footwear, large household appliances and upholstered chairs. Their findings demonstrate that consumers exert considerable influence upon product life-spans but reveal substantial differences in behaviour between the three types of product and across the different stages of consumption. Evans and Cooper classify factors affecting consumer behaviour and create a theoretical framework within which to explore the influence of consumers in order to identify barriers to optimizing product life-spans from a consumer perspective and propose possible solutions. In contrast with the previous chapter, Chapter Fifteen, ‘Product Life Cycle Management through IT’, by Matthew Simon, focuses on the potential role of technology in optimizing product life-spans. Simon describes a research project which sought to explore some technical, economic and social aspects of life cycle management, an element of producer responsibility, and draw conclusions on its future. Life cycle management enables producers of electrical and electronic products to intervene to educate users, persuade them to behave in a particular way, monitor products and their usage, advise consumers on positive action and receive their feedback. Results from two project trials are used to illustrate the potential value of product life cycle information, both for understanding user behaviour and aiding repair and design.

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The focus of Chapter Sixteen, ‘There are Times and Places’, by Janet Shipton and Tom Fisher, is on the reuse of packaging by consumers. Shipton and Fisher use the findings of a research study to explore how ideas, actions and objects together result in the reuse of packaging items. Their study identifies examples of when and where this happens in people’s homes and draws out the principles behind reuse practices. These principles are then tested in practice as the basis for packaging design that may facilitate extending the life of packaging and thus reduce domestic waste. The final chapter, ‘Extending Product Life-Spans’, by Anthony Curran, provides an overview of household bulky waste disposal and reuse activities in the UK and, specifically, the contribution made by furniture and appliance reuse to extending product life-spans. Curran considers different methods for discarding bulky household items and assesses the potential to increase the number of items diverted for reuse, with particular reference to the role of furniture and appliance reuse projects in the voluntary and community sector. He highlights the social dimension to reuse, noting that, while reuse helps to tackle increasing waste generation and virgin resource consumption, these environmental benefits are often regarded within the sector as secondary to the social benefits to volunteers employed by reuse organizations and low income households provided with essential furniture and appliances.

Part 1

Overview

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The Significance of Product Longevity

1

Tim Cooper

Abstract Consumption patterns across the industrialized world are widely considered to be unsustainable, not least because they demand an excessively fast throughput of materials and energy. It follows that sustainable development will only be possible if the throwaway culture is challenged and there is an overall increase in the life-span of products such as vehicles, appliances, furniture, clothing and footwear. This introductory chapter traces the origins of the debate on planned obsolescence and identifies a recent revival of interest in the lifespan of consumer products: their longevity. After providing a conceptual and theoretical overview, it reviews the many influences upon product life-spans, the case for (and against) longer lasting products, and possible implications of an increase in product longevity for industry and consumers. Although the intrinsic durability of products is the result of design and manufacturing decisions, product longevity is also influenced by consumer behaviour such as the discarding of functional items. Progress away from a throwaway culture thus requires change across society: in public policy, design and marketing strategies, consumer attitudes and behaviour, and socio-cultural norms.

Introduction Consumption is rapidly changing as increasing numbers of people throughout the world strive to acquire the ever-greater number and range of products that are available. Some of these products are less environmentally destructive than in the past: they are more energy efficient, easier to recycle or contain fewer



Longer Lasting Products

toxic materials. One attribute, however, has improved little, if at all. Few of today’s products will last longer than those of an earlier era. A century ago most products were designed and manufactured to last as long as possible within the prevailing constraints of cost and technology; nowadays this is less often true. Some observers blame producers faced with saturated markets and under pressure to generate replacement sales for ‘planning’obsolescence into products. Planned obsolescence, the outcome of a deliberate decision by suppliers that a product should no longer be functional or desirable after a predetermined period, remains entrenched in industrialized economies despite criticism over many years (e.g. Packard 1963; Papanek 1972; OECD 1982; Cooper 1994b, 2004; Kostecki 1998; Slade 2006). It takes a variety of different forms. For example, companies may seek to reduce prices by cutting production costs even though they are aware that this will require compromises in quality (as in the case of budget range household goods and goods sold by discount retailers). Such products, in particular, may lack the potential for repair. Producers use changes in fashion to encourage consumers to replace functional items (for example, watches, spectacles and clothing accessories) and, in the market for consumer electronics, in particular, exploit technological developments to the same end. Many items formerly available only as consumer durables are increasingly sold in ‘disposable’ form on grounds of convenience or hygiene (examples being disposable pens, razors, tableware, nappies and single-use cameras). Even so, consumers are at the very least compliant. Many products that still function are replaced in order that their owners can obtain a pristine new item in the latest style or with the most advanced function (Campbell 1992; Cooper 2004). The likely life-span of the replacement is often not considered by consumers to be a major concern. Although there is often no shortage of high quality products with potentially long life-spans, many reasonably affluent consumers are unwilling to pay a premium price for such items, preferring instead to use the money thereby ‘saved’ to purchase other goods and services. The outcome of such a throwaway culture is that the current throughput of materials and energy in industrialized economies is unsustainable. Although many countries have achieved a relative decoupling of materials and energy use from gross domestic product in recent years, resource use remains  

Obsolescence is defined as ‘to fall into disuse’. Gross domestic product, or GDP, is a measure of a nation’s economic output.

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undiminished in absolute terms and the relocation of resource intensive industrial production to developing countries means that many environmental impacts are merely being exported (European Environment Agency 2005). It has been estimated that the equivalent of three planets would be required to provide the necessary resources if people throughout the world had lifestyles similar to those in a country as affluent as Britain. These environmental impacts are varied. As consumption has increased, not least in countries such as China and India whose large populations increasingly aspire to lifestyles observed in the industrialized West, resource scarcity has reemerged as a potential threat to future generations (Gordon et al. 2006). The growth in global consumption also has implications for climate change, because consumer goods ‘embody’ carbon, the energy used for their manufacture and distribution being mostly sourced from finite fossil fuel supplies (Kejun et al. 2008). Finally, discarded products provide a legacy of waste which first has to be transported and then either landfilled or managed through recycling or energy recovery, the latter processes having negative environmental impacts even though preferable to landfill (Cooper 1994b). This opening chapter commences with a short review of the historical debate on product life-spans. Different meanings of ‘product life’ will then be discussed and, following a discussion of the economic context, some causes of obsolescence identified. Arguments in favour of increasing (and, exceptionally, reducing) product life-spans are examined with particular reference to potential implications for industry and consumers. The focus of the chapter is on four types of product:



•

large consumer durables (including vehicles) that have a substantial impact on the environment due to their volume and weight

•

consumer durables that have unnecessarily short life-spans due to design decisions relating to fashion, technology or reparability

•

short-lived products of low quality that, while relatively cheap, represent poor value for money

•

disposable products that are purchased primarily for convenience.

This has led to the development of the concept of ‘One Planet Living’ by WWF-UK and BioRegional. See http://www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet/ophome.asp



Longer Lasting Products

Emerging Debate The emergent debate on product life-spans is beginning to raise important questions about the future nature of products and services in a sustainable economy. How much does product longevity matter in relation to other environmental concerns? If products are increasingly scrutinized for their environmental impact and improved, should consumers perhaps be encouraged to replace ageing products that may be inefficient in energy use or contain toxic materials? Would there be negative implications for the economy if consumer durables were to last longer, such as lower incomes and increased unemployment? Public discussion surrounding product life-spans has historically centred on the concept of planned obsolescence. This debate first surfaced in America during the consumer boom of the 1950s, although it had been foreshadowed around 25 years earlier, during the Great Depression, when shorter product life-spans to be achieved by regular changes in style were advocated as a means of stimulating economic activity (Packard 1963; Slade 2006). The controversy was prompted by frustration among some industrialists at a perceived decline in the quality of products (Stewart 1959; Mayer 1959) and stoked by a popular critique of the consumerist culture by Vance Packard (1963), The Waste Makers, which also expressed concern at the environmental implications of planned obsolescence for resource use and waste. The debate faded but was renewed during the 1970s as fears grew concerning the threat of resource scarcity and rising levels of waste, culminating in an investigation by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This had a clear environmental motivation, its remit being to consider ‘the contribution that extended product life can make towards reducing the waste management and other environmental problems of member countries and towards savings of primary materials’ (OECD 1982: 7). Noting that it would be hard to obtain independent evidence of companies deliberately reducing the technical life-span of products, the report instead drew attention to the development of non-repairable and non-maintainable versions of durable goods (such as ballpoint pens and disposable razors) and examples of life-lengthening innovations that had apparently been suppressed by manufacturers (most notably, light bulbs). It also highlighted the influence of 

Strasser (1999) traces the public debate to an article published in Business Week in 1955 which referred to the widening application of planned obsolescence, from automobiles to other consumer goods. See also Footnote 18 below.

the significance of product longevity



consumers through their purchasing, retention and discard decisions. Having reviewed the state of theoretical and statistical research on product life-spans and noted its limitations, the OECD recommended that further research be undertaken on the macroeconomic effects and energy implications of longer product life-spans and on the potential benefits of significantly longer and more stringent warranties. It concluded that particular attention should be directed to automobiles due to the scale of resource throughput in that sector. Another significant development during this period was the emergence of a body of research which sought to explain why and how people dispose of products and their replacement behaviour (Jacoby et al. 1977; deBell and Dardis 1979; Hanson 1980; Box 1983; Bayus 1988; Antonides 1990; Harrell and McConocha 1992; Cripps and Meyer, 1994). This extended consumer behaviour theory beyond its traditional focus on purchasing and resulted in a greater understanding of the influences upon disposal behaviour and the development of typologies for disposal routes. One key finding was that while many products were purchased and used by a single owner until broken and irrepairable, others passed through various stages which affected their lifespans, such as being stored, lent, donated, sold or traded in. It also became apparent that owners’ decisions concerning their unwanted possessions were subject to a range of influences. Awareness of environmental threats grew throughout the 1980s, culminating in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 which raised sustainable development up the public policy agenda and, in its Agenda 21 report, explicitly recognized a need to address consumption in industrialized countries. This led to far greater attention being given to the environmental impact of consumer products, which in turn stimulated discussion on longevity in the context of sustainable design (Burall 1991; Fiksel 1996; Charter and Tischner 2001; Lewis and Gertsakis 2001; Vezzoli and Manzini 2008), the utilization of products (Stahel and Jackson 1993; Stahel 2010; Barbiroli 2008; Mont 2008; Weaver 2008) and waste reduction (De Young et al. 1993; Coggins 2001; Runkel 2003; OECD 2004; King et al. 2006; Eunomia et al. 2007). Eternally Yours, a network originating in the Netherlands, broke new ground in bringing together design researchers and specialists in life-span   

No evidence of subsequent research on the macroeconomic implications of longer product lifespans has been found, and only a few studies have been undertaken in the other areas. These included the nature of the product (and, perhaps, the replacement options), their personal characteristics and the situational context. The conference, popularly known as the Earth Summit, was attended by over 100 heads of state or government.



Longer Lasting Products

issues from a range of other disciplines (Van Hinte 1997, 2004; Muis 2006). In Britain the Network on Product Life Spans has continued the debate. A series of research studies have explored the design of products capable of meeting people’s changing requirements and products towards which users feel a long term emotional attachment (Van Nes 2003; Mugge et al. 2005; Mugge 2007; Chapman 2005; Van Nes and Cramer 2005, 2006; Odom et al. 2009). Interest in waste-related behaviour has continued (e.g. Barr, Gilg and Ford 2001, 2005; Barr 2007) and has included studies on second-hand markets such as car boot sales and eBay (Gregson and Crewe 2003; Ellis and Haywood 2006). Most recently, interest in planned obsolescence has resurfaced in the context of business ethics (Guiltinan 2009).

The Language of Life-Spans As in any discourse, use of precise terminology is important. The attribute of durability, alongside others (such as functionality, reliability, usability and aesthetic appeal), distinguishes consumer durables from other types of product. Durability is ‘the ability of a product to perform its required function over a lengthy period under normal conditions of use without excessive expenditure on maintenance or repair’ (Cooper 1994b: 5). It is a measure of how long a product will continue functioning as intended and withstand ‘wear and tear’ and decay (or, more technically, resist stress or force) before it develops a defect that is deemed irrepairable. A product’s longevity describes its life-span (or ‘lifetime’)10 and is thus a somewhat different measure, being partly determined by factors other than attributes formed through design and manufacture. These factors include user behaviour towards a product and wider, socio-cultural influences. Deliberate effort needs to be made to utilize fully a product’s potential life-span, through careful use, regular maintenance, repair, reconditioning (e.g. upgrading) and reuse of functional items (rather than disposal). Attempts to lengthen product life-spans, whether by improving intrinsic durability, influencing user behaviour or promoting wider socio-cultural change, are described as product life extension (Conn 1977; OECD 1982; Heiskanen 1996).  

See http://extra.shu.ac.uk/productlife/ A distinction is sometimes made in official statistics between ‘durables’ and ‘semi-durables’. The latter refers to items that typically last more than a year but a shorter period than products categorized as durables; they include clothing, footwear, household textiles, tableware, small appliances, games and toys. 10 The term lifetime is generally used synonymously with life-span (cf. Bayus 1998).

the significance of product longevity



A product’s life cycle is a related concept that is used in several different contexts. In the context of consumption it distinguishes the successive phases of acquisition, use and disposal. It is also used in a marketing context, to describe the tendency for specific products (or brands) to pass through a series of stages (development, market introduction, growth, maturity, decline), and in life cycle assessment, a technique used to calculate the overall environmental impact of a product from raw material extraction to waste disposal.11 There are several definitions of product life-spans that need to be distinguished (Cooper 1994b). A product’s ‘technical life’ is the maximum period during which it has the physical capacity to function. This upper threshold is rarely reached, either because repair or maintenance work is prohibitive in terms of cost and effort or consumers choose to discard a functional product for another reason. A more commonly used definition is ‘service life’, a product’s total period in use from initial acquisition to final disposal as waste. The term reflects the idea of products as physical objects that provide a ‘service’ to the user. The service life of products may either be calculated retrospectively, by measuring the life-span of items that have been discarded, or predicted, in which case there will be a degree of uncertainty due to the many variables that determine when an item is discarded by the final user.12 A third definition, the ‘replacement life’ of a product, is the period from initial sale to the point at which the owner purchases a replacement, regardless of whether or not the original product still functions, and is of particular relevance to retailers.13 Finally, the point at which maintaining a product becomes more expensive than replacing it is its ‘economic life’ (Heiskanen 1996; Kostecki 1998). The most appropriate unit for measuring product life-spans will depend on the type of product and its pattern of use (e.g. duration, frequency and intensity). The norm is years, but other units may be equally (or more) relevant for certain types of product. Thus operational cycles may be used for items such as washing machines, dishwashers or toasters in order to take account of intensity of use. Hours in use may be most relevant for light bulbs,14 while for

11 An emerging trend in life cycle assessment is also to address social impacts. 12 For example, consumers will have different attitudes to the level of expenditure on repair and maintenance that they consider reasonable, particularly when the residual life of a product is unknown. 13 The original product, if functional, may have been sold as a second-hand item, given away or kept as a spare. 14 Current industry practice for ‘long life’ bulbs is to assume a certain daily usage and label bulbs with the equivalent number of years.

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vehicles a combination of mileage (intensity of use) and age (years in operation) is generally used to determine resale value. Attempts to obtain data on product life-spans are fraught with difficulty. Simple functional tests to measure the technical life-span of products may not accurately reflect actual in-use conditions as it may be hard to simulate real situations. Accelerated functional testing15 could be used but is also subject to error. The service life of products is perhaps more relevant for government, industry and consumers but, again, measurement is not easy. Data obtained from consumer research, sales information or surveys of discarded products will relate to a historical situation and thus not necessarily be applicable to products currently on sale, the design of which may well have changed.16 Estimating a product’s life-span is especially problematic when a faulty product has been repaired. If, for example, after five years of service a prong on a garden fork breaks and is replaced and then, five years later, the wooden handle is damaged and replaced, providing five more years of service, how old was the fork at the time of disposal? The lack of product life-span data in the public domain, long recognized as a problem (Pennock and Jaeger 1957; Conn 1977; OECD 1982; Antonides 1990; Cooper 2004), is thus not surprising.17 Trends are uncertain. The review of international studies by the OECD (1982) found evidence that during the late 1960s and 1970s the average life-span of televisions and washing machine had increased while that of vacuum cleaners had decreased; it also noted significant variations between countries.18 There have been anecdotal claims in Britain of declining life-spans for various household appliances (March Consulting Group 1990; Market Transformation Programme 2005). Overall, however, a lack of published longitudinal data means that it is impossible to substantiate claims 15 Accelerated functional testing is a repetition or cycle test on a product that is performed under increased electrical, mechanical or thermal severity. 16 One method to estimate life-spans is to use survival rates by identifying the median for product survival from a benchmark year. Another is to use actuarial tables that identify the probability of a product of a particular age being discarded within the following year. Source data for such estimates may be derived from sales figures or self-reported figures from households (OECD 1982). 17 Increased government regulation of electrical and electronic waste has, however, led to studies in this sector (e.g. Cooper and Mayers 2000; Oguchi et al. 2008). 18 In the USA an early study by Pennock and Jaeger (1964) concluded that there appeared to have been an increase in the life-span of washing machines, cookers and refrigerators, although the increase was not statistically significant. Subsequent research which used this study as a benchmark (Ruffin and Tippett 1975) concluded that the average life-span of items purchased new had subsequently remained broadly unchanged but that there had been a decline in the life-span of items purchased second hand.

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11

that product life-spans have been falling; it would, in any case, be unwise to generalize.

The Economic Context The relationship between product longevity and the state of the economy has long been recognised. A recent historical study by Slade (2006) traced planned obsolescence, as a strategic goal, to events in the USA shortly before the 1929 stock market crash, when J. George Frederick, editor of Advertising and Selling, proposed the ‘progressive obsolescence principle’ whereby people would be encouraged to replace products that had not worn out.19 According to Frederick, people should be ‘buying for up-to-dateness, efficiency and style ... rather than simply for the last ounce of use’ (Slade 2006: 58). He was supported in such thinking by his wife, Christine, who promoted stylistic obsolescence in her highly popular book Selling Mrs Consumer. Such logic was soon applied to the economy as a whole. In 1928 investment banker Paul Mazur noted how ‘if what had filled the consumer market yesterday could only be made obsolete today ... that whole market would be again available tomorrow’ (Slade 2006: 60) and by the early 1930s designers Roy Sheldon and Egmont Arens were promoting ‘obsoletism’ as a ‘device for stimulating consumption’ (Slade 2006: 66). The expression ‘planned obsolescence’ first appeared in a pamphlet by Bernard London in 1932 entitled Ending the Depression through Planned Obsolescence which proposed government-imposed maximum product life-spans in times of widespread unemployment, at which point ‘people would turn in their used and obsolete goods to certain government agencies’ (Slade 2006: 75). In the midst of the Great Depression such sentiments appeared persuasive to many people and, indeed, the idea of obsolescence as beneficial to the economy has retained a degree of support. Thus in the latter part of the twentieth century planned obsolescence was regarded by some scholars as a means of enabling more efficient resource use (Grathwohl 1978)20 or the motor that drives the economy: ‘an engine of technological progress’ (Fishman et al. 1993). In the global recession that began in 2008, several governments introduced vehicle scrappage subsidies in order to increase car production and thereby stimulate economic growth.21 The relationship between product longevity and the

19 It was popularized rather later, in 1954, by designer Brooks Stevens. See Chapter 2 (Burns). 20 Grathwohl (1978: 340) argued that, in fields where technology was advancing, ‘for many products a short life policy would permit a reduction in excess quality.’ 21 See Chapter 10 (Cooper).

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economy has become more complex, however, as the debate has shifted in focus from concerns relating to product quality and value for money to waste generation and other environmental impacts, and is poorly understood. Government policy in industrialized countries such as Britain has sought to decouple economic growth (with, by implication, rising consumption) from environmental impacts, in part through measures to increase resource productivity (Cabinet Office 2001; Defra 2002, 2003, 2005). This demands a transformation from a linear economic model to a circular economic model (Pearce and Turner 1990; Jacobs 1991).22 Economic activity has historically been based on the linear model, which assumes at the outset of any production process that the Earth has an unlimited supply of raw materials and energy and, at the end, an infinite capacity to absorb pollution and waste. No such assumptions are made in the circular model, which thus requires that the throughput of materials and energy be minimized by optimizing product longevity, reusing or reconditioning products and their components, and recycling (alongside other measures such as increasing energy efficiency). The use of these ‘loops’ in the circular economy reduces environmental impacts by utilizing resources more fully (Stahel and Reday-Mulvey 1981; Stahel and Jackson 1993; Cooper 1994b; Stahel 2010), perhaps ultimately leading to a ‘cradle to cradle’ approach to resource use (McDonough and Braungart 2002).23 Recycling has long been used by governments as an indicator of their environmental commitment and is an important element in the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy. Despite this positive portrayal, however, recycling has negative environmental impacts that are not always fully recognized and as such offers only a ‘least bad’ solution to waste: Energy is consumed as waste products are collected, sorted, cleaned and separated into their constituent materials. Pollution is caused, both as a by-product of this energy consumption and, more directly, by materials reclamation processes. The subsequent manufacture and distribution of products made from re­cycled materials also has an impact on the environment. (Cooper 1994b)24 22 The extensive academic literature on ecological economics addresses this shift. 23 McDonough and Braungart’s ‘cradle to cradle’ model proposes that resources used should either be synthetic materials that have no negative effects on the natural environment and are used in continuous cycles (‘technical nutrients’) or organic materials that, once used, can be disposed of in any natural environment and decompose into the soil (‘biological nutrients’). Consequently there is no waste. 24 No pagination; the quote is taken from the front cover.

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13

The reduced throughput of materials and energy required in industrial economies thus demands a strategy which goes beyond recycling and includes longer lasting products (Conn 1977; Cooper 1994b, 2000; McLaren et al. 1998). In other words, resources need to be used as efficiently as possible before products reach the point of disposal. In proposing the ‘Factor Four’ principle, that resource productivity should be quadrupled to enable a doubling of wealth while halving resource use, Von Weizsäcker et al. (1997: 70) argued that ‘durability is one of the most obvious strategies for reducing waste and increasing material productivity.’ A circular economy is a prerequisite for sustainability but may not be sufficient if resource throughput remains high. Nor will sustainability be achieved if improved efficiency is offset by increased consumption: in the case of energy, for example, overall electricity consumption in the Netherlands rose over a 20-year period despite significant efficiency improvements to appliances (OECD 2002). A complementary approach would be to slow down the rate at which raw materials are transformed into products and the products ‘used up’, a process which has been described as ‘slow consumption’.25 The language of ‘slow consumption’ may be problematic for politicians and economists used to portraying increased consumption as a sign of success. Even ‘sustainable consumption’ is subject to different interpretations: some United Nations representatives have proposed that it means consuming differently but not less, whereas critics have argued that ‘green consumerism’ is inadequate and radical lifestyle changes are required. In other words, sustainable development demands both efficiency and sufficiency (Fuchs and Lorek 2005). Astrategy to promote increased product longevity would unite these contrasting approaches which, if applied alone, could be problematic (Cooper 2005). Greater efficiency through increased resource productivity will not adequately reduce the environmental impacts of consumption if it results in ‘green growth’ and the environmental gains are offset by the ‘rebound effect’ of additional consumer spending (Chalkley et al. 2001). Achieving sufficiency by restraining consumption and thereby slowing down the throughput of materials and energy may lead to an unmanaged decline in economic activity that reduces environmental impacts but also results in unemployment and other social injustices. A trend towards longer

25 The term, derived from the ‘Slow Food’ movement, was cited by Christine Ax in Charter and Tischner (2002) and subsequently explored in Cooper (2005). The ‘slow’ philosophy has been popularized by Honoré (2004). See Chapter 6 (Fuad-Luke).

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lasting products may prevent such problems, as seen in a simple model (Figure 1.1) described below: Increased product life spans, whether through greater intrinsic durability or better care and maintenance, may enable ... problems to be overcome by providing for both efficiency and sufficiency. They are a means by which materials are used more productively (i.e. the same quantity provides a longer service) and throughput is slowed (i.e. products are replaced less frequently). Meanwhile a shift to more highly skilled, craft-based production methods and increased repair and maintenance work would provide employment opportunities to offset the effect of reduced demand for new products. The model thus indicates that longer product life spans provide a route to sustainable consumption whereby reduced materials and energy throughput arising from eco-efficiency is not offset by increased consumption, while the economy remains healthy because products are carefully manufactured and maintained and there is less dependence on rising consumption for economic stability. (Cooper 2005: 55)

D R I V E R S

Efficiency

ECO-EFFICIENCY more productive use of materials and energy

INCREASED PRODUCT LIFE SPANS

‘Green growth’

Sustainable consumption

Sufficiency SLOW CONSUMPTION reduced throughput of products and services

Figure 1.1

O U T C O M E S

Recession

Product longevity as a means of integrating efficiency and sufficiency

Source: Cooper (2005).

Sources of Obsolescence The causes of inadequate product longevity in industrialized countries are complex. Obsolescence, when a product falls into disuse, has been categorized in various ways. Packard (1963) distinguished obsolescence of function, quality

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15

and desirability. He considered obsolescence of function, through which ‘an existing product becomes outmoded when a product is introduced that performs the function better’, to be acceptable. His criticism was reserved for obsolescence of quality, whereby through deliberate intent ‘a product breaks down or wears out at a given time, usually not too distant’, and obsolescence of desirability, whereby ‘a product that is still sound in terms of quality or performance becomes “worn out” in our minds because a styling or other change makes it seem less desirable’ (Packard 1963: 58–59).26 The OECD (1982) report differentiated between the influence of producers and consumers upon product life-spans. Describing the influence of producers, it argued that many technological improvements to products were minor and that cosmetic changes were used to encourage people to replace functional products, which it described as a form of psychological obsolescence.27 Noting that these strategies were reinforced by advertising, it contrasted this with the failure of producers to provide equivalent marketing information on product durability. The OECD’s criticism was not only aimed at producers, however. Its report noted that ‘it is the replacement of adequately functioning goods by consumers that causes the waste, rather than the production of the goods’ (OECD 1982: 25). Thus it also described the influence of consumers upon product lifespans through their behaviour, such as their responses to prices (specifically, the cost of repairs in relation to replacement), comparisons made between their possessions and those of neighbours, and their reactions to cosmetic changes in design and to special offers (including trade-in allowances). Clearly a range of typologies for obsolescence are possible. Cooper (1994b) summarized the key influences on product life-spans as fitness,28 function and fashion, while Heiskanen (1996) categorized obsolescence by failure, dissatisfaction (as a result of the improved quality of new products, new styles and fashion) and changes in consumer needs. Kostecki (1998) took a different approach, classifying determinants of durability, rather than obsolescence, and distinguishing the functional, economic and symbolic. Cooper (2004) drew attention to technological, psychological and economic obsolescence (Figure 1.2). Van Nes and Cramer (2006) identified a typology for replacement motives, which consisted of wear and tear, improved utility (safety and economy in use), 26 Packard also used the term ‘psychological obsolescence’ to describe obsolescence of desirability. 27 Strasser (1999: 192) argued that Packard oversimplified the distinction between style and technological advance: ‘In practice, stylistic and technological obsolescence have gone hand in hand throughout the twentieth century.’ 28 A product is ‘fit for purpose’ when it functions as would reasonably be expected by users.

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Figure 1.2 Forms of relative obsolescence Source: Cooper (2004). improved expression (comfort in use and design or quality concerns) and new desires. In short, there is no definitive typology of the causes of obsolescence, which are complex and interrelated. In exploring the sources of obsolescence an expedient starting point is to distinguish factors relating to the product, the consumer and the situational context (including the economic and socio-cultural system). These are addressed briefly in turn below. An important distinction to make is between the failure of a product to function, absolute obsolescence, and the falling into disuse of a functional product, relative obsolescence.29 Absolute obsolescence occurs when a product reaches the end of its technical life because its durability is expended and it is no longer able to withstand wear and tear from use, perhaps because of

29 There is not always a clear distinction, however, as owners make subjective judgements concerning whether broken products are repairable and worn products are suitable for reconditioning. For example, they (subconsciously) estimate and compare the performance/ cost ratio for repair or reconditioning with that for replacement.

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17

material degradation.30 A product’s durability will depend on the materials used, the quality of design, manufacture and assembly, process quality (e.g. consistency), ease of maintenance, reparability and, perhaps, upgradeability. Although these result from decisions made by manufacturers, they will also be influenced by the market structure and conditions, including consumer demand and, perhaps, the mode of supply (i.e. rental or sale). Once in use, a product’s durability may also be influenced by its operating environment (due to the potential impact of moisture, light or heat) and by how intensively and carefully it is used (including any necessary maintenance and the use of related consumables such as fuel or water). Relative obsolescence occurs when a functional product is discarded, at which point ‘discretionary replacement’ may take place. Rational choice theory might suggest that owners carefully apply objective cost-benefit considerations linked to product functionality in making such decisions, but in practice a multitude of influences are likely to be involved. Little research has been published on the influence of consumers upon product life-spans. Although the OECD (1982) uncovered evidence that people’s age and life stage (e.g. marital status and age of children) influence product retention rates,31 Evans and Cooper (2003a, b) found that demographic and socio-economic variables offered only weak explanations for behaviour relating to product life-spans and concluded that psychological variables are more important.32 People became aware that they were dissatisfied by a product, perhaps because it had lost its initial symbolic or esteem value33 or its aesthetic attraction, or no longer needed it. Consumers’ decisions to replace functional products are often prompted by new product development. The styling of many consumer durables changes frequently, often incrementally but sometimes in a more substantial transformation. Functional attributes may change as a result of advances in technology or new manufacturing capability. As a consequence, existing products may be considered inferior to new models that offer additional features (perhaps incorporating increased information or communication capability), greater reliability or improved energy efficiency.34 30 For example, rubber dries and cracks, iron rusts and wood rots. 31 The evidence indicated a positive correlation, one explanation being that items such as washing machines were used more intensively in younger households. 32 See Chapter 14 (Evans and Cooper). 33 Its ability to meet needs relating to the owner’s self-image. 34 One of the aims of marketing is to change owners’ perceptions of their possessions in relation to newer models (Bayus 1988).

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Lastly, the situational context has an important influence upon consumers’ decisions at each stage in the consumption process: acquisition, use and disposal. The situational context includes the home setting, and economic and socio-cultural influences, notably the effect of market forces and social norms. Moving house, for example, particularly to one of different size, may prompt a clear-out of unwanted or unsuitable items. Product prices are established through the market mechanism. The original and replacement cost of products, together with the rate at which products depreciate in value over time (and thus any second-hand value), will influence the point at which owners consider them no longer worth maintaining.35 The rate of depreciation over time will depend, in part, on the nature of the product: products subject to technological change are liable to depreciate rapidly, whereas good quality furniture may not depreciate and, indeed, may appreciate in value over time. Other economic factors that influence consumers’ decisions include the running costs of vehicles and appliances (notably fuel or energy) and, in the event of faults arising, the cost of repair in relation to replacement. As prices for many consumer durables have fallen in real terms due to reduced manufacturing costs, replacement has become increasingly attractive. Market mechanisms are often flawed, which has an impact on product lifespans. For example, short-lived products are relatively cheap because the cost of managing the waste that they create when discarded is not properly reflected in prices but is ‘externalized’.36 Market structures, too, may affect product lifespans. Much research has been undertaken by economists on whether there is any connection between the degree of competition in a market and product life-spans, although such studies have been criticised for using unrealistic theoretical assumptions (Waldman 2003). Some have concluded that the more concentrated (and thus monopolistic) the industry, the greater the incentive to manufacturers to reduce product life-spans, while others have argued that manufacturers would instead increase prices (OECD 1982; Heiskanen 1996). The OECD concluded that the weight of theoretical evidence supported the former link, between market concentration and product longevity, noting that, in practice, most producers of consumer durables operated in concentrated markets and were therefore able to influence product life-spans. 35 Many people have a strong preference for products that are new and are willing to pay a premium for ‘virginity value’. This is reflected in the rapid depreciation in the price of some types of product: the value of a car, for example, may drop by 50 per cent after the first three years of use even though this may represent barely 25 per cent of its expected life-span. 36 Such costs are paid through local taxation indiscriminately rather than in proportion to the amount of waste that individual households create.

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There is no equivalent body of research that has specifically explored the implications for product longevity of socio-cultural influences and trends, although several disciplines (notably sociology, anthropology, human geography and design history) have offered significant insights. Important contributions include the ‘cultural theory of expendability’ discussed by Whiteley (1987), who traced the origins of ‘style obsolescence’ in Britain in the 1960s and sought to explain its public acceptance, and the ‘desire for the new’ proposed by Campbell (1992) as a means of understanding modern consumerism. Sociologists have made an important contribution to understanding the use phase of consumption in recent studies of ‘ordinary consumption’, exploring the significance of behaviour as an outcome of subconscious decisions and habit rather than conscious reflection (Gronow and Warde 2001) and of repair, reuse and second-hand markets (Gregson and Crewe 2003; Watson 2008).37 The significance of the socio-cultural dimension to product longevity has been highlighted by Gregson et al. (2007: 682), who argue that to understand the increasing amount of matter being turned to waste it is necessary to consider the social relations of family and home and have ‘a focus on love relations and mobility, and not on the trajectories of things themselves.’

The Case for Longer Life-Spans The case in favour of promoting increased product longevity is primarily based on potential environmental benefits, although there may also be economic and social gains, such as better value for money and more jobs in repair and maintenance, and greater consumer satisfaction. Increased product life-spans should slow the throughput of materials and energy, resulting in reduced use of finite resources, fewer emissions of pollutants (including greenhouse gases) and a smaller amount of residual waste to dispose as landfill. How has evidence of the importance of resource throughput emerged? As consumption rose through the second half of the twentieth century, reports such as The Limits to Growth (Meadows et al. 1972) warned that the growth in global industrial output, combined with other trends such as a rising global population, threatened to deplete the Earth’s finite reserves of raw materials. By the early 1980s, however, an economic recession was affecting the USA and Britain and such fears were widely dismissed, although they resurfaced in a report in Scientific American which warned that reserves of copper, nickel and molybdenum were below 70 years (Frosch and Gallopoulos 37 See Chapter 17 (Curran).

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1989). More recently, the rapid industrialization and growth of consumption in China and India has revived interest in future resource availability. A report from the US Academy of Sciences concluded that platinum, copper, zinc and other scarce metals are being rapidly depleted, raising a threat of rising prices (Gordon et al. 2006). Unsustainable consumption in Britain, the fifth largest economy in the world,38 is contributing to this global resource concern. Environmental impacts at the start of the life cycle of goods consumed in Britain are increasingly overseas due to the relocation of much of its manufacturing to low wage countries: around one third of the nation’s ‘total material requirement’ is imported (Defra 2002).39 At the end of their life cycle products become waste, of which only part is recycled. Even a decade ago almost 9 million tonnes (mt) of consumer durables were thrown away annually, including 2.6mt of cars and car parts, 2mt of furniture and carpets, 1mt of clothing and footwear and 1mt of electrical items (Biffa 1997); current figures will almost certainly be higher. The total throughput of materials arising from such consumption is even greater, as a tonne of waste at the consumer end of the waste stream typically requires the production of 5 tonnes at the manufacturing stage and 20 tonnes at the site of initial resource extraction (Meadows et al. 1992). The potential of increased product longevity to enable a reduction in the throughput of materials (and, by implication, energy40) requires further research. Any lengthening of a product’s life-span is likely to be matched by a proportional reduction in environmental impact in terms of resource use and waste generation (Conn 1977; Stahel and Reday-Mulvey 1981; OECD 1982; Box 1983; Van Nes and Cramer 2006; Eunomia et al. 2007).41 Increased product durability may also have negative environmental impacts, however, depending on how it is achieved (Sirkin and ten Houten 1994). For example, redesigning products for increased longevity may involve using thicker gauge surfaces or shells, adding diagnostic parts, using non-recyclable materials (e.g. composite, ceramics, certain plastics) or applying non-recyclable material coatings. Rethinking design may also demand a degree of creative experimentation and 38 World Bank data for 2007. The largest four economies were the USA, Japan, Germany and China. 39 The imported proportion was 686 million tonnes (mt) in 1999. Over the previous two decades it rose substantially, from 469mt in 1981, reflecting the growth in manufactured imports. 40 The products’ embodied energy and energy associated with distribution. 41 Thus in the case of a 20 per cent increase in longevity (from, say, 10 years to 12 years), the environmental gain would be 20 per cent of the initial impact (Van Nes and Cramer 2006). In practice, the impact of reduced waste on secondary material markets may complicate this equation.

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risk, which may lead to products that are less standardized, some of which may prove unsuccessful and short lived. More controversially, maintaining old energy-using products such as vehicles and appliances may prevent material waste but involve inefficient energy consumption. In such cases it is appropriate, therefore, to configure the debate around the potential for optimizing, rather than maximizing, product life-spans (Cooper, 1994b; Chalkley et al. 2003; Van Nes and Cramer 2006).42 In the case of energy-using products, the potential for a trade-off between longevity and energy efficiency has led to a degree of controversy. Improvements in energy efficiency have been used to justify and, indeed, promote the replacement of functional items, despite the implied increase in waste. Supporting evidence has come from life cycle assessment (LCA) studies which indicate that, for many such products, more energy is consumed during the use phase than in their production, distribution and disposal. An early study, on washing machines, concluded that ‘for nearly all environmental impact measures, replacement with a more efficient model would seem to be clearly preferable to increased longevity’ (UK Ecolabelling Board 1992: 36). Although certain aspects of its methodology were suspect,43 the conclusion proved influential in government and industry.44 Several more recent studies have similarly argued that old appliances should be replaced in order to gain the benefit of more energy efficient models (Chalkley et al. 2003; Rüdenauer and Gensch 2006; Stamminger 2006). The wisdom of such a strategy is questionable. The possibility of further improvements in energy efficiency means that product replacement is not necessarily beneficial, because it locks purchasers into the prevailing technology (Heiskanen 1996; Consumers International 1998; Chalkley et al. 2003). Moreover, energy-use improvements in new products may be offset by other changes. In the case of vehicles, for example, additional features such as electric motors (for windows and sunroofs) added weight, negating many of the gains in basic fuel efficiency (Nieuwenhuis 1994). Similarly, the purchase of new energy-efficient refrigeration equipment may not result in reduced energy consumption if its capacity is larger than the item replaced or the old equipment is retained and kept in operation (Strandbakken 2009). Academic evidence remains rather inconclusive. For example, research suggests that shorter replacement intervals

42 See Chapter 2 (Burns). 43 The analysis excluded the impact of raw materials extraction and assumed, rather optimistically, that a washing machine typically lasts for 14 years (Cooper 1994b). 44 See Chapter 10 (Cooper).

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for vehicles result in lower emissions of air pollutants but increased carbon dioxide emissions and energy use (Spitzley et al. 2005). In the case of appliance reuse, there are social benefits in the form of employment, but environmental benefits may be marginal (Truttmann and Rechberger 2006). They are sensitive to the efficiency of the appliance and future intensity of use (Dewulf et al. 2005; Devoldere et al. 2009) and depend on whether comparisons are made with high performing appliances or the lower quality appliances with which they are liable to compete (Bröhl-Kerner 2008). In summary, there is a strong prima facie environmental argument in favour of longer lasting products. In the case of vehicles and appliances, however, the optimum life-span will depend on the technological trajectory for future improvements in energy efficiency and any changes, such as increased weight and capacity, need to be taken into consideration in the replacement decision. More research is needed to understand the likely impacts on the economy, although increased after-sales services, being labour intensive, would provide additional employment in the domestic economy and there may be net benefits to the overseas trade balance. Evidence of consumer dissatisfaction with appliance life-spans (described below) suggests that an increase in longevity in this product sector would offer further benefits; the same is probably true for other products. If an increase in product longevity is to be proposed as a strategic goal, the implications for industry and consumers need to be addressed.45 For example, is industry likely to respond to the challenge of producing longer lasting products without government involvement or increased demand from consumers? Would consumers be willing to pay more for such products if they had access to better information on their anticipated life-spans?

Implications for Industry It has long been apparent that there are a multitude of pressures on manufacturers and retailers to produce and sell short-lived goods (Gabor and Colombo 1981; Cooper 1994a; Weaver 2008). Market research suggests that price is the primary consideration in most consumers’ purchasing decisions. In response, retailers often strive to meet price points,46 which may lead to incremental reductions 45 The implications for government are addressed in Chapter 10 (Cooper). 46 Price points are incremental levels at which demand is relatively high, usually reflecting the psychological effect of any increase in price (e.g. from £99 to £100).

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in product quality as manufacturers seek to reduce production costs. Premium quality ranges are available for most consumer durables but, in general, only a small proportion of consumers are both able and willing to pay the higher prices charged for such products. Another pressure on companies operating in saturated markets (the norm for many consumer durables) is their dependence on replacement sales. This may lead them to use design and marketing strategies that encourage consumers to discard functional products, thereby accelerating the replacement process (Bayus 1988). As noted above, some economists argue that in monopolistic markets a strategy to reduce product life spans is a rational approach to profit maximization. What is the prospect for a countervailing pressure upon companies, towards increased longevity? One potential influence is producer responsibility legislation, which has led manufacturers and retailers of vehicles and electrical and electronic appliances to pay greater attention to the use and disposal phases in the product life cycle by making them responsible for discarded goods and establishing targets for recovery and recycling.47 The same approach is expected to be applied in due course to other bulky household goods such as furniture and floor coverings. Such legislation is not unattractive to industry in principle, as long as there is a level playing field, because recycling provides a ‘green’ image without threatening sales turnover. Indeed, sceptics have suggested that recycling is liable to be exploited as a ‘green’ tool to increase sales: ‘Recycling offers business an environmental excuse for instant obsolescence’ (Fairlie 1992: 280). An alternative, more positive, conclusion is that the increased attention given by companies to the use and disposal phases may lead them to seek to manage the life cycle of products more carefully and identify new commercial opportunities as they attempt to improve product performance (Westkämper et al. 2001; Stahel 2010).48 Another potential influence upon companies is the sustainable consumption and production agenda. A remarkable statement by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a coalition of leading international companies, appeared in a report on this theme: ‘Rather than planned obsolescence (a marketing approach which many feel has for too long held sway) the goal should be to achieve longer product life-spans by adopting strategies such as the design of upgradable and repairable products and the production of more durable goods’ (WBCSD 1996: 17). The next stage is to translate such a 47 Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (ELV) and Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). See Chapter 10 (Cooper). 48 For example, new or enhanced after-sales services.

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sentiment into practice, which may require a broader international consensus, with support from governments. According to the European Commission’s Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan, published in 2008: Retailers and producers are increasingly recognising sustainability as a considerable opportunity for their businesses to grow, compete and innovate. However, further effort is needed to reduce the environmental footprint of the retail sector and its supply chain, promote more sustainable products, and better inform consumers.49 To this end the Action Plan indicated that the Eco-Design Directive50 enables the Commission to enact implementing measures on the environmental aspects of products, among which is ‘extension of life-time’. In Britain, the Government’s sustainable development strategy similarly concluded that environmental policy should be an important driver of innovation and business competitiveness, and that innovation aimed at reducing environmental impacts ought to include ‘product design to minimise waste’ (Defra 2005: 44). The extent to which companies will respond to such political signals to develop longer lasting products with their own, voluntary initiatives or require government intervention remains to be seen. As noted earlier, in the case of most consumer durables a diverse range of products are available, ranging from those made relatively cheaply to others of premium quality that are intended for long life-spans. If sustainable development demands an overall increase in product life-spans, there need to be growth in premium share of the market. This suggests that industries need to explore how to promote higher quality products. Although such a trend may result in lower overall sales of new products, it should be possible for companies to maintain their profitability by providing higher ‘added value’ (reflected in premium prices) and offering enhanced after-sales services. This contrasts with the traditional business model of seeking to maximize sales (and thereby benefit from economies of scale) by competitive pricing, which may

49 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan {COM(2008) 397}. 50 Directive 2005/32/EC establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products. The Directive distinguishes ‘implementing measures’ from ‘binding requirements’.

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involve using relatively cheap factors of production in order to reduce costs and maintain profitability (Cooper 1994a; Kostecki 1998; Weaver 2008). Redesigning products and changing consumer preferences, as described above, may need to be underpinned by new business models that reshape the means by which consumers obtain products and services. Stahel and Jackson (1993: 288) have criticized the prevailing ‘fast replacement’ production system and propose that ‘commercial innovations are necessary to decouple the profitability of commercial enterprises from the throughput of goods for consumption.’ They suggest that the source of future company profitability should be the sale of services rather than products.51 Nieuwenhuis (1994: 170) has similarly speculated that in a more sustainable system ‘car producers might make their money not primarily by making and selling new cars, but by selling spares, repair and afterware through their dealer networks to keep their own products on the road for a long time.’ Such examples of reconfiguring the product-service mix represent a systems-based approach through which material throughput is reduced while the service provided is maintained (or increased) (Cooper and Evans 2000; Vezzoli and Manzini 2008). Despite growing public awareness of environmental problems over several decades, there have been few signs of any growth in consumer demand for longer lasting products. Companies have consequently been disinclined to adopt strategies to increase product longevity significantly. More effective government policies to encourage sustainable product design and prioritize waste reduction appear necessary in order to achieve such change.52

Implications for Consumers Consumers share responsibility for the prevailing throwaway culture in industrialized nations. Grathwohl (1978: 344) concluded ‘The market is least guilty of misprision and those who plan obsolescence are virtually innocent … The consumer is the real villain in our play; he or she seeks psychological enhancement and demands it from the market system.’ A more subtle approach is taken by Van Nes and Cramer (2006: 1308): ‘It is not an intrinsic characteristic

51 ‘Service’ in this context refers to the utility provided by a product’s functionality. For example, the service provided by a car is mobility and that of a washing machine is clean clothes. See also Kostecki (1998), Mont (2008) and Weaver (2008). 52 See Chapter 10 (Cooper).

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of the product that needs to be changed, but it is the behaviour of the consumer that needs to be changed through the product design.’ Consumer behaviour influences product life-spans in many ways. People’s purchasing choices (e.g. budget or premium range; new or second hand), the care with which they use products (including cleaning and other maintenance), the frequency and intensity with which products are used, and people’s decisions concerning whether to repair faulty products and when and how to dispose of unwanted products collectively have an impact (Consumers International 1998; Evans and Cooper 2003a, b). The significance of consumer behaviour is demonstrated by the number of discarded products that are still functional: between one quarter and one third in the case of appliances (OECD 1982; Box 1983; Cooper and Mayers 2000). The range of consumer durables available in most product sectors allows prospective purchasers to exert a degree of choice in terms of quality. Many may assume that premium range products are of higher quality and offer greater durability, despite a lack of firm evidence to substantiate this: there is often little information available about a product’s design life other than vague marketing claims or manufacturers’ reputations.53 It is not surprising, therefore, that surveys have indicated that consumers want more information on product life-spans (National Consumer Council 1989; Cooper and Mayers 2000). Such information is necessary for them to make appropriate choices. In order to judge whether products intended to have relatively long life-spans offer better value for money, for example, consumers need to know the anticipated cost per unit of service life provided, not simply the price. Although products designed for increased longevity are liable to be more expensive, consumers benefit if the extra cost is offset by a significantly longer service life: for example, a product that costs half as much again as another to purchase, but lasts twice as long, may be considered to represent good value for money.54 If a trend towards increased product durability resulted in higher prices, a reasonable assumption, important social issues would arise concerning affordability for less affluent households. Second-hand markets have historically benefited poorer consumers, while alleviating the guilt of those who discard functional appliances. Such is the ‘desire for the new’ that there is often a market surplus of unwanted second-hand items, particularly furniture, clothes and toys, which are consequently heavily discounted. The prospect of 53 See Chapter 12 (Cooper and Christer). 54 The significance of ‘service-life pricing’ is discussed in Fuller (1999: 303–11).

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more people being forced to buy second-hand may nonetheless be considered unacceptable. Moreover, if products are designed for increased durability and retained for longer periods, fewer items will be discarded and enter the reuse market and the cost of second-hand goods may rise. If such a situation arises, increased government support will be needed to help poorer consumers (Cooper 1998). What is the likelihood of a change in consumers’ attitudes and behaviour towards product life-spans? Most market research studies suggest that, for many consumers, durability is not a high priority.55 There is, however, a degree of dissatisfaction when products have unduly short life-spans, not least because ‘short term obsolescence of durable goods tends to inflate consumer expenditure without contributing to welfare’ (Jackson and Marks: 1994: 12). One study revealed consumers to be evenly divided over whether, in general, household appliances last long enough (Cooper and Mayers 2000). Detailed analysis revealed that women were more dissatisfied than men, and that women were more likely to be deterred from buying longer lasting appliances by price, whereas men were more concerned that such products are liable to become out of date (Cooper 2004). Changing consumer behaviour in order to progress towards sustainable consumption will demand greater understanding of the range of influences at work (Jackson 2005). Attitudes and behaviour towards consumer durables have changed over the past half century. Whereas consumer durables were once regarded as long term investments, nowadays many consumers replace such products relatively frequently. Attempts to influence this behaviour are liable to be criticized as moralistic or restricting consumers’ freedom. The belief that people have a virtually unlimited ‘right to consume’ is, however, increasingly questioned as a result of environmental concern, and the concept of ‘conscious’ or ‘responsible’ consumption is beginning to supplant that of consumer sovereignty (Hansen and Schrader 1997; Scherhorn 2005; Cooper 2008). A sign that people are willing to recognize boundaries beyond which consumption is considered unacceptable is their apparent willingness to accept ‘choice editing’ (Sustainable Consumption Roundtable 2006).56 It is quite possible, therefore, that attitudes and behaviour will change. In the short term, better point of sale information about product life-spans would raise the profile of the issue in 55 This observation is subject to uncertainty, however, due to the use of overlapping categories such as ‘quality’ and ‘durability’ in survey classification in some studies. 56 Choice editing refers to the pre-selection of products (and services) by government or retailers, who determine which are made available to consumers (e.g. retailers decide not to stock certain types of product on ethical grounds and governments set product standards).

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consumers’ minds and enable them to make better judgements. In the longer term, a shift towards slow consumption will demand a more profound cultural change in how society perceives, and responds to, the passing of time.57

Conclusion Consumption patterns across the industrialized world are unsustainable, demanding an excessively fast throughput of materials and energy. Sustainability will only be achieved if the prevailing throwaway culture in industrial countries is transformed and there is a shift towards longer lasting products. This will require a response across many sectors of society: such a trend will demand changes in public policy, design and marketing strategies in industry, consumers’ values, attitudes and behaviour, and socio-cultural norms. A review of the historical debate on product life-spans reveals different perspectives on the causes of the throwaway society and, indeed, whether it is problematic: some observers have concluded that planned obsolescence enables countries to escape economic recession or achieve technological advance. Most, however, have been critical. Early critics, who included industrialists as well as consumer advocates and academics, complained about poor quality products and value for money. More recent concern has focused on the link between short product life-spans and unsustainable resource throughput. While there is an emergent academic debate, cutting across several disciplines, a historical lack of research means that, overall, the knowledge base in the field remains weak. The economic system within which companies operate, based as it is on fast throughput and ever-increasing sales, currently offers few incentives to increase product longevity. This may change, however, as a result of growing political pressure to address excessive materials throughput, or competitive pressure to design less wasteful products and improve after-sales services. Consumers share responsibility together with government and industry for determining whether the throwaway culture persists, as they influence overall product life-spans through their purchasing choices, the extent to which they look after products and their decisions on repair and replacement. If they are 57 The Long Now Foundation, for example, aims to provide a counterpoint to what it views as today’s ‘faster/cheaper’ mindset and to promote ‘slower/better’ thinking (Brand 1999). See also Chapter 6 (Fuad-Luke).

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to contribute to a trend towards greater product longevity, however, they need better information on the intended life-span of products to enable them to judge which models offer best value for money. The new wave of interest in product life-spans in the context of debate on sustainable consumption and production provides an opportunity to reflect upon how to transform a throwaway culture. It would be a tragedy if governments, businesses and consumers ignored the potential for change.

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Part 2

Design for Longevity

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2

Re-evaluating Obsolescence and Planning for It Brian Burns

Abstract The end of a product’s life offers a measure of its success and failure, an opportunity to assess the value derived from utilization during its useful life against the costs of manufacture and use and against environmental and social impacts. Though the life expectancy of some products, such as the humble forged stainless steel dining fork, may seem unlimited, the end of a product’s useful life is an inevitable reality even if, in this case, distant. In cases involving fast-changing technologies, however, product obsolescence is often a major concern, particularly when the product costs and production volumes are high. This chapter explores this end-of-life state, commonly referred to under the umbrella of ‘obsolescence’, in order to understand its variations and implications, and to offer some means for more effective and sustainable product development.

Introduction Most people encountering the word ‘obsolescence’ might assume that the word ‘planned’ has either been omitted as a prefix or is simply an understood component. Obsolescence is, by and large, viewed with suspicion that the drive for profit has led manufacturing organizations to the manipulation of product life-spans, at the expense of the consumer and the environment. To some extent this chapter is a response to that perception, because there is little doubt that the longevity (and hence the value) gained from many products is less than socially and environmentally desirable (Kostecki 1998).

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A simple response might be to demand that all products last longer, perhaps indefinitely, much like traditional hand tools and utensils. After all, the world of antiques derives considerable wealth from well-made products that have usually outlived their original functional utility. Although much antique furniture, for example, retains its functional usefulness, many other antiques have long since become functionally obsolete, with their value no longer based on utility but on their craft, historic association, aesthetics and nostalgia. At the same time, many landfill sites today contain large quantities of ‘antique’ personal computer equipment that has outlived its technological utility, wasting the embedded value in the materials and the energy needed to create them in the first place, and negatively impacting the waste stream. The life-span of every product is complex, and dependent on a wide range of social, technological, economic and environmental variables. Increased product life-spans may well seem justifiable but, in some cases, a better defined, shorter life-span might be more appropriate. For example, a product within fastchanging fashion or developing technology may, through its design and styling, be perceived by the consumer to promise a long and useful life-span. However, its early obsolescence will commonly cause considerable dissatisfaction. In effect such a product is masquerading as a long life-span product, giving false expectations to the consumer, and could well be described as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ From the standpoint of cost effective design and manufacture in a cost competitive environment, simply proposing that products last longer, particularly in developing technologies, is an oversimplified response. Product obsolescence is inevitable and, to deal with this reality, we need to understand better its various guises. The following historic and evolved meanings of the word ‘obsolescence’ are provided in order to establish appropriate responses to an inevitable conclusion of life. The intent is for the factors affecting the life-span and end-of-life stage of any product to be respected so that its value and utility can be better optimized for the benefit of all. In other words, it is not simply to assume inappropriate ‘planned obsolescence’ but to plan for the inevitability of obsolescence.

Obsolescence The Latin origin of ‘obsolescence’ is based on two components: the verb ‘soleo’, meaning ‘to be in use’, and ‘ob-’, meaning ‘away’, turning the word in an opposite direction. ‘Obsolescence’ was generally used by the Romans to indicate

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something that was no longer useful or significant (Oxford English Dictionary 2000). The most common early usage referred to ‘dirty or worn-out clothes’ or to someone who wore them (Cassells New Latin Dictionary 1962). Cicero is said to have believed that res per vetustatem obsolescet (‘things go out of use with age’) (Thesaurus Linguae Latinae 1968–81). The implication of obsolescence was of a natural and inevitable failure; the end of valued and useful life – one that had been worn out. Two thousand years later, a value based simply on utility is insufficient. Technological change, economic forces, fashion trends, issues of repair, maintenance and durability, consumer expectations: all must be acknowledged as contributing to the many recognizable ways in which the obsolescence of a product occurs. The challenge is to identify these criteria for the benefit of manufacturer and user alike, and with due regard for the social, economic and environmental consequences.

Planned Obsolescence – the Early Days The industrial revolution of the mid-nineteenth century slowly led towards high quality production and performance in both Europe and North America, though for many years hand-crafted products were often held in far greater regard than their inferior industrially produced counterparts. Mass production technology in the USA in the early twentieth century became highly developed. The work of men like Frederick Winslow Taylor added considerable manufacturing science to the production capabilities of the previous era. Work Study and Time and Motion Study set standards for high quality production and, despite opposition and considerable concern over the resulting division of labour, and its social implications, raised the quality of both the working conditions and standard of living of many production workers (Kanigel 1997). However, as early as the mid-1870s the USA suffered the consequences of overproduction, with large amounts of unsold goods filling warehouses. As a result industry was frequently forced to suspend production. This condition continued in subsequent years until the late 1920s, when King Camp Gillette, the inventor of disposable razors, said: ‘We have the paradox of idle men, only too anxious for work, and idle plants in perfect conditions for production, at the same time that people are starving and frozen’ (Slade 2006: 9). The nation’s ability to manufacture highly developed and reliable products led to a situation so bad that, according to Slade (2006: 9), Gillette described overproduction as

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‘America’s most troubling social evil’. Commerce and industry saw the need for new marketing strategies to stimulate mass consumption, and the foundations for branding, creative marketing and advertising were laid. The 1930s and the two decades following World War II saw considerable political and economic turmoil in the world. In the USA the manipulation of product obsolescence was seen as a means to revitalize an ailing economy. The aim was to encourage new product ideas, remove any potential for economic stagnation and enable workers to earn money to buy new products. With reasonably cheap and abundant resources and little concern for pollution, the environmental impacts were not apparent and the economy responded with sustained growth (Slade 2006). The most commonly cited early reference to the term ‘planned obsolescence’ is credited to Brooks Stevens, an American industrial designer, who is said to have put the words together without much prior thought for a talk at an advertising conference in Minneapolis in 1954 (Adamson 2003). Planned obsolescence was explained by Brooks Stevens as ‘Instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary’ (Adamson 2003: 4). Underlying this approach was Stevens’s belief that ‘regimentation of any kind is dangerous and borders on socialism and a low standard of living’ (Adamson 2003: 205). This set in motion the strategies to encourage consumption and appeal to the natural forces of consumer desire. It was thus the ‘style’ of the product, rather than reliability and performance, which were already strengths of manufacturing in the USA, which became the tool for much planned obsolescence. The notion of ‘this year’s model’ emerged (and is still in use) whereby, every year, mature and reliable products were typically given styling changes and offered on the market as new for the particular year. Thus in 1958, following long development, the Ford Edsel offered the culmination of every possible styling feature in the designer’s armoury. However, faced with fierce competition from its rival manufacturers, the Ford Motor Company had produced a car that, according to critics, had a ‘grill shaped like a toilet seat’ and styling that was already ‘out of date’. The reliability of the vehicle was completely lost in superficiality and over the three years of its production only 70,000 were sold, an economic disaster (Slade 2006). Nonetheless, this well-publicized tale did not herald change in industrial strategy. Indeed, another phenomenon began to grow: more and more disposable products were sold, offering increased convenience and comfort.

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Even in the growing prosperity of the 1950s, a period generally acknowledged as the beginning of the modern consumer society, there was some concern as to the social benefits of such consumptively extravagant strategies. However, once the public had been encouraged to ‘consume and throw away’, as part of the dream for peace and prosperity in that ‘infinite world’ many thought they were living on at the time, the ‘throwaway society’ was born. Among critics of this new American way of life, the most notable was Vance Packard. His The Waste Makers (Packard 1960) was often derided in the world of marketing but, significantly, it attempted to put a new perspective on the term ‘obsolescence’. Packard’s most profound differentiation came between what he called ‘psychological obsolescence’ and ‘functional obsolescence’. He felt that through psychological obsolescence the consumer was being falsely manipulated. The marketing world, often through Brooks Stevens, responded to his allegations by citing the need for shorter product cycles in manufacture, particularly in such areas as fashion clothing, domestic appliances and the automobile. Planning for durability was not a priority. Obsolescence in its earliest form, meaning to wear out, had evolved into the newly discovered use of psychological obsolescence, or ‘false obsolescence’, as a means to influence consumer spending.

Recent Thinking Many consumers today are affronted by the poor design and manufacturing that seems to lead to premature obsolescence and unsatisfactorily short product life-spans. However, it should not be assumed that such products are planned and marketed in continuation of the philosophy of Brooks Stevens and that all industry is engaged in a conspiracy of false obsolescence. Manufacturers and retailers will always wish to maximize sales; hence marketing strategies that promote over-consumption are still with us. A nation’s gross national product (GNP) does not carry a measure of environmental efficiency (Gadrey and JanyCatrice 2005). ‘In reality the Gross National Product is simply an index of the resources we have destroyed over the years’, wrote Gordon Rattray Taylor (cited in Papanek and Hennesey 1977: 65). The issues around obsolescence have become more complex since Packard’s observations, and more economically, socially and environmentally significant. To better understand current thinking it is first necessary to lay out some important influences.

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During the 1960s Bruce Archer undertook some notable work at London’s Royal College of Art, investigating how design is undertaken, and his groundbreaking research led to the development of a more responsible approach to the work of product design (Archer 1961). In subsequent publications Archer built on the review of value made most notable by Marx (1946) and asserted that, in principle, products have value because we think they do and for no other reason, and that it can be argued that our value system is based on the interdependence of function, fashion, association, utility, passion, history and other more subtle aspects of products (Archer 1974). The implication was that a more holistic view of the impacts of products must be taken, particularly new products. An appropriate product life-span must be determined and, to achieve this, a sound understanding of the diverse influences on the product’s inevitable obsolescence is essential. Packard (1960) addressed obsolescence through the modes of ‘function’, ‘quality’ and ‘desirability’. Archer (1974) simply but earnestly warned of the dangers of ‘artificial obsolescence’. Others over the years, including Cooper (2004), Grathwohl (1975), Heiskanen (1996), Kostecki (1998), Krupp (1977) and Slade (2006), have suggested such modes as ‘technological’, ‘economic’, ‘psychological’, ‘dynamic’, ‘financial’, ‘fiscal’, ‘shelf life’ and ‘functional’, the first three being generally favoured. In principle, if industry and government are to develop a more appropriate strategy to take account of the realities of obsolescence, it must provide a ‘win-win’ outcome for manufacturers and consumers and be driven by clear goals: reduced environmental impacts, consumer satisfaction, minimization of waste, appropriate fashion trends, emerging technological evolution, and social change. There is a danger that further analysis of the aforementioned modes could merely offer issues of semantic variance and become purely academic. The key is to determine a breakdown of obsolescence into modes upon which useful analysis can be undertaken to enable decisions to be made, by all concerned parties, which optimize product life-spans to mutual benefit. Over a period of some 30 years, the author has studied a range of products deemed by their owners to be obsolete, in an attempt to determine how that state came about (Burns 1981, 2003). Some were examined as they entered the waste stream, while others were still in the owner’s possession. They ranged from domestic appliances to travel goods, bathroom consumables to tools, calculators to computers, and automobiles to children’s toys. Each was reviewed to establish a useful breakdown of their modes of obsolescence. For many, no

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single mode provided a sufficient explanation, while some similar products became obsolete for differing reasons.

The Four Modes of Obsolescence While many terms were considered, four modes were identified which best covered all eventualities. The ‘technological’ and ‘economic’ modes previously suggested were seen to have considerable merit. Psychological obsolescence, though in some ways hinting at artificial manipulation, was judged to be too ambiguous, implying contrasting determinants of value between the attitudes of the consumer and the attributes of the product. It was concluded that this mode was best divided into two, ‘aesthetic’ and ‘social’ obsolescence. The four modes (‘aesthetic’, ‘social’, ‘technological’ and ‘economic’) were judged, individually and in combination, to best represent the products’ values and the interests of all concerned parties. Each is reviewed below, before consideration is given to their cumulative effects and how and when they can be beneficially utilized.

Aesthetic Obsolescence This mode is composed of two components. The first relates to appearance and is strongly rooted in the original Latin meaning and usage related to ‘wear and tear’. In this sense a product might become aesthetically drab, faded, dirty and worn out. Products used closer to our bodies, such as clothing (Figure 2.1), tend to be more sensitively viewed on aesthetic grounds. The more personal the product, the more it reflects the user and the higher the sensitivity, particularly if fashion is involved. In such cases it is useful not just to consider the ‘newness’ of a product, but its ‘useness’ – the state of the product once the ‘shine’ of newness has worn off. This characteristic is best exemplified the contrast between denim blue jeans, where a certain worn appearance is often seen to be desirable, and the dress suit or automobile, where a scuff or a scratch can be a major cause for concern. The second component relates to fashion and style, which are often closely interrelated. ‘Fashion’ is used here to mean a temporary mode of appearance or custom and ‘style’ to suggest form or appearance. There are many products subject to annual, seasonal or social changes for which fashion and style carry 

These included contrasting forms such as ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’, and ‘genuine’ and ‘false’.

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Figure 2.1

Longer Lasting Products

Aesthetic obsolescence – new, worn-in and worn-out fashion jeans

substantial significance in design. Fashion usually carries with it an aesthetic or style that, by definition, will be transient: what is ‘in fashion’ will inevitably one day be ‘out of fashion’. The threat of an inappropriate life-span is in a fully functioning product being discarded on aesthetic grounds based on fashion or style. Clothing is an obvious example, but there are others, such as avocado or moss green refrigerators or, more recently, white domestic appliances (which are no longer aesthetically desirable, superseded by the look of stainless steel): fashion changes!

Social Obsolescence This mode also has two components. From time to time, societies, nationally or globally, stop doing something: using the hula-hoop, for example, or, perhaps in the foreseeable future, smoking cigarettes. Now we seldom see Rubik’s cubes, ladies are far less likely to wear corsets and energy-aware gardeners are more likely to choose push-mowers in preference to the powered models. As a result, the products of that activity – ash trays (Figure 2.2) and cigarette lighters in the example above – are of no further value (except to a future antique dealer or a believer in their possible revival) and become obsolete. Such occurrences are more predictable than one might at first believe and the determinants of

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Figure 2.2 Social obsolescence – an ashtray such change are of particular significance. While some obsolescence can be seen as a response to a fad, in some cases the social response appears suddenly, perhaps after a period of pressure for change related to health or environmental awareness (Gladwell 2002). For example, greater health awareness seems to be leading to the cessation of several activities previously felt safe, not only smoking but also the use of uncoated aluminium cookware. The second component can be identified when laws or voluntary standards are issued and adopted, in order to create or maintain healthy social practices, and this brings about some obsolescence. This might take the form of ISO industry standards, which may initially be voluntary but often become law. In other cases regulation is used directly, as in the case of chlorofluorocarbons (cfcs) (formerly used as a coolant and insulator in refrigeration appliances) and many car safety measures. Changes in the law may be beneficial in developing appropriate obsolescence strategies although the process is often slow and it is difficult to legislate for future products that are, as yet, not made. Moreover, such laws are sometimes accepted only reluctantly, out of concern that local or national industries may 

International Organization for Standardization.

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become economically unviable. Consequently performance standards against which new products may be judged are more common, whereas laws tend to be made at a later date as a reaction to an observed influence on social or technological activity.

Technological Obsolescence Perhaps the most consistently identified mode of obsolescence in recent years, this occurs when a functioning product is made obsolete by a newer one due to technological change. The list of examples is virtually endless – from slide rules to calculators, gramophones to iPods, typewriters to computers (Figure 2.3). One of the most potentially costly considerations relating to product life is the danger of ‘over-designing’ products that, all too soon, are no longer wanted. The outcome of error is that much of the embedded manufacturing and material value is wasted, as fully functioning products are sent to the landfill. Making products last longer when the supporting technologies are fast changing may well create more waste, not less.

Figure 2.3

Technological obsolescence – successive modes of data transfer

In contrast, but equally significant, Packard (1960) suggested that technologies that may lead to longer lasting products are suppressed. As a

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contemporary example, it could be argued that the development of alternative fuelled vehicles is currently unduly slow, due perhaps to political influence, the vested interests of manufacturers or assumptions about the availability of oil. The role of technology in obsolescence is multifaceted. At one extreme, consumers might be overly encouraged to buy the latest products while, at the other, industry might face demands to make all products ‘backwards compatible’. Consumers may be frustrated by technological change when a type of product that traditionally worked for many years is now less robustly built and seen to change every year. Their frustration can cause considerable harm to a company’s image and reputation, in addition to the social and environmental costs, highlighting the importance of appropriate planning for products, whether in industries using new or mature technologies.

Economic Obsolescence This mode commonly occurs when repair, maintenance, reuse or upgrade is too costly to be justified by the manufacturer or the consumer. A typical example is the traditional sofa that is felt too expensive to re-cover, perhaps due to costly human labour or the availability of cheaper modern versions, and consequently abandoned (Figure 2.4).

Figure 2.4

Economic obsolescence – a sofa that was economically not worth recovering

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Market competition has in recent years encouraged products that are difficult to maintain, repair or upgrade due in part to the need for costcompetitive manufacturing methods. Commonly such products might even be marketed as ‘disposable’ when their predecessors were not; cameras and torches are obvious examples. Moreover, many consumers have become frustrated by the early failure of many relatively low cost electrical and electronic appliances for which repair work is not economically viable. Typically, such products are simply replaced under warranty and the faulty product thrown away. While such practices can be seen to be market driven and thus justified in economic terms, the social and environmental consequences are enormous and are, perhaps, the reason for much current concern for the negative effects of obsolescence.

Coping with the Four Modes Often in analysing the causes of obsolescence of the products reviewed several explanations were identified and so the issue was not ‘Does the rationale fit into this or that mode?’ but rather ‘Which modes best describe the rationale for obsolescence?’ The objectives of the exercise were not simply to identify the differing modes but to categorize them in a form that may help in determining appropriate product life-spans. Such categorization not only should offer social, economic and environmental benefits, but might also foster the development of appropriate standards and legislation towards those ends. Not surprisingly, it was found that most consumer products are influenced by or susceptible to more than one mode of obsolescence. Every product should therefore be evaluated, particularly during the design stages, against each mode of obsolescence in order to determine which is likely to be its ‘weakest link’. This could be instigated with a series of simple (yet in some cases unfamiliar) questions, perhaps as part of a wider environmental audit, related to:

•

the market in which the product will be placed

•

how long the customer might need the product

•

the product’s life expectation

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•

the expected price and cost of use or per use

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the product’s environmental impact throughout its life and upon discard

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the need for reliability and consequences of product failure

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the potential for technological change

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the maturity of the product and its market

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the likelihood of laws and standards changing

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the product’s maintenance requirements and potential for upgrade

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fashion cycles

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how the product will wear and how this might affect its life-span, and, of course,

•

if the product is needed at all.

There are many more questions that have implications for obsolescence, all of which could affect its value to the consumer, its cost to the manufacturer, its impact on the environment, and the need for standards and regulation. A different approach is needed for every product: whether a pencil or a computer, the obsolescence factors are diverse but generally identifiable. Increased complications arise as products become integrated into people’s lifestyles and as society evolves. Luxuries become necessities, new technologies mature and become interrelated, and decisions regarding the appropriate longevity of a product become compounded. As an example, it may well be possible to produce mature domestic appliances that could last for many years. However, as seen in recent years, increasing energy costs may influence the desired function and performance. To compound the challenge, though built-in appliances may be able to last (say) up to 20 years, if the kitchens are upgraded every 10 years many fully functional machines, albeit a little inefficient in energy use or aesthetically obsolete, will be prematurely discarded. At another extreme, the manufacture of products of great durability may well prove prohibitively

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expensive or unsatisfactory in some way: ‘A shoemaker could fashion a shoe that would last 100 years, but it would be hell to walk in’ (Yepsen 1982: 158). Though it may be possible to make, say, a domestic toaster that would last 100 years, is it worthwhile if liable to be outmoded by technological and social change? How do producers optimally provide the service of toasted bread to customers? Good obsolescence planning, planning for obsolescence, must take such issues into account to enable appropriate product development, user awareness, improved legislation and standards and, ultimately, optimized product life-spans.

Designing for the Future – Tools to Help In recent years life cycle analysis (LCA) has been used in many industry sectors to identify costs, waste and other environmental impacts, with considerable success. Following concerns over bias and accuracy, LCA practitioners are steadily building respected procedures for this relatively new tool and improving its accuracy and applicability, particularly in the manufacture and discard phases (Brissaud et al. 2006). If obsolescence characteristics are to be appropriately determined, however, it is during the use phase that value to the user and society must be maximized, and the symbiosis between product and user better understood. As LCA is more difficult to apply to this phase, a different approach is required.

User/Product Symbiosis Modern designers are subject to many forces that do not allow for the slow, careful crafting of an object over decades and generations. Most of today’s items are too complex, with too many variables, for this slow sifting of improvements. But simple improvements ought to be possible. You would think that objects such as automobiles, appliances, or computers, which periodically come out in new models, could benefit from the experience of the previous model. Alas, the multiple forces of a competitive market seem not to allow this.



In addition, material identification symbols are becoming more common and products that were once landfilled are being designed for reprocessing. In Europe this has been prompted by legislation linking products back to the manufacturer at the end of its life-span.

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One negative is the demands of time: new models are already into their design process before the old ones have been released to customers. Moreover, mechanisms for collecting and feeding back the experiences of the customers seldom exist. Another force is the pressure to be distinctive, to stand out, to make each design look different from what has gone before. It is the rare organization that is content to let a good product stand or let natural evolution perfect it slowly. No, each year a “new, improved” model must come out, usually incorporating new features that do not use the old as a starting point. In far too many instances, the results spell disaster for the consumer. (Norman 1988: 142–43)

In the 20 years since Norman wrote the above in The Design of Everyday Things little has changed. Indeed, for users and the environment, the situation could be said to have become considerably worse. Clearly, the role of the user cannot be ignored. While professionals are trained to understand products before use, ordinary consumers receive no training, relying on past experience and common sense, and are dependent on consumer protection and product safety legislation if they unknowingly misuse or mishandle products. Misuse or mishandling caused by the user’s lack of knowledge about how a product is supposed to be used, perhaps a consequence of removing users from any maintenance or functional engagement (as signalled in the advice: ‘Simply take it out of the box and plug it in’), may lead to prematurely short product life-spans. Appropriate involvement of the user with the product is essential. Perhaps the greatest current challenge to product designers is to offer formal clues or indicators that reflect appropriate longevity, environmental impacts, durability, use, repair and, finally, discard, particularly for electrical and electronic products. In the case of these products the user has largely been removed from such involvement. The automobile, too, was until relatively recently a product to be tinkered with by users. Now, through electronics and computer controls, users are largely excluded from potentially preventative and operational maintenance. This seemingly contradicts a primary goal of designers, to offer users appropriate levels of understanding and comfort with their products, as expressed through the following suggested design objectives: 

Originally entitled The Psychology of Everyday Things.

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Match Expectations – Respond to the need for appropriate communication about use and match the user’s preconception of function and operation, which is usually based on existing product norms and past experience. Minimize Embarrassment and Risk – Ensure that ‘failure’ in the user’s interactions with the product will not carry unfortunate consequences. Not to do so may result in a lack of user trust in the product, wrong actions being carried out, product breakage or, in the case of large machinery or high-powered equipment, physical injury. Respect Dignity – User interactions with the product should not require inappropriate physical or emotional ‘gymnastics’. When users turn their backs to a chair they are putting trust in it to be strong and comfortable enough to meet their desire to sit down. Similarly, they should not feel uncertain as to how to use any product. Maximize Satisfaction – Users should be as delighted as possible with the purchase and use of a product and, at the time of obsolescence, feel that they have extracted or received sufficient value for money, such that they would return to the same brand or manufacturer for their next purchase. These points, largely self-evident and well understood in the product design profession, mesh easily with the suggested modes of obsolescence and point to appropriate strategies for product development. However, individual products must be seen in a broader context. The vast array of everyday products that surround us today has been greatly influenced by the expansive economic strategies of the latter part of the twentieth century. Many of these products evolved, even matured, at a time when society’s objectives, particularly in North America, were not targeted towards sustainability. The concept of ecological footprints is worthy of consideration here: the world is finite (Wackernagel and Rees 1996). Although the need to develop products that are sustainable is now clear, the specifics are, as yet, ill-defined. If the intent is to create sustainable products, the fundamental underpinnings of the products themselves must first be questioned: A better economy, to my way of thinking, would be one that would place its emphasis not upon the quantity of notions and luxuries but

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upon the quality of necessities. Such an economy would, for example, produce an automobile that would last at least as long, and be as easy to maintain, as a horse. It would encourage workmanship to be as durable as its materials; thus a piece of furniture would have the durability not of glue but of wood. (Berry 1972: 122)

The Concept of Finite and Infinite World Thinking Is the bicycle a ‘finite world’ product? Is the automobile an ‘infinite world’ product? The traditional bicycle is made of identifiable sub-assemblies, usually of a single material. The user can inspect most components visually, tactilely and often audibly. The bicycle’s energy efficiency is renowned and fits well with finite world (or ‘one planet’) thinking, particularly in the field of transportation. That said, recent developments in technology have taken the traditional bicycle away from being based on a ‘kit of interchangeable parts’ towards the use of specific, unique components. This has long been the case for the automobile, the development of which, as a result, does not fit well with awareness of a finite world. A valuable challenge for obsolescence planning might be to review the use of (and societal values relating to) the automobile, with the aim of developing criteria for vehicles that are appropriate in a finite world. There will be no instant solutions, however, and to assume otherwise would deny the importance of the essential and (as Norman pointed out) often maligned process of product maturation.

The Path to Product Maturation Reliable, well-designed and manufactured products do not appear overnight. Most products take many years and perhaps generations to reach a socialized maturity. In the developing stages it is difficult to forge appropriate obsolescence strategies while technology changes, matures and evolves, quantities increase, expectations change and new infrastructures are created. The field of robotics currently exemplifies this progression, with some mature products in the manufacturing sector but very many immature products at various stages of development. During such a development path sustainable practices are difficult to predict and monitor. This is particularly problematic for products with fast-changing technologies, as market forces give rise to fierce competition

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which often results in large-scale obsolescence. Thus products in the computer and mobile phone markets, are popular and yet their short lives are a common source for consumer complaint. To better explain this point, the following five phases of product maturation are offered to illustrate the stages that most products evolve through: The Invention – The seed of most products begins with an invention or technological breakthrough. Products at this stage of development often become a toy for the rich, an expensive luxury or a hope for the future. The automobile is an example. In this phase the user is likely to tinker with the product, which may well be far from reliable. Reliable Prototype/Batch Product – Reliability and safety are improved as short-run products are made. At this point the product may well exist in a social vacuum, without infrastructural support. There may well be the beginning of competition, with rival companies quick to outdo the other. Patents are developed as new products are hurried to market. The field of robotics offers a contemporary example. First Generation Product – The market size and hence the production run increases, enabling more sophisticated manufacturing processes to be utilized. Product design tends to be reasonably indicative of how the product functions and relatively easy for the user to understand. Changes, particularly technological change, may affect product life-span; in the case of the personal computer this includes both hardware and software. Integrated Product – As reasonable levels of safety and reliability are established, the product becomes available in larger quantities and more often considered a necessity. Its form and image become more integrated as users are allowed to be more ignorant of how it functions through a combination of industry standards, voluntary guidelines and consumer law. Interaction levels are then defined, both humanized and non-humanized (what can be touched and what not). The product’s infrastructure begins to form and life-span options can now be better evaluated. International standards may be brought about by the major companies.

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Mature Product – The product’s infrastructure is established. Maintenance, control and standards are appraised and organized. Products made by different companies start to look the same, and the norms of quality, longevity, performance and manufacture evolve through industry standards, voluntary guidelines and consumer law. Any product’s evolutionary cycle may be (and usually is) interrupted, at any point, by some external development. For example, the need for greater energy efficiency and environmentally friendlier refrigerants has, in recent years, influenced the design of domestic refrigerators. A further consideration comes when a mature product may well need to be treated as a first or second generation product again when a radical technological change manifests itself. The telephone, as an example, has been with us for over 100 years, but has undergone many technological changes along the way, which required it to be treated as a less mature product until the new technology could be appropriately absorbed. Significantly, product life-span options can only be realistically determined in the latter two stages (Integrated and Mature). Indeed, these stages are only now being reached for computers and mobile phones, although cries of consumer dissatisfaction have long been voiced criticizing their relatively short life-spans. More stable and appropriate standards for product life must follow, not just in the interest of consumers but the industries themselves. Infrastructures naturally build stability and only with such stability can obsolescence be effectively planned for. In the meantime, technologically fast-changing products will continue to be rapidly replaced. At the same time, in the case of some mature products, typified by domestic appliances, planning that has resulted in reduced longevity is questioned (Strandbakken 2005).

Current Situation Following nearly two centuries of industrial development, consumer markets are inundated with a fast-changing array of products. Globalization has enabled nations with differing environmental standards and varying wage and salary levels to trade all manner of goods. The resulting dilemma is epitomized by the personal computing and communications industries, which are responsible for large quantities of technologically obsolete products in the waste stream with

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lost embedded energy and resources, causing concerns about obsolescence to grow. Further confusion occurs when products that are not yet mature (mobile phones and personal computers again being examples) masquerade as long lasting and, at the other extreme, manufacturers seek to differentiate mature products on spurious grounds, artificially promoting obsolescence. There is little reason to change mature domestic appliances, for example, and yet manufacturers commonly feel a need to differentiate their products from those of rivals in this way. It would be foolish to think that such examples adequately represent all products, markets and values. All products are different. All are subject to change. All will result in obsolescence, and all obsolescence must be appropriately planned for. However, the need for improved practices, industry standards, consumer education and global wisdom has never been greater.

Conclusion Society has become increasingly aware of the finite nature of our planet, of climate change and of the impacts of using (and abusing) its resources. For the first time in our history we can be fully cognizant of the issues affecting our symbiotic relationship with the planet. Basic mathematics reveals that equations where all of the factors are identifiable tend to be easier to solve. Life cycle analysis can help, as will the development of appropriate industry standards and consumer education. We must now attempt to optimize each product’s life by planning for the inevitable obsolescence at the end of its life. ‘After 3.8 billion years nature has learned: What works. What is appropriate. What lasts.’ Nature acts as ‘model, measure and mentor’ (Benyus 1998). As with our essential relationship with nature, the symbiotic relationship we have with products must also be developed. There are many experiences to learn from. The information is obtainable. We simply have to realize the will while, hopefully, we still have the time. As guiding principles, I suggest a need to:

• 

acknowledge the inevitability of obsolescence and plan for it

Prologue (unpaginated).

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•

respect the importance of the product/user symbiosis

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reduce wasteful product life practices in manufacture, use and discard

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evolve innovative sustainable design practices relating to product life-spans to match the product maturation process with its market, and

•

encourage designers to develop a formal code, particularly in electronic communications products, that reflects appropriate longevity, environmental impacts, durability, use, repair and discard.

The goal? Optimized product life through planned-for obsolescence.

References ADAMSON, G. (2003). Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens shaped your world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press and Milwaukee Art Museum. ARCHER, L.B. (1963). The future of design education. 3rd Congress of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, 18–22 June, Paris. ARCHER, L.B. (1974). Design Awareness and Planned Creativity in Industry. London: Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce, Ottawa, Canada/ Design Council of Great Britain. BENYUS, J.M. (1998). Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. New York: HarperCollins. BERRY, W. (1972). A Continuous Harmony. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. BRISSAUD, D., TICHIEWITCH, S. and ZWOLINSKI, P. (eds) (2006). Innovation in Life Cycle Engineering and Sustainable Development. Grenoble: Springer. BURNS, B. (1981). Factors Affecting the Life of Consumer Durables. School of Industrial Design mimeo. Ottawa: Carleton University (175 pp.). BURNS, B. (2003). Improved sustainable product life options for innovation through the re-evaluation of factors affecting product obsolescence. Sustainable Innovation 03: Creating sustainable products, services and product-service systems. Towards Sustainable Product Design 8th International Conference. 27–28 October, Stockholm, Sweden. Cassells New Latin Dictionary (1962). London: Cassells.

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COOPER, T. (2004). Inadequate life? Evidence of consumer attitudes to product obsolescence. Journal of Consumer Policy 27 (4), 421–49. GADREY, J. and JANY-CATRICE, F. (2005). Les nouveaux indicateurs de richesses (The new indicators of wealth). Coll. Repères No. 404. Paris: Editions La Découverte. GLADWELL, M. (2002). The Tipping Point. New York: Back Bay Books. GRATHWOHL, H. (1975). Planned obsolescence and resource allocation. Journal of Contemporary Business 4 (1), 85–96. HEISKANEN, E. (1996). Conditions for product life extension. In: ULHOI, J.P. and MADSEN, H. (eds). Industry and the Environment: Practical applications of environmental management approaches in business. Proceedings of the 3rd Conference of the Nordic Business Environmental Management Network, 26–28 March, Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus, Denmark. KANIGEL, R. (1997). One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the enigma of efficiency. New York: Penguin. KOSTECKI, M. (ed.) (1998). The Durable Use of Consumer Products: New options for business and consumption. Dordrecht: Kluwer. KRUPP, J.A.G. (1977). Obsolescence and its impact on inventory management. Production and Inventory Management 18 (2), 67–80. MARX, K. (1946). Capital. New York: Dutton. [Originally published as Das Kapital, 1867.] NORMAN, D.A. (1988). The Psychology of Everyday Things. New York: Doubleday. Oxford English Dictionary (2000). Oxford: Clarendon Press. PACKARD, V. (1960). The Waste Makers. New York: D.McKay Co. PAPANEK, V. and HENNESEY, J. (1977). How Things Don’t Work. New York: Pantheon. SLADE, G. (2006). Made to Break: Technology and obsolescence in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. STRANDBAKKEN, P. (2005). Social constraints to eco efficiency: refrigerators and freezers. European Sociological Association Conference, 9–12 September, Torun, Poland. Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Vol. IX (1968–81). Leipzig, Germany: B.G. Teubneri. WACKERNAGEL, M. and REES, W. (1996). Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society. YEPSEN Jr, R.B. (ed.) (1982). The Durability Factor. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press.



3

Subject/Object Relationships and Emotionally Durable Design Jonathan Chapman

Abstract Landfills are packed with fully functional durable goods that slowly compact and surrender working order beneath a substantial volume of similar scrap, their downfall an inability to sustain a meaningful attachment with their owners. In this emotive sense, waste is a symptom of a failed subject/object relationship. Design has a central role in the creation of longer user:product relationships, but sustainable design methodologies have thus far attended almost exclusively to the somewhat superficial, bodily survival of manufactured objects, to aftereffects rather than causes. There is little point designing physical durability into goods if consumers lack the desire to keep them. The scope and power of emotional experiences delivered via objects produced through the current system are incredibly limited. Commercially viable strategies are needed for emotionally durable objects which engage users on deeper, more profound, levels and over longer, more rewarding, periods of time. New, alternative genres of objects could increase the durability of relationships between users and products, people and things. This will demand novel and provocative models of sustainable design capable of developing emotionally durable objects and empowering consumers to transcend the superficial urgencies of conventional consumerism and to forge deep emotive connections with their possessions.

Introduction Landfill sites the world over swell with fully functional objects – toasters that still toast and microwaves that still microwave – their downfall being an

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inability to sustain a meaningful attachment with their owners. Mobile phones, microwaves, washing machines, lamps and other waste of this nature proliferate in the developed world and, beyond the significant ecological burden they carry, can be seen as nothing more than a symptom of a failed subject/object relationship. This short essay proposes that the origin of the ecological crisis we face lurks deep within one single, yet profoundly universal, inconsistency: the emotional demands of the user constantly evolve, whilst the manufactured products deployed to satisfy those demands remain comparatively inert. The stockpile of waste this simple inconsistency generates is apocalyptic and comes at an increasing cost to legislation-burdened manufacturers and, perhaps more importantly, the natural world. Since popularization of the notion of planned obsolescence (Packard 1963), interest in the life-spans of manufactured objects has become a central constituent of contemporary design discourse (Cooper 2002). Yet despite the pervasiveness of this insightful notion, thus far the creative methodologies addressing design for durability have attended almost exclusively to the somewhat superficial, bodily survival of manufactured objects In these scenarios durability is distinguished merely by a product’s physical endurance – whether cherished (Philips Design 1996) or discarded: ‘lab-coated engineers triumphantly exchange high-fives as fully operational hairdryers emerge from a 5-year landfill hiatus’ (Chapman 2006: 69). Is this durable product design, or simply the designing of highly durable waste? Though it is not always easy for consumers to identify products designed for long life-spans (Christer and Cooper 2004), durability is just as much about emotion, love and attachment as about fractured polymers, worn gaskets or blown circuitry. In this emotive sense, waste may be seen as nothing more than a symptom of a failed relationship. Landfills are packed with stratum upon stratum of durable goods that slowly compact and surrender working order beneath a substantial volume of similar scrap. It therefore appears clear that there is little point designing physical durability into consumer goods if consumers lack the desire to keep them.

Consumption as a Process of Self-Definition ‘Ask a developed world human to stop consuming and you might as well ask a vampire not to suck blood’ (Chapman 2005: 29). Consumption is not just a 

See Chapter 12 (Christer and Cooper).

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way of life, it is life, providing an invaluable vehicle for the ever-evolving self to process and interact with an equally transient, unstable and ever-changing world. As natural as breathing, the drive to consume could be described as symptomatic of a stimulus-seeking species dwelling in a homogenized world in which the prevailing experience of everyday life comes with the majority of problems already solved and decisions already made. As a purposive behaviour, ‘motivation proper’ is an activated state wherein decisions are planned and implemented, and goal-directed behaviours are both activated and realized (Bagozzi 2001), as in the consumption and subsequent discarding of material goods. Analysis of the consumption process is complex as it has ambiguous qualities: it relieves anxiety, because what one has cannot be taken away, but it also ‘requires one to consume ever more, because previous consumption soon loses its satisfactory character’ (Fromm 1979: 27). Despite the broad range of conflicting and contradictory theories that abound, the principal endeavour of research into consumer behaviour is to develop understanding of the manifest (known to the person) and latent (unknown to the person) motivational drivers that make people do the things they do, buy the things they buy and discard the things they discard. Theory indicates that the need to consume tends to occur when a perceived discrepancy exists between an actual and a desired state of being. This is experienced on an individualistic level as a felt sense of dissatisfaction or disappointment. To date, knowledge emerging from the field of consumer motivation research has a tendency toward the bolstering of economic sustainability. Yet this is a shallow philosophy that would make human welfare synonymous with the indiscriminate production and consumption of material goods (Macpherson 1978). Until very recently, environmental and social sustainability scarcely featured within the interests of the commercially oriented field of consumer psychology. Only now is the long term economic efficacy of conventional capitalism truly being questioned: ‘surely, more lucrative commercial models exist than the blind nurturing of endless sequences of desire and destruction’ (Chapman 2005: 170). Consumption is motivated by complex emotional factors and is about far more than just the purchasing of new and shinier things. It is a journey towards the ideal or desired self that, through cyclic patterns of desire and disappointment, becomes a seemingly endless process of serial destruction. Manufactured products serve to illustrate our aspirations whilst defining us existentially. ‘The human being is engaged, throughout his life span, in an unceasing struggle to differentiate himself increasingly fully, not only from his human, but also from his nonhuman environment’ (Searles 1960: 30). As

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such, possessions are used as ‘symbols of what we are, what we have been, and what we are attempting to become’ (Schultz et al. 1989: 361), whilst providing an archaic means of possession by enabling the consumer to ‘incorporate’ an object’s meaning (Fromm 1979: 26). In other words, ‘the material you possess signifies the destiny you chase’ (Chapman 2005: 30). As a result of this, consumers are drawn to objects in possession of that which they subconsciously yearn to become. As such, meaning is always sought, though this meaning is not always associated with the objects themselves and often manifests as a result of the services that they render. For example, products that enable the sharing and mediation of one’s self-identity (such as a mobile phone) may become meaningful to the user because of the stored messages, photographs or contact details of loved ones contained by the product (Jääskö et al. 2003). In this way, it can be seen that conventional reality consists of a deeply abstracted culture of signs, or ‘simulations’, which may be said to motivate consumers more than the physical products themselves (Baudrillard 1993). This ‘self-actualizing’ mode of subject/object relations provides a mirror that presents us with momentary reflections of our individual existence (Thompson 2005). However, the continual evolution of the self-actualizing user poses a significant challenge to old or outmoded possessions that are no longer representative of the self as experienced ontologically; transient and unstable cycles of consumption and waste are born as we outgrow the possessions that surround us. Studies are conclusive in relating attachment behaviour toward the individual’s concept of self (e.g. Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton 1981; Wallendorf and Arnould 1988; Schultz et al. 1989; Ball and Tasaki 1992; Dittmar 1992). Batterbee and Mattelmäki (2004) describe a survey in which stories are collected about possessions with which users have meaningful associations. Their proposition is that meanings, experiences and meaningful relationships with products are developed over a time span and are often related to life situations. From this research three categories of objects were defined that facilitate the understanding of different kinds of subject/object attachment. These categories are Meaningful Tool (the activity an object enables, rather than the object itself, is the thing of meaning, such as a television set), Meaningful Association (a product is significant as it carries cultural and/or individual meaning, such as a mobile phone) and Living Object (an emotional bond is created between an individual and a product, such as a toaster received as a gift). Issues of design and meaning are highly complex, and it can be argued that product meaning 

A term derived from Jordan (2000).

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or personal motivation (though deeply influential in terms of user experience) is not easily affected by design (Jääskö and Mattelmäki 2003). Although a designer can certainly elicit within users an emotional response to a given object, the explicit nature of the response is beyond the designer’s control; the unique assemblage of past experiences that is particular to each user, their cultural background and life journey determines this. Designers cannot craft an experience but only the conditions or levers that might lead to an intended experience (Forlizzi and Ford 2000). What those required conditions are, however, is still unclear to design. This is largely because we attach diverse personal meanings onto objects, and see them used within various contexts; personal associations and meanings, therefore, are reactively projected upon the object by users in an idiosyncratic manner (Cupchik 1999). Furthermore, users consider products as part of themselves, and this is considered key to understanding the way in which object meaning is created (Belk 1988). It is unclear whether emotional attachments are designable as ‘for personal reasons one can feel emotionally attached even to a turnip or a hubcap’ (van Hinte 1997: 234). This is because each user possesses a unique assemblage of memories which render objects potent symbols of the self and carriers of great personal significance. Indeed, the way in which we, as a society, collectively perceive and understand manufactured objects is also changing: Until the middle of the 20th century consumer durables were generally viewed as investments and, within reasonable cost boundaries, were designed to last as long as possible. Since then, however, planned obsolescence, the deliberate curtailment of a product’s life span, has become commonplace, driven by, for example, a need for cost reductions in order to meet ‘price points’, the convenience of disposability, and the appeal of fashion. (Cooper 2005: 57) We are currently facing a societal shift towards a contemporary mode of individuality that is fragmented over countless relationships with manufactured objects and the experiences that they mediate. This has cast us in an abstract version of reality in which relationships are sought from toasters, mobile phones and other fabricated experiences. This societal migration away from interpersonal relationships toward a contemporary mode of subject/object relations is becoming the norm. Today, empathy is encountered not so much with each other but through fleeting embraces with manufactured artefacts; this shift from abstract and anonymous experience towards more synergistic

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engagements between people and things imparts understanding into the way we perceive the world in which we live (de Groot 1997). Material consumption operates on a variety of experiential levels, from the rational and tangible to the profound and numinous. Without an adequate understanding of the motivational, human factorial and emotional drivers that fuel the human condition, design corners itself within a limited, technological approach, in which opportunities for real progress are overlooked.

The Symptom-Focused Character of Sustainable Design Despite its considerable growth as a specialist approach to design in terms of defining methodologies and practices, sustainable design is unresolved, and the discussion this lack of resolution stimulates may well be helpful in questioning the efficacy of sustainability in its current form. After all: [b]y nature, sustainability must claim a monopoly of belief: as a ‘belief’ it cannot admit an opposite belief is equally valid. It is a consistent and universalist world-view, Weltanschauung. Its adherents act in accordance with one general principle: that it should be accepted by all persons. In practice, too, there is common action for sustainability, by governments, non-governmental organizations, loose groups of activists, and industry. The ability to unify diverse groups also suggests sustainability is an ideology, in a negative sense. (Treanor 2005) Amidst today’s frantic scramble to comply with environmental legislation the human behavioural root causes of the ecological situation we face are dangerously overlooked. As a result, sustainable design is predominately characterized by strategic approaches such as recycling, the specification of biodegradable materials and design for disassembly, all of which attend merely to the symptoms of what is, in essence, a fundamentally flawed system. The result of this is that the ‘consumer machine persists and consumers continue avidly to consume as they always have, only now they do so with recycled materials instead of virgin ones’ (Chapman 2005: 9). At best, sustainable design is concerned with the creation of objects that comply with the fundamental precepts of economic, social and environmental 

Perhaps most notably the EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

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sustainability; as such, the ecological implications of design decisions present one of the prime facets of contemporary discourse within the creative industries. Indeed, the sustainability challenge is a design issue: ‘Eighty percent of a product, service, or system’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage’ (Design Council 2002: 19). In addition, new and enlightened consumer awareness, coupled with rising levels of environmental legislation, is beginning to engage all corners of the industry in questioning the ecological dimensions of their commercial activities. However, with a few exceptions, sustainable design methodologies have a tendency to adopt a symptomfocused persona, addressing the after-effects rather than the causes of today’s grossly inefficient model of design, production and consumption (Chapman 2006). This is particularly true outside academia and design research circles, where the vast majority of practising designers do not have the time, or desire, to engage in theoretical debates about the future of sustainable design. Instead, they require workable, time-efficient strategies that can be put into practice instantly. Perhaps as a means to serve this demand, sustainable design has a tendency towards more tangible, end-of-pipe methodologies. If the so-called ‘green design’ approach has a limitation, it is that it develops strategic approaches to product design, manufacture and consumption whose primary impacts intervene only at the end-of-pipe stage. It modifies individual products or services but does not transform the industrial process as a whole (Thackara 2005). For example, ‘increased recycling does not reduce the flow of material and energy through the economy but it does reduce resource depletion and waste volumes’ (Stahel 1986: 124). In overlooking deeper strategic possibilities, sustainable design fails to notice potentially more effective strategies. Furthermore, ‘in recent years the word sustainable has been slapped onto everything from sustainable forestry to sustainable agriculture, sustainable economic growth, sustainable development, sustainable communities and sustainable energy production. The widespread use of the term indicates that many people conclude that the dominant, industrial models of production are unsustainable’ (Devall 2004). Yet, the well-intentioned cause does not always concern itself with the preservation of nature’s dignity, as distinct from humancentred, anthropocentric concerns (Sessions 1995).

 

For example, Papanek 1995; Van der Ryn and Cowan 1997; McDonough and Braungart 2002; Manzini and Jégou 2003. Better known in the USA as ‘design for the environment’.

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The current throughput of natural resources is a contemporary legacy borne from the short-sighted merging of long term material durability with short-lived product use careers, or ‘career plans’ (Van Hinte 1997: 27). In failing to address the actual drivers underpinning the feverish uptake and discarding of material artefacts, sustainable design limits its own potential rather than expanding to become the central pioneer of positive social, economic and environmental reformation as it could be (Chapman 2006): ‘Approaches to sustainable design, production and consumption seldom ask more fundamental questions about the meaning and place of products in our lives, and the contribution of material goods to what might be broadly termed the human endeavour’ (Walker 2006: 20). As a result, the consumer machine continues to rage forth practically unchanged, leaving designers to attend the periphery, healing mere symptoms of what is, in essence, a deeply unsound system.

Subject/Object Relationships and Emotional Durability Design plays a central role in the creation of longer subject/object relationships. In recent years this assertion has become increasingly well supported: ‘Measures are needed to promote the design of products with increased durability, to encourage owners to take good care of their possessions and to provide greater market incentives for longer-lasting products’ (Cooper 2005: 64). For some time now, strategic approaches to product life extension have circulated design and manufacturing fields. In most instances, durability is characterized simply by specifying resilient materials, fixable technologies and the application of advanced design engineering methodologies that reduce the likelihood of blown circuits, stress fractures and other physical failures. However, once emotional attachments weaken and these products are eventually discarded, this objective model of durability has a particularly destructive impact on the biosphere. Waste facilities around the globe swell with layer upon layer of physically durable products, slowly surrendering their functionality beneath tonnes of identically robust waste. Perhaps due to the normalcy of innovation, the made-world has adopted an expendable and sacrificial persona, rendering its offspring ‘fleeting, transient and replaceable orphans of circumstance’ (Chapman 2005: 63). When no-one was looking, industrial design became a subordinate packager of technology, housing hardware within intelligible skins that enable thoughtless and effortless subject/object interactions. Both the scope and power of emotional experiences delivered via objects born of this ideology are

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incredibly limited and offer very little to users. Their ability to both support and mediate evolving narrative experiences are weak and, as a result, such products are like stories with an incredible opening line but one which is endlessly repeated throughout: ‘Interacting with this technocratic and depersonalized environment fuels a reactionary mindset that hankers after meaningful content, mystery and emotion’ (de Groot 1997: 20). For example, ‘even though industrial design plays a part in the design of extreme pain (e.g. weapons) and pleasure (e.g. sex aids), the range of emotions offered through most electronic products is pathetically narrow’ (Dunne and Raby 2001: 45). Indeed, the computational and communicative devices that now assist almost every transaction in our daily lives are designed as dull and servile boxes that respond to our commands in a state of neutrality (de Groot 2002). Progress for progress’s sake leads to the technocentric superficiality that is becoming increasingly characteristic of today’s industrial design offering: We do amazing things with technology, and we’re filling the world with amazing systems and devices, but we find it hard to explain what this new stuff is for, or what value it adds to our lives. I don’t think we can evade these questions any longer … Do all these chips make for better products? Or a better life? Let me tell you a strange thing. Hardly anyone is asking that question. When it comes to innovation, we are looking down the wrong end of the telescope: away from people, toward technology. Industry suffers from a kind of global autism. Autism, as you may know, is a psychological disorder that is characterized by detachment from other human beings. (Thackara 2001: 48) As consumers we seem hopelessly seduced by the incandescent glow of all things new, be it a flatter screen or a smarter plastic, while remaining largely oblivious to the astonishing potential lurking within deeper, poetic, semantic and interactive product developments – beyond newness. Technological innovation is a vital element of the developmental design process and yet in recent years it has taken centre stage at the expense of other less tangible, though equally potent, creative considerations. It is also important to note at this point that for many electronic products the vast majority of energy consumed is pre-use, during the resource extraction and manufacturing phases. This is particularly true of digital products such as mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras and MP3 players; these require low levels of energy to operate (largely due to their frictionless action, achieved 

Personal digital assistants.

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through a lack of moving parts) but require relatively high levels of energy to produce. It is particularly alarming, therefore, that products occupying this category tend to have particularly fleeting existences, due to their emphasis being placed firmly on maintaining currency with the technological state of the art: once a newer model hits the shelves practically all value is lost and replacement behaviours are promptly motivated. In contrast, it appears that attachments with non-electronic products are a well-documented and somewhat commonplace phenomenon. Examples of these objects might include photographs of loved ones, a teddy bear from childhood, a penknife handed down from one’s father, a seashell from a special holiday or perhaps a pair of shoes that have taken the owner to unforgettable places. Artefacts of this emotionally resonant nature embody values far beyond their monetary worth and hold a special place in the hearts and minds of users; in this sense, ‘the emotional side of design may be more critical to a product’s success than its practical elements’ (Norman 2004: 34). Attachment behaviour has a direct influence on the longevity of such objects and regularly motivates users to hold onto them, even after the said object falls into disuse or has been replaced. Durable and long-lasting attachments to non-electronic objects are everyday occurrences and provide valuable indications that a more sustainable mode of contemporary engagement with the material world is potentially achievable and may not be as utopian as some cynics might assume. Furthermore, longer-lasting solutions may be achieved through the deliberate slowing of production and consumption cycles: Current consumption operates within a linear production-consumption system that takes resources, makes them into products, then discards or wastes them … slowing consumption offers a direct response to unsustainable consumption. By slowing the mass flows in the linear production-consumption economy a level of sustainability could be achieved. (Park 2004: 2) Emotionally durable objects (such as those listed above, or denim jeans, hand tools, souvenirs, jewellery, books or antiques) facilitate this slowing of consumption by enabling objects to dodge the ‘deflowering gaze’ (Sartre 1969) of waste by possessing meanings which evolve and grow with the users, ensuring that subject and object grow together. This is preferable to the onesided growth that usually takes place, where the user outgrows the static product in a fleeting handful of dissatisfying weeks or even days. What can be

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understood from these success stories, and how can this inform the design of more emotionally durable products? The levels of precision and control found within electronic and digital products, as opposed to non-electronic products, are often the precursors of detachment behaviours. The ideology of ‘fuzzy interactions’ with objects runs contrary to the prevailing model of popular design, with its focus on idiotproof interfaces: ‘in many cases, imperfections can be endearing and help to create a bond with the user’ (Van Hinte 1997: 189). Van Hinte explores design strategies for desirable ageing and this leads us straight to the issue of perfection. Numerous car owners polish their vehicle every week. It is the only way in which they can hold up the illusion of newness. However, ‘perfection is vulnerable. A small scratch on a mudguard does more harm to a car than dismantling the engine’ (Van Hinte 1997: 131). Products must be both dynamic and flexible in order to accommodate ‘endearing imperfections’, as what people basically want is a well-functioning and up-to-date product that meets their altering needs. The variable nature of users’ desires similarly requires the development of dynamic and flexible products (Van Nes and Cramer 2003). Users must therefore be designed into narratives as co-producers and not simply inert, passive witnesses: ‘The user becomes a protagonist and the designer becomes a co-author of the experience, the product creates dilemmas rather than resolving them’ (Dunne and Raby 2001: 46). As contemporary life continues to become evermore programmed, this need for rich evolving narrative experiences, complexity and dialogue, will increase correspondingly. The European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which requires producers to take responsibility for their electrical and electronic products at end of life, has effectively started to engage industry in re-evaluating its position on the life-spans of electronic objects. The threat of litigation for non-compliance could force many to re-appraise their product portfolios: ‘As a consequence, such legislative instruments might establish frameworks and drivers for a more formalised design response to unsustainable consumption’ (Park 2004: 9). Today, however, products designed for take-back are still geared toward disassembly and recycling (and/or reuse) rather than prolonged life-spans. This is because ‘eco-design usually functions at an operational level and is unlikely to hold much potential for radical change

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because it works within the same thinking that caused the problems in the first place’ (Lofthouse 2004: 225). Technical, procurement-oriented methods such as these may ‘make it possible to design products that are friendlier to the environment, but leaves a fundamental problem unaddressed: the short lifetime of our products … it is not enough to make less polluting products, however important that may be, when they are replaced at high speed because people throw them away too soon’ (Verbeek and Kockelkoren 1998: 28).

Conclusion All too often, ‘current product design practice leads to slumbering dissatisfaction with our material world. Many people loathe our throw-away society in which lack of quality is taken for granted. The result is an enormous waste and needless destruction of value.’ Due to the everyday and often superficial nature of innovation, material culture has developed a transient, sacrificial and replaceable character. Our contemporary engagement with objects has become both disproportionate and volatile. In response to this trend, commercially viable strategies must be developed for emotionally durable objects which engage users on deeper and more profound levels, delivering intense and sophisticated experiences that slowly penetrate the user psyche over longer, more rewarding, periods of time. New, alternative genres of objects are needed that reduce the consumption and waste of resources by increasing the durability of relationships established between users and products, people and things. Even today, in the brave new era of environmental awareness, ethical consumption and sustainable design, a sense of instability continues to encircle design, production and consumption. It is imperative that we revisit the methodologies and paradigms through which product longevity and so-called ‘design for durability’ is addressed, and pioneer novel and provocative models of sustainable design.



Eternally Yours website (no longer active). Accessed on 5 May 2007 at: http://www.eternallyyours.nl/ (Eternally Yours was an international network of specialists in product life-spans, based in the Netherlands).

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These creative new strategies for emotionally durable objects will empower consumers to transcend the superficial urgencies of conventional consumerism and forge deep emotive connections with their possessions. At a time of looming ecological crisis, increasing legislation and limited progress using sustainable design, they will provide the cornerstones to positive social, economic and environmental progress.

References BAGOZZI, R.P. (2001). The poverty of economic explanations of consumption and an action theory alternative. Managerial and Decision Economics 21 (3–4), 95–109. BALL, A.D. and TASAKI, L.H. (1992). The role and measurement of attachment in consumer behaviour. Journal of Consumer Psychology 1 (2), 155–72. BATTERBEE, K. and MATTELMÄKI, T. (2004). Meaningful product relationships. In: MCDONAGH, D., HEKKERT, P., VAN ERP, J. and GYI, D. (eds). Design and Emotion. London: Taylor and Francis, pp. 337–41. BAUDRILLARD, J. (1993). Symbolic Exchange and Death. London: Sage. BELK, R.W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research 15 (September), 139–68. CHAPMAN, J. (2005). Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, experiences and empathy. London: Earthscan. CHAPMAN, J. (2006). Modern Life is Rubbish. Blueprint 241 (April), 68–71. CHRISTER, K. and COOPER, T. (2004). Marketing durability: A preliminary review of the market potential for life span labels. Virtue in Marketing, Academy of Marketing Conference, 6–9 July, Cheltenham. COOPER, T. (2002). Durable consumption: Reflections on product life cycles and the throwaway society. In HERTWICH, E. (ed.). Workshop Proceedings, Lifecycle Approaches to Sustainable Consumption, 22 November, Laxenburg, Austria, pp. 15–27. COOPER, T. (2005). Slower consumption: Reflections on product life spans and the ‘throwaway society’. Journal of Industrial Ecology 9 (1–2), 51–67. CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M. and ROCHBERG-HALTON, E. (1981). The Meaning of Things: Domestic symbols and the self. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CUPCHIK, G.C. (1999). Emotion and industrial design: Reconciling meanings and feelings. 1st International Conference on Design and Emotion, 3–5 November, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.

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DE GROOT, C. (1997). Experiencing the phenomenological object [online]. In: UDALL, N., DE GROOT, C. and YOUNG, M. (eds). Closing the Gap Between Subject and Object, Design Transformation Group, Birmingham, pp. 20–21. Accessed July 2009 at http://www.thewayofnowhere.com/nofo/knowledge/ DevelopingaPracticeofCo-Creation/1997-Closing-The-Gap.pdf DE GROOT, C. (2002). The Consciousness of Objects – Or the Darker Side of Design. Birmingham: Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, University of Central England. DESIGN COUNCIL (2002). Annual Review 2002. London: Design Council. DEVALL, B. (2004). The unsustainability of sustainability [online]. Culture Change magazine 19, Sustainable Energy Institute. Accessed July 2009 at http://www.culturechange.org/issue19/unsustainability.htm DITTMAR, H. (1992). The Social Psychology of Material Possessions: To have is to be. New York: St Martin’s Press. DUNNE, A. and RABY, F. (2001). Design Noir: The secret life of electronic objects. London: Birkhauser. FORLIZZI, J. and FORD, S. (2000). The building blocks of experience. In: BOYARSKI, D. and KELLOGG, W.A. (eds). Conference Proceedings, DIS (Designing Interactive Systems) 2000, 17–19 August, New York, USA, pp. 419–23. FROMM, E. (1979). To Have or To Be? London: Abacus. JÄÄSKÖ, V. and MATTELMÄKI, T. (2003). Observing and probing. DPPI (Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces) ’03 Conference, 23–26 June, Pittsburgh, USA. JÄÄSKÖ, V., MATTELMÄKI, T. and YLIRISKU, S. (2003). The scene of experience. Conference Proceedings, The Good, The Bad and The Irrelevant, 3–5 September, University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland. JORDAN, P.W. (2000). Designing Pleasurable Products. London: Taylor and Francis. LOFTHOUSE, V. (2004). Investigation into the role of core industrial designers in ecodesign projects. Design Studies 25 (2), 215–27. MACPHERSON, C.B. (1978). Property: Mainstream and critical positions. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. MANZINI, E. and JÉGOU, F. (2003). Sustainable Everyday: Scenarios of urban life. Milan: Fondazione La Triennale di Milano/Edizioni Ambiente. MCDONOUGH, W. and BRAUNGART, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press. NORMAN, D. (2004). Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. New York: Basic Books. PACKARD, V. (1963). The Waste Makers. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

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PAPANEK, V. (1995). The Green Imperative: Natural design for the real world. London: Thames and Hudson. PARK, M. (2004). Design for sustainable consumption. FutureGround, Design Research Society Conference, 17–21 November, Melbourne, Australia. PHILIPS DESIGN (1996). Visions of the Future. Eindhoven: Philips Design. SARTRE, J.P. (1969). Being and Nothingness: A phenomenological essay on ontology. London: Routledge. SCHULTZ, S.E., KLEINE, R.E. and KERNAN, J.B. (1989). These are a few of my favourite things: Toward an explication of attachment as a consumer behaviour construct. Advances in Consumer Research 16, 359–66. SEARLES, H.F. (1960). The Non-Human Environment in Normal Development and Schizophrenia? New York: International University Press. SESSIONS, G. (1995). Deep Ecology for the 21st Century: Readings on the philosophy and practice of the new environmentalism. Boston, MA: Shambhala. STAHEL, W. R. (1986). The Functional Economy: Cultural and organizational change [online]. Science and Public Policy 13 (4). Accessed July 2009 at http:// www.product-life.org/en/archive/the-functional-economy-cultural-andorganizational-change THACKARA, J. (2001). The design challenge of pervasive computing. Interactions 8 (3), 46–52. THACKARA, J. (2005). In the Bubble: Designing in a complex world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. THOMPSON, J. (2005). More than meets the eye. Exploring opportunities for new products, which may aid us emotionally as well as physically. In MCDONAGH, D., HEKKERT, P., VAN ERP, J. and GYI, D. (eds). Design and Emotion. London: Taylor and Francis, pp. 332–36. TREANOR, P. (2005). Why Sustainability Is Wrong [online]. Accessed November 2006 at http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/sustainability.html VAN DER RYN, S. and COWAN, S. (1997). Ecological Design. Washington, DC: Island Press. VAN HINTE, E. (ed.) (1997). Eternally Yours: Visions on product endurance. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. VAN NES, N., and CRAMER, J. (2003). Influencing product lifetime through product design. Business Strategy and the Environment 14, 286–99. VERBEEK, P.P. and KOCKELKOREN, P. (1997). Matter matters. In: VAN HINTE, E. (ed.) Eternally Yours: Visions on Product Endurance. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, pp. 100–15 VERBEEK, P.P. and KOCKELKOREN, P. (1998). The things that matter. Design Issues 14 (3), 28–42.

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WALKER, S. (2006). Object lessons: Enduring artifacts and sustainable solutions. Design Issues 22 (1), 20–31. WALLENDORF, M. and ARNOULD, E.J. (1988). My favourite things: A crosscultural inquiry into object attachment, possessiveness and social linkage. Journal of Consumer Research 14 (March), 531–47.



Defying Obsolescence

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Miles Park

Abstract What can we learn from product design and consumer behaviour that might enable products to defy obsolescence? This chapter considers a range of product attributes, consumer behaviours and societal factors that are associated with prolonged product life-spans. It presents a range of examples mostly drawn from the consumer electronics sector, which is of particular interest due to rapid obsolescence. The life-spans of many such products (notably personal computers and mobile phones) are getting shorter and a significant proportion of these products are still in functional order when discarded. The examples presented are often informal responses to impending obsolescence; they are not planned or anticipated by the designer or manufacturer. The chapter concludes by considering the need for new and collaborative approaches between designers and users in meeting the challenge of engaging with obsolescence effectively in a fast-moving technological sector such as consumer electronics.

Introduction Product obsolescence first rose in prominence with the idea of ‘planning’ obsolescence. Although it can be traced back to the late 1920s (Slade 2006), it was not until after World War II that it became a widely practised strategy amongst designers and marketers, notably in the USA where industrial designer Brooks Stevens proposed that, by deliberately building in (planning) product obsolescence a struggling economy could be reinvigorated by creating fresh demand for new products (Adamson 2003). To the general public planned obsolescence first came to notoriety through the highly popular writings of Vance Packard (1963), who slammed Stevens in his bestselling book The Waste Makers. Packard’s contribution was to dissect obsolescence into three distinct

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forms: obsolescence of function, quality and desirability, in the meantime popularizing another catchphrase, the ‘throwaway society’, a phrase that still maintains much currency today (Cooper 2005). Packard stressed the importance of how consumer psychology could be shaped to perceive a product as obsolete and to desire a replacement despite its functional condition. Today, nearly five decades later, his observations of ‘perceived’ or ‘relative’ obsolescence still remain relevant. Many terms and definitions have been used in association with the life-span of a product. The term ‘product life-span’ is used to denote the time between first acquisition and the ultimate disposal of a product. It is not to be confused with the marketing use of the term with reference to market life-span (market availability) of a product. A product’s life-span is the totality of its duration of use despite the possibility of changing owners or users, context and uses it may be subjected to. A product may also be acquired and disposed of many times during its life-span. The term suggests neither a preference for an extension or shortening of product life. Durability, another widely used term, implies notions of permanence and longevity. If a product is durable it is often thought to be reliable, rugged and generally resistant to wear and tear. Thus the term ‘consumer durable’ implies a relatively long lasting product that will not prematurely breakdown and, if it does, can be maintained or repaired. Curiously, when ‘durability’ is paired with ‘emotional’, as in the concept of ‘emotionally durable design’ (Chapman 2005), the term takes on a different and extended meaning. Emotional durability seeks to engage with the various forms of relative obsolescence, beyond the operational and functional constraints that determine ‘absolute’ product life. Likewise, the terms ‘longevity’ (Park 2003; Cooper 2005), ‘product lifeextension’ (Heiskanen 1996) and ‘product endurance’ (Van Hinte 1997) suggest long product life through resilience to the both forms of ‘absolute’ and ‘relative’ obsolescence. The terms mentioned immediately above imply that the objective is to mitigate obsolescence and extend product life. However, strategies designed   

‘Relative’ obsolescence is characterized by psychological, economic and technological factors that determine product life-spans, while ‘absolute’ obsolescence is associated with the functional (operational) durability of a product (Cooper 2004). Nicole van Nes (2003) uses the term ‘product lifetime’, an equally valid definition: ‘The product lifetime is the duration of the life of a product, starting from acquisition (new or second hand) and ending at the moment of replacement.’ See Chapter 1 (Cooper).

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to increase product life may be simplistic and potentially inappropriate (Burns 2003). Life-span or lifetime ‘optimization’ refers to the proposition that the objective should not be the perpetual durability or endurance of a product but, rather, that product life should be ‘optimized’. For instance, one study concluded that the optimum life-span of a dishwasher is 8.1 years, after which it is environmentally beneficial to replace it with a more technologically advanced, eco-efficient model (Chalkley et al. 2003). In purely technological terms a ‘lifetime optimization analysis’ may be able to determine an appropriate product life-span. However, when other factors are accounted for, including actual consumer behaviour (the way products are really used) and other lifecycle impacts, lifetime optimization calculations may present an incomplete and misleading picture of environmental loads.

Ephemeral Electronics It is estimated that 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is thrown away worldwide every year (UNEP 2006). Each year in the UK 2 million working personal computers are dumped in landfill sites (Waste Watch 2007), while in the US a staggering 14 to 20 million obsolete PCs, many still in functional order, are condemned as e-waste (UNEP 2006). Recycling consumer electronics remains a fringe activity: of the 15 million mobile phones discarded annually in the UK, only 4 per cent are recycled (Adam 2005). Worldwide, the volume of e-waste is expected to increase by 3 to 5 per cent annually. Developing countries are increasing their contribution to this total; they are expected to triple their output of e-waste by 2010 (UNEP 2006), illustrating the magnitude of the ‘throwaway society’. There is a strong correlation between product obsolescence and technological change (OECD 2002). In the electronics sector, technological innovation leading to the proliferation of electronic devices, communications networks and dramatic cost reductions conspires to escalate consumption. Electronic integrated circuitry increases in complexity relative to cost at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year. The implication of this is especially startling when a comparison is made between computers and automobiles. ‘If the automobile industry had made as much progress in the past fifty years, a car today would cost a hundredth of a cent and go faster than the speed of light’ (Kurzweil, cited in Slade 2006: 197). Despite the environmental benefits  

See Chapter 1 (Cooper). This is known as Moore’s Law and was first devised in 1965 (Slade 2006).

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that often result from technological change (such as energy efficiency and the reduction of toxic substances), rapid technological change also leads to significant levels of obsolescence and waste. The average life-span of a computer is changing, from six to four years in 1997 to only two years in 2005 (Hai-Yong and Schoenung 2006). As a result, consumer perceptions have shifted from seeing many of these products not as durables but as consumables (Cooper and Mayers 2000). Over the last 20 years or so, electronics have migrated into new product areas that traditionally have been populated by manual or mechanical devices, including kitchen appliances (such as bread makers and electronic pepper mills), personal hygiene devices (electric toothbrushes and feminine razors) and children’s toys (electronic games and illuminated balls). Novelty, fashion and low cost are features of these increasingly ephemeral products. Some of the more bizarre examples include electronic ‘vibrating’ soap and battery-illuminated sweets. Vibrating soap consists of a disposable motor and battery assembly within a cake of soap that vibrates during use (IWOOT 2006). Lighting Bugs is a battery-illuminated confectionery: a pair of disposable tongs, containing a battery and LED (light-emitting diode), glow when used to pick up a translucent wine-gum sweet shaped as a bug (Kandy Kastle 2006) (Figure 4.1). The functional life-span of this throwaway electrical device is only as long as it takes to consume the packet of sweets. Purchasing cost is possibly the single most important factor in determining product lifespans (Bayus 1988). Consumer electronics have been subject to incessant price erosion over many years. The number of days required to earn the cost of a television (based upon average gross weekly earnings) has dropped from 44 in 1962 to Figure 4.1

Ephemeral electronics: Lighting Bugs, batteryilluminated confectionery

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2.5 in 2000 and, for a refrigerator, 57 in 1962 to just 5 in 2000. This deflationary trend, by bringing new material benefits to those who could not previously afford such ‘luxuries’, can be viewed as ‘democratising consumption’ (Linstead et al. 2003). However, cost impacts upon product life-spans extend much further than just purchase price. The ratio between cost of repair and cost of replacement has dramatically reversed in recent years. A Scandinavian study found that over a 10-year period the cost of repair work for a television and a washing machine increased by 150 per cent and 165 per cent respectively (Consumers International, cited in Cooper 2005). Labour is a significant component of this cost, but even repairs undertaken by the owner may not be feasible due to the high cost or unavailability of parts. The ‘DNA’ of consumer electronics, with their complex inventory of components, sub-assemblies and material alloys, results in a significant environmental impact, far greater than for many other categories of consumer goods (Ryan 2004). The manufacture of consumer electronics is energy- and material-intensive, involving many toxic or non-renewable substances such as mercury, cadmium, lead and copper. The consumption phase brings other problems, the most significant being CO2 emissions resultant from the use of fossil fuels for electrical power generation. Further problems arise when a product reaches the end of its life and enters the waste stream, including potentially toxic or valuable materials ‘lost’ in landfill or through incineration. Attempts to reduce the amount of waste from these goods through regulatory instruments such as the WEEE and RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directives have so far had little impact especially upon design. Delays in implementation and mixed messages from the Government have compounded confusion about the legislation, stalling opportunities for action to tackle these concerns (Hill and Shaw 2005).

Examples of Defiance In the face of the many forces that drive product obsolescence and the throwaway society, there are examples of products, behaviour and societal factors that defy obsolescence. Many are informal or unplanned and have evolved due to particular situations or individual circumstance. Informal or unplanned actions are determined by the user, whereas formalized or planned responses to prolong product life-spans determined during the product design phase are much less common. For instance, eco-design strategies often make 

Data from Australian Bureau of Statistics cited in ACA (2000).

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mention of extending product life (Lewis and Gertsakis 2001; Tischner 2001), typically by employing strategies such as upgradeability or modular design approaches, but in practice are often not implemented. Examples presented in this section are grouped at three levels: Product (features), Individual (behaviour) and Societal (socio/economic). They are intended to be representative but by no means provide a comprehensive review of possible obsolescence-defying circumstances. The relationship between the categories, ranging in scale from micro to macro, is demonstrated in Figure 4.2. ‘Micro’ refers to features that are specific to a product. These concern the physicality of a product, including materials, surface treatments and finishes, product form and component configurations. The middle ring represents individual behaviours that can influence product life-spans. ‘Macro’ refers to the wider socio/economic contexts that can influence product life-spans, including secondary markets, information networks and certain business models. These are societal factors that are typically collective, networked or organizational, involving social, cultural and economic practices.

Figure 4.2

Defying obsolescence: category groupings, from micro to macro

Product Level Product-level attributes are features found within the actual product. They include materials, surface treatments, finishes, construction, subassemblies,

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components and product structure. Examples of particular attributes that can lead to a prolonged product life-span are described in further detail below: ageing gracefully, upgrading strategies, scripting, piggybacking, silent performers, system interdependence, reassignment and luxury products.

Ageing Gracefully Materials are of great importance when assessing a product’s durability and ongoing desirability. Plastics are one class of materials closely associated with consumer electronics and industrial design that offer a range of qualities and performances unrivalled by other materials. However, they have a number of persistent shortcomings, including the perception that they are often an inferior substitute for other, more ‘quality’, materials (Lefteri 2008). The initial manufacture of products in plastic polymers has been described as a process of ‘substitution, imitation, and innovation’ (Meikle 1995: 11). Plastics’ bad reputation can also be attributed to design. When first introduced, the new material was poorly understood, resulting in the design of flawed and inferior plastic products (Meikle 1995). Its reputation is also condemned by the many environmental impacts associated with its use. When discarded, the slow degradation of plastic products can have many detrimental impacts. Indeed degradation often starts before they are discarded as the ageing of plastics results in aesthetic and functional performance degradation in the form of loss of clarity, crazing, cracking, warping, dusting or colour bleaching. For example, aesthetic degradation of facia panels and external housings is likely to result in ‘yellowing’ when the material is exposed to ultra violet (UV) radiation (sunlight) for sustained periods. Aesthetic degradation of products can also be accelerated by poor design, or disregard by consumers during frequent use. Spray painted, polished or smooth-surface finishes are common on many portable consumer electronic products, such as laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras. Polymers such as ABS can be finished using a plating or vapour metal deposition process that allows for mirror finishing which provides a chrome or metallic appearance. The problem with these and similar finishes is that despite improved surface hardness, polished surfaces are prone to surface scratching, a highly visible form of aesthetic degradation. The Apple iPod, with its mirror-finished surfaces and crisp edges, is an example of how product wear can be accelerated – hence the popularity of ‘skins’ or covers to protect such devices (Figure 4.3). In such cases, the designer plays an influential role in determining the rate of aesthetic degradation through decisions about materials, surface texture, finish and

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product form. The use of generous edge radii, uniform polymer pigmentation (rather than surface finishes) and textured (rather than smooth) surfaces are just three simple practical measures that can slow aesthetic deterioration of a product.

Figure 4.3

iPods, new and not so old

In some circumstances, marks and scratches that a product acquires in its lifetime can become a desirable feature. The aesthetic ageing of products was a theme explored at an event in 1997, the Eternally Yours Congress. This addressed perceptions of product quality, ageing and wear and revealed positive examples of aesthetically acceptable wear (Van Hinte 1997). The patina of wear can be a record documenting a product’s life-span (McCoy 1997), hence the appeal of items such as antique furniture, a well-worn leather belt or wooden hand tool. However, users are less tolerant of patina on electronic products (perhaps for good reason, as such markings often indicate misuse or misadventure, although not all such patina need to be condemned in this way). Wear on so-called ‘semi-professional’ equipment can be advantageous, by linking aspirations of the amateur consumer to professional usage of the product. For example, through materials selection, surface texture and 

Eternally Yours ran a second event in 2003, Time and Design, which expanded upon this theme (Van Hinte 2004).

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detail, the Bosch GSR cordless drill range communicates a message about toughness to its owners and their ‘professional’ DIY aspirations. Bosch (2009) further reinforces the distinction between professional and consumer markets by colour-coding their product range: green for domestic users and blue/green (teal) for professional users. The logic of these carefully marketed goods presupposes that professional equipment is manufactured to a higher specification than an ordinary product, to take the knocks and abuse of daily professional work. Ribs, bumps, dimples, textured surfaces and generous radii on corners are stylistic devices deployed by designers to enhance the perceived qualities of professional ruggedness. They are commonly found on consumer goods such as camping and gardening equipment, and power tools. Once used by the owner, minor nicks and scratches on such products are often considered acceptable and in some cases enhance their rugged appearance (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4

Nicks and scratches are aesthetically acceptable on rugged tools

Upgrading If a product is designed to be flexible in its configuration, through being upgradable, it has a better chance to resist the complex dynamic of users’ motivations to replace it with a newer product (Van Nes 2003). Upgradeability allows for the replacement of certain parts, either hardware or software, to keep up with the latest technology or to enhance functionality. In some instances, it may be mandatory in order to correct a flaw or shortcoming within the product, notably when product safety is involved. Computer software upgrades are

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probably the most familiar example of upgrading. The upgrading of computer hardware may be an equally valid approach but is fraught with difficulties for the inexperienced. One formalized way that upgrading could be made easier is through modularization of sub-assemblies within a product. Nicole van Nes (2003) discusses the concept of upgradeability in terms of ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ technology. Using the example of a personal computer, she describes how technological ageing is uneven. Computer memory is an example of fast technology, where technological innovation is rapid, whereas the computer power supply is much less subject to technological change. Thus a potential upgrade to the power supply is of little benefit, whilst a memory upgrade may offer significant improvement in performance. Van Nes proposes the adoption of a modular design upgrade strategy as a way to even out these discordances between fast and slow technology within a product. Upgradeability can also be applied to aesthetics and provide a means to slow down obsolescence arising from fashion. The surface or ‘skin’ of a product may be replaced to change and personalize its look or to replace worn surfaces. The system of replaceable covers was common with mobile phones during the 1990s, although it has now fallen out of favour. More recently, suppliers have exploited this concept by offering replaceable skins or covers for Apple iPods that enable protection as well as personalization of the product.

Scripting For the designer, a practical eco-design approach to improve product life-spans is to design products that can be made more durable (Lewis and Gertsakis 2001). However, for consumers, deciding on when and how to upgrade a product is a less clear proposition. One approach that may address this kind of problem is scripting, a process that weaves product design with user psychology. In a film or play, the role of the script is central to defining actors’ dialogue and actions. Similarly, a designer may devise a script for a product to define a role for the user to follow; the script is a means by which a technology ‘configures its user’ (Ingram et al. 2007: 5). Thus scripting attempts to modify or guide user behaviour through product design such that the user behaves in a prescribed or ‘scripted’ manner (Jelsma and Knot 2002). Bruno Latour (1992) provides a dated but often-cited example of older-style hotel key fobs that were designed to be large and heavy

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to encourage their return to the reception desk. Behaviour is ‘inscribed’ into the key fob, guiding user behaviour to act as scripted. Similarly, product life-spans can be scripted. A coffee cup can illustrate this. A ceramic mug is inscribed with a script of reuse, while a foam or paper cup is inscribed with an opposing script of ‘dispose of after use’. The materials used in making the coffee cup are inscribed with a value that is expressed as a narrative of how we organize such products around our daily lives (Verbeek and Kockelkoren 1997). Other products may contain a maintenance script. For example, leather shoes require the periodic application of polish to restore the finish. Although shoes are rarely sold with maintenance instructions, maintenance behaviour is culturally inscribed within the materials chosen for the product. Other examples of scripted behaviours include initiating a selfcleaning routine on a computer printer or defragmenting a hard disk on a computer. These simple examples demonstrate how scripting might be applied to guide user behaviour in prolonging product life-spans. To be successful, a script needs to align with user logic by making use of cognitive biases and psychological heuristics (Fogg 2003) that are logical, learnable, economical and desirable (Jelsma and Knot 2002).

Piggybacking ‘Piggybacking’ is a term that may be used to describe an opportunity to renew or enhance functionality in a product through the addition of a secondary device or component. As with upgrading, piggybacking is an attractive strategy for consumer electronic products prone to technological obsolescence by offering a means to balance out fast- and slow-changing technology . However, it differs from upgrading in that it involves a supplementary component or device being added to the original product. The piggybacked devise is fitted adjacent to or upon the original product. The current migration from analogue to digital TV broadcasting offers a good example of the potential value of a piggybacking approach. Fear that many televisions sets would become obsolete as the new digital services started broadcasting has been overcome by widespread adoption of digital ‘set-top box’ receivers. These devices piggyback alongside the existing analogue television set and extend its functional life-span into the digital age. The rapid evolution from film to digital photography similarly appears to offer the potential for a piggybacking approach. Many SLR (single lens reflex)

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film cameras have become obsolete as a result of digital photography. In theory, functionality for millions of dormant cameras could be extended through a piggybacking strategy of introducing a digital film module saddled onto the existing camera mechanism. One company claimed to have developed such a product (Digital Photography Review 2000), although it failed to achieve a market breakthrough.

Silent Performers An old adage suggests that ‘the only time you notice your shoes is when they pinch.’ So it is with numerous electrical products that inhabit our homes such as water heaters (‘boilers’), smoke detectors and ceiling fans. Many offer long and reliable service, only drawing attention when they fail. These ‘silent performers’ are often hidden or go unnoticed. They are mostly unencumbered by fashion or rapid technological change and the antithesis of ‘display’ or ‘positional’ goods commonly associated with goods such as cars, mobile phones, watches and jewellery that signal social status (Hirsch, cited in Jackson and Michaelis 2003). Silent performers are often hard-wired or installed in such a way that replacement is not easy. The need for specialist knowledge for installation (and removal) and associated expense contributes to an unwillingness to replace them unless absolutely necessary. Replacement thus usually only arises when the product fails and is uneconomical to repair. A variation of the ‘silent performer’ theme is when a product is downgraded to a secondary or back-up role within a household. The introduction of DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radios in the UK has seen many old analogue radios relegated to secondary roles within the household, displaced to less prominent locations such as the bedroom, study or garage (Figure 4.5). Despite their replacement, they still maintain a value to the user in their new, but demoted, role.

System Interdependence When electrical or electronic products are interdependent with one another, either obsolescence is delayed or the replacement of a one product triggers another (interdependent) product to be made obsolete. System interdependence is an issue that many computer owners face when considering the replacement of equipment: will new equipment be compatible with the old? Users may 

Report published on 17 September 2001. Accessed 15 May 2009 at http://www.imagingresource.com/NEWS/1000760900.html

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A silent performer: demoted within the household but still valued

be reluctant to embark upon a path of equipment replacement because interdependent computer peripheral devices are often linked to specific software and hardware. System interdependence works on similar logic to mutually assured destruction (MAD): replacing one component device can cascade, rendering other interdependent equipment inoperable, and thus obsolete. The result is often to ‘make do’ for longer with the existing equipment and defer purchasing until the entire system can be replaced as a whole. A variation of this theme is a type of surrogate interdependence. For example, a VCR (video cassette recorder) may continue to remain in service, despite its technological displacement by newer digital technologies, as a means to play a videotape collection. To discard the VCR would mean loss of utility of the owner’s videotape collection.

Product Reassignment Products may in certain circumstances be transformed or reassigned from their original function and purpose into something entirely novel, a new service or utility undreamt of by the original designer and manufacturer. Product reassignment, or ‘repurposing’, is a reconfiguration of an entire product

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through software or hardware additions that enable it to perform entirely new tasks. Not to be confused with recycled products (i.e. products made from reprocessed materials), reassignment is particularly applicable to electronic products that can be reprogrammed. Reassignment often arises in circumstances of economic necessity. In Cuba, for instance, examples exist of products being reassigned to perform entirely new tasks such as a plastic oil container reassigned as a rooftop illuminated taxi sign and a child’s squeaky toy reassigned as a bicycle horn (Pentagram 2003). Similarly, Russian curator Vladimir Arkhipov (2006) has collected an extensive range of contemporary Russian folk art examples of improvised reassigned household products. Some of more intriguing examples including television aerials fabricated out of kitchen forks and flowerpot bases made out of gramophone records. The Japanese phenomenon of Chindōgu, a word coined for the ‘art of (un)useless ideas’, offers a light-hearted approach to product reassignment through the appropriation of everyday products to new and often bizarre purposes (Kawakami 2004; Ichiki and Umehara 2005). Children have always been taught to make new things by reusing parts from discarded items (Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6

Aeroplane made out of discarded packaging and sticky tape

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Beyond these quirky examples, product reassignment has commercial design potential. The ratio of software to hardware in consumer electronics is shifting dramatically. Such products are increasingly reliant upon programmed firmware and software functionality. Whereas in the past a designer would need to consider specifying an array of buttons, switches and knobs on a product, software-driven interface displays have become common. Clearly if a product’s function and interface is programmed, it could be reprogrammed, enabling the product to be reassigned to a new use. For example, with 15 million mobile phone handsets discarded annually in the UK, one company, Nokia, has been experimenting with this concept by transforming used mobile phones into alarm clocks, handheld games and television remote controls (Adam 2005).

Luxury Products Expensive and premium positioned goods are often marketed – and perceived by consumers – as high-quality, durable, long term purchases. Designed for long life-spans, they are intended to defy both relative (psychological, economic and technological) and absolute (product malfunction) forms of obsolescence (Cooper 2004). Unlike an expensive watch or car, electrical and electronic goods such as premium range domestic appliances, toasters and vacuum cleaners may not entice strong emotional attachment from their owners but are likely to outlive their cheaper counterparts. The Dualit polished stainless steel toaster retails for approximately 20 times more than its cheapest rival but through its build quality, reputation and availability of replacement parts has secured a strong reputation (Brown 2005). Offsetting the high purchase price against long service life, such products may offer better economic value over the long term. The residual value of such products is also higher when traded on secondary markets: an Internet search for second-hand Dualit toasters attests to this assertion.

Individual Level Evidence suggests that there is significant inconsistency in consumer attitudes and behaviour in relation to product life-spans (Evans and Cooper 2003; Cooper 2004). Nonetheless, consumers do have a considerable influence and in 

Firmware is a combination of software and hardware. Computer chips that have data or programmes recorded on them are described as firmware.

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some instances their attitudes and behaviour provide a distinctly positive role towards product life-spans. Individual behavioural types that offer a glimpse of people who defy product obsolescence are described below: the collectors, embalmers and tinkerers.

Collectors Collecting is a form of behaviour that demonstrates selective defiance to product obsolescence through the accumulation of specific types of good. Often a formalized, structured activity, it can be an involving and passionate mode of consumption (Belk 1995) (Figure 4.7).

Figure 4.7 A passionate collector who never threw anything away! Photo: Jeremy Park. Motivations behind collecting are varied: collectors may seek items of particular personal interest or items that are rare or have economic or cultural value. A collector may maintain an interest in a type of product for no other reason other than ‘liking it’ or have a deeper emotional attachment such as it being linked to important memories of previous events, associations or a past aspiration of ownership (Chapman 2005). Economic reasons are another strong motivation for collecting. The collected artefact can become an investment that could in future be traded for profit (Gregson and Crewe 2003). In its most formalized expression, the collector will seek out particular items to complement or complete a collection. The collection of fine wine or artwork

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can be a highly structured activity in which the collection may be catalogued, archived or displayed. Often this form of collecting is targeted and measured in economic value and scarcity, with the greatest accolade reserved for obtaining a collected artefact that becomes ‘priceless’.

Embalmers The embalmer’s activities are informal and less structured than those of the collector. Embalming behaviours range from casual storage of temporarily ‘out-of-use’ products to habitual hoarding and accumulation of obsolete ‘never used’ products. Many products that exist within households are awaiting use or reuse (Boyd and McConocha 1996). Attics, cupboards, spare rooms, garages and even space under beds conceal all sorts of products that have become obsolete in terms of current household needs but are held onto in the belief that one day they will again become useful or valuable. In many instances products move in and out of use. Some kitchen gadgets and power tools are stored for long periods of time between short periods of frantic use. For longer periods of inactivity, when products enter a ‘twilight zone’,10 they may be ‘embalmed’ in boxes and bags and possibly moved ‘off-site’ to one of the growing number of self-storage centres. A more acute form of embalming behaviour is ‘hoarding’, which can result in significant amounts of household clutter. Hoarding is often associated with the generation who grew up during and soon after the Second World War. Government austerity measures, encapsulated in the catch phrase ‘Make Do and Mend’, galvanized a nation into stockpiling items to provide vital parts and materials to repair worn-out clothing and household goods (Board of Trade 1943). In more recent times, a new, extreme form of hoarding has been diagnosed. ‘Compulsive hoarding’ is a social pathology that has been linked with psychological disorders including schizophrenia, forms of dementia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (Neziroglu et al. 2004; Steketee and Frost 2006).

Tinkerers Some hoarders may also be tinkerers. The tinkerer is a person defined by an ability to repair, refurbish or modify a product, thereby bringing it back into useful service. Tinkering that resurrects a product from the dead can provide a great sense of satisfaction and achievement. 10 See Chapter 16 (Shipton and Fisher).

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Many household products that have failed or show signs of wear can be repaired or refurbished with a fairly basic knowledge of product construction, materials, mechanisms or electronics. Those that are easy to disassemble, or consist of relatively simple mechanisms, are the most obvious candidates for tinkering. Nonetheless, an alarming number of household products are discarded with only minor functional or aesthetic problems. Many factors conspire to discourage tinkering, including an increase in electronics, sealed unit sub-assemblies, and the use of tamper-proof or hidden fasteners within products. Warning labels stating that the ‘warranty will be void’ if the product is disassembled or that there are ‘no serviceable parts inside’ have contributed to a declining willingness by owners to tinker with their possessions. Many small appliances such as hairdryers, toasters and food processors fall into this category. Failure of any one component can terminate their life-span and it is rarely worthwhile to tinker with such devices since many have to be damaged to gain entry to internal components.11 Despite such obstacles devised by manufacturers, tinkering remains a widely practised activity, whether because of economic necessity, as is the case in many developing countries, or as a leisure activity in more affluent countries. Practitioners benefit from several magazines and specialist websites devoted to exploring modern-day tinkering such as the magazine Make: Technology On Your Time, which promotes a contemporary DIY culture of tinkering with a stance summered up by its slogan: ‘If you can’t open it you don’t own it’ (Jalopy 2005: 154).

Societal Factors Societal factors, the structures and systems that help to shape societal norms, values and behaviours, are extremely important in determining product lifespans. Despite evidence that they often contribute to ‘locking-in’ behaviour and actions that underpin the throwaway society, counterpoints exist that demonstrate opportunities to prolong product life-spans. Characteristically, these operate at a macro level, as the infrastructure or ‘plumbing’ in which behaviour and actions that influence product life-spans take place. Factors discussed in this section include fashion cycles, design classics, secondary markets, information networks and product-service systems.

11 See Chapter 7 (Stahel).

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Fashion Cycles Despite fashion being a significant cause of product obsolescence it can also play a positive role in extending product life-spans. Fashion is often cyclic; past fashions are revived, rediscovered and appropriated by contemporary consumer culture. Examples of revived fashion styles include mock Georgian architectural housing, Scandinavian furniture from the 1950s and retro-styled cars. Whilst examples in consumer electronics are less common due to rapid technological change, examples do exist. The JVC Spaceman television, an iconic product of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the space race reached its zenith with NASA’s Apollo programme, is now a rare collectors’ item. Its current market value has eclipsed its original price. Early Bakelite goods are also keenly sought after. A Bakelite desk phone from the 1940s representing the retro-chic of film noir is commonly encountered in vintage and antique shops, while Art Deco Bakelite valve radios are keenly collected. Retro fashion styling has been picked up by several manufacturers as a marketing strategy, to tap into this yearning for nostalgia. For example, Roberts produce a range of portable radios that are styled incarnations of their earlier 1950s portables, although the technology and materials have little resemblance to the original design. The company’s marketing strategy declares ‘Sound for Generations’, highlighting the importance of retro styling as a part of the brand heritage (Roberts 2006).

Design Classics Some products attain a long life-span through recognition as a ‘design classic’. Such an appellation can be achieved through the reputation of the designer, critical acclaim by specialist commentators, scarcity or market desirability. Design classics often attain high prices when traded, being keenly sought after by collectors. Examples such as the Morris Mini by Alec Issigonis, Ant chair by Arne Jabsobsen and Tizio table lamp by Richard Sapper are discussed in numerous books on design by authors eulogizing about the significance of one design over another (McDermott 1997; Sparke 1998; Polster 1999; Baker and Baker 2001; Albus et al. 2004; Phaidon Editors 2006). The term ‘design classic’ is, however, problematic and has been devalued through arbitrary overuse in contemporary culture; products are marketed at their launch as a ‘design classic’ even though their long term survival, reputation and significance is highly speculative.

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One retail company that tries to negotiate such concerns is Manufactum (2005), which claims that many items in its mail order catalogue are ‘classics’ that have stood the test of time and will outlive any trend or fashion. Manufactum markets its products’ durability in terms of both function and fashion. This includes tangible and intangible aspects of a product, from the physical quality of manufacture to abstract values that touch on emotional, traditional and cultural significance. The company’s catalogue also emphasizes the relationships between designer, producer, distributor and the customer by, for example, telling a background story of a product highlighting the providence of its design and manufacturer.

Secondary Markets Market forces are implicated as a central cause of product obsolescence, as previously noted, but certain markets offer a means to extend product life. Secondary markets such as auctions, classified advertisements and car boot sales (Figure 4.8) offer a range of opportunities for extending product lifespans (Gregson and Crewe 2003). Products no longer wanted or needed by one owner can be sold or donated to others by harnessing the market economy to prolong product life.

Figure 4.8

Car boot sale

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In recent times, the Internet has proven to be a particularly potent tool for secondary markets by connecting owners of obsolete products to potential new owners. On websites such as eBay and Freecycle people trade, exchange or donate products. eBay in particular has been enormously successful in popularizing the trading of second-hand goods, with 181 million registered users worldwide and three million items listed for sale at any given time. Consumer electronics are one of its top seven traded categories (Ellis and Haywood 2006; eBay Inc. 2006).12

Information Networks As well as Internet sites such as eBay, other forms of information technology offer an opportunity to address product obsolescence. In When Things Start to Think, Gershenfeld (1999) points to a future in which the digital world merges with the physical world, driven by the proliferation of network technologies and emerging digital infrastructure. Not only do computers continue to talk to each other, but other products, from toasters to washing machines, join in the conversation. Bruce Sterling (2005) goes a step further by suggesting that an emerging ‘Internet of things’ will enable the existence of ‘Spimes’. A Spime is a product conceived from within a network that has a unique digital identity that can be tracked (geo-location) and searched for through a search engine; such a development would enable products to be tracked and better managed throughout their life-spans. Many product operations are increasingly controlled through software as opposed to traditional hard-wired electronics or electro-mechanical devices. As noted earlier, if a product can be programmed, the opportunity exists for it to be reprogrammed to take advantage of new operating conditions or technological improvement. By simply changing the software, product life can be renewed. People are familiar with this concept for computers in the form of software upgrades, but what about other products? German manufacturer Miele already offers an upgradeable operating system in its dishwashers, allowing for changes in washing cycles, new washing chemicals and better power management. Similarly many other products could benefit from this approach: sewing machines, for example, could be upgraded to take account of new fabric, threads and stitches (Ryan 2004).

12 Many new goods are also offered for sale on eBay, but a substantial proportion of items traded are second-hand.

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Another example is RFID (radio-frequency identification), a widely used technology in manufacturing and retail distribution supply chains, which could be used to access embedded information within a product at various points during its life cycle.13 When a consumer electronics product is passed on as a ‘hand me down’ or traded in a secondary market, the new owner may have a number of concerns: what is its condition, how does it work, how can it be upgraded/repaired, and so on? Through RFID, the embedded product intelligence could be used to provide ‘onboard’ user manuals, with information about the supplier, spare parts and a log of the product’s condition such as hours of use, faults detected and energy consumed (Ryan 2004). Likewise, QR (Quick Response) codes, two-dimensional matrix barcodes, could enable product information to be decoded using nothing more than an operating system equipped ‘smart’ mobile phone (Figure 4.9).14

Product-Service Systems The concept of product-service systems (PSS), ‘a marketable set of products and services capable of jointly fulfilling a user’s need’ (Goedkoop et al., cited in Mont 2004: 18), has attracted much interest from designers exploring sustainable design solutions (Stahel 2001; Manzini and Jégou 2003). Productservice systems offer the potential to displace the physical ownership of products by offering a serviceFigure 4.9 QR code, containing 250 based solution to customers: their characters emphasis is addressing customer needs rather than selling physical ownership. Such an approach often requires a different approach to business and social arrangements such as leasing, shared ownership schemes and subscription

13 See Chapter 15 (Simon). 14 QR codes are common in Japan, where they were developed in 1994. They offer a much higher information density than standard barcodes whilst sharing similar benefits. Java and Symbian are types of programming language commonly used to programme smart phones and PDAs.

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services. Leasing, already a well-established business-to-business model, has potential advantages for product life-spans.15 An example of shared ownership schemes is car sharing, where membership entitles access to jointly owned facilities, thereby maximising use of the product during its life-span. The potential benefit of product-service systems is that they can encourage businesses to supply products capable of long life-spans (Van Hinte 1997; Stahel 2001; Manzini and Jégou 2003). In such instances, life-span is more meaningfully measured as service use (i.e. intensity of use during a product’s life-span) as opposed to ownership years.

Design for Product Life This chapter has demonstrated that there are products, types of user behaviour and societal factors which can prolong product life-spans. Technological change and market systems that currently conspire to promote obsolescence can be harnessed to prolong product life-spans. Similarly, specific types of individual behaviour can offer a model for wider change in social attitudes and behaviour towards product life-spans. The examples presented offer opportunities to develop, formalize and incorporate change in design and business practices that could have a profound impact on the way we acquire, consume and discard products. This will require a more collaborative approach between designers and users. Users would be more involved in the design of products (and services) and these would be adaptable to meet their particular circumstances. Such an ‘adaptive product’ approach will require designers to create products that are intentionally ‘unfinished’ or ‘open’. The user would be offered the opportunity to become a ‘co-producer’ in a continual process of product reconfiguration that would be contextually relative and specific to users’ changing needs. The role of the designer would remain primary, but would be broadened to allow a delegated role to the user in a two-way traffic between designer and user. Such delegation may be confined to a set of defined, prescriptive or closed actions, or offered as a more open-ended field of user-determined possibilities in the pursuit of prolonging product life-spans.

15 See Chapter 7 (Stahel).

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Such change will require a shift in the view held by many design professionals that the designer (as product ‘shapers’) determines product value and the user’s role is essentially passive as consumer. Theory from different disciplines (Shove 2003; Ingram et al. 2007), by contrast, supports the proposition that users are implicated in creating product value. The design process needs to become more transparent to the user and enable such ‘redirective’ design processes (Fry 2009) to involve the user as a co-designer. The open-source movements and user-generated content providers that are increasingly populating the Internet offer a model of how this could achieved; popular Internet sites such as flickr, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia and eBay all rely upon a perpetually evolving design architecture where users create the content.

Conclusion There exist many possible actions affecting product life-spans that could be undertaken at product, individual user and societal level. Many of the examples presented in this chapter are the result of circumstances that had neither been planned nor anticipated by the designer. If these were ‘up-scaled’, coordinated and strategically structured into the design process, the life-span of many products could be prolonged. Obsolescence in the consumer electronics sector is unique in its scale and growth and overcoming it will require strong leadership from government, a mature and responsible stance from industry, and a shift in consumers’ attitudes and behaviour. Design needs to play a more active role in understanding the way users acquire, consume and discard products. Much can be learnt from existing products, behaviours and markets as to what can work in defying product obsolescence. By understanding product qualities, individual behaviours and socio-economic contexts, designers can become better equipped to design the longer life products required for a sustainable future.

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EVANS, S. and COOPER, T. (2003). Consuming to last: The contradictions and complexities of optimising product life in contemporary society. Seminar Proceedings: Product Life and the Throwaway Society, 21 May, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield. ELLIS, R.M. and HAYWOOD, A.H. (2006). eBay and changing collecting practices and rituals. Chimera Working Paper 2006–07. Colchester: University of Essex. FOGG, B. J. (2003). Persuasive Technology: Using computers to change what we think and do: San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. FRY, T. (2009). Design Futuring: Sustainability, ethics and new practice. Sydney: UNSW Press. GERSHENFELD, N. (1999). When Things Start to Think. London: Hodder and Stoughton. GREGSON, N. and CREWE, L. (2003). Second-Hand Cultures. Oxford: Berg. HAI-YONG, K and SCHOENUNG, J. (2006). End-of-life personal computer systems in California: Analysis of emissions and infrastructure needed to recycle in the future. Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 8–11 May, San Francisco, USA. HEISKANEN, E. (1996). Conditions for product life extension. Proceedings, 3rd Conference of the Nordic Business Environmental Management Network, 28–30 March, Aarhus, Denmark, pp. 395–408. HILL, J. AND SHAW, B. (2005). Return to Sender: Producer responsibility and product policy. London: Green Alliance. ICHIKI, H. and UMEHARA, T. (2005). Extra Ordinary: An amusing guide for unleashing your creativity. Gloucester, MA: Rockport. INGRAM, J., SHOVE, E. and WATSON, M. (2007) Products and practices: Selected concepts from science and technology studies and from social theories of consumption and practice. Design Issues 23 (2), 3–16. IWOOT (I WANT ONE OF THOSE). (2006). I Want One of Those: Stuff you don’t need … but you really, really want [online]. Accessed 5 December 2006 at: http://www.iwantoneofthose.com JACKSON, T. and MICHAELIS, L. (2003). Policies for Sustainable Consumption A report to the Sustainable Development Commission. London: Sustainable Development Commission. JALOPY, M. (2005). A maker’s Bill of Rights to accessible, extensible, and repairable hardware. Make: Technology in Your Time 4, 154–57. JELSMA, J. and KNOT, M. (2002). Designing environmentally efficient services: A ‘script’ approach. Journal of Sustainable Product Design 2, 119–30. KANDY KASTLE (2006). Kandy Kastle Inc. [online]. Accessed 7 December 2006 at: http://www.kandykastle.com

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KAWAKAMI, K. (2004). Bumper Book of Unuseless Japanese Inventions. London: HarperCollins. KAYWA, A.G. (2007). Scan, Buzz, Beep, OK: A guide to Kaywa’s QR code solutions [online]. Accessed at http://mobile.kaywa.com/files/kaywa_guide_QR_ codes_without_prices.pdf LATOUR, B. (1992). Where are the missing masses? A sociology of a few mundane artifacts. In: BIJKER, W.E. and LAW, J. (eds). Shaping Technology/ Building Society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 225–58. LEFTERI, C. (2008). The Plastics Handbook. Hove: RotoVision SA. LEWIS, H. and GERTSAKIS, J. (2001). Design + Environment: A global guide to designing greener goods. Sheffield: Greenleaf. LINSTEAD, C., GERVAIS, C. and EKINS, P. (2003). Mass Balance: An essential tool for understanding resource flows. A Report on the Biffaward Programme of Mass Balance Projects. London: Forum for the Future. MANUFACTUM (2005). Manufactum: The good things in life still exist [online]. Accessed 16 April 2005 at http://www.manufactum.co.uk MANZINI, E. and JÉGOU, F. (2003). Sustainable Everyday. Milan: Edizioni Ambiente. MCCOY M. (1997). Angling for endurance. In: VAN HINTE, E. (ed.). Eternally Yours: Visions on product endurance. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, pp. 191–200. MCDERMOTT, C. (1997). Twentieth Century Design. London: Carlton. MEIKLE, J. (1995). American Plastic: A cultural history. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. MONT, O. (2004). Product-service systems: panacea or myth? Doctoral dissertation, IIIEE (Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics), Lund University, Sweden. MUGGE, R., SCHOORMANS, J.P.L. and SCHIFFERSTEIN, H.N.J. (2005). Design strategies to postpone consumer’s product replacement: The value of a strong person-product relationship. Design Journal 8 (2), 38–48. NEZIROGLU, F., BUBRICK, J. and YARYURA-TOBIAS, J. (2004). Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why you save and how you can stop. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. OECD (ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT) (2002). Towards Sustainable Household Consumption? Trends and policies in OECD countries. Paris: OECD. PACKARD, V. (1963). The Waste Makers. Harmondsworth: Penguin. PARK, M. (2003). Product examples of design features and behavioural/ consumption factors that contribute to product longevity. Seminar Proceedings: Product Life and the Throwaway Society, 21 May, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield.

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5

Understanding Replacement Behaviour and Exploring Design Solutions Nicole van Nes

Abstract Understanding replacement behaviour is the key for exploring design solutions to achieve longer product life-spans. This chapter reports on an extensive literature review and subsequent qualitative and quantitative research intended to lead to a better understanding of replacement behaviour. The process of replacement decision making is described and a model of influencing factors presented. In general, even though people’s motives for replacing products are very diverse, in essence what they want are well-functioning and up-to-date products that meet their changing needs. This requires a similar approach in design: the development of products that are dynamic and flexible. Design solutions are needed to postpone replacement, using strategies such as designing products for reliability and robustness, repair and maintenance, upgradeability, product attachment and variability. Design cases are presented that illustrate practical examples of the proposed strategies.

Introduction Millions of consumer durables are purchased each day. The majority are replacement purchases, new products acquired to replace the ones in possession. A significant percentage of replaced products are not defective (Blonk 1993): computers are replaced by faster ones, mobile phones by smaller ones and coffee makers by nicer ones. Today’s high replacement frequency, however,

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conflicts with the pursuit of a sustainable society. The focus of this chapter is the possibility of influencing the replacement frequency through product design and thereby reducing the environmental burden of product acquisition and use. The research presented explores the approach of catering for consumers’ needs and so tempting them towards more sustainable behaviour or, to be more specific, tempting them to reduce their replacement frequency. The strength of this approach is that it does not demand that people commit themselves to proenvironmental behaviour. They are tempted to do so without being aware of the environmental benefits. Suggestions for (re-)designing a product to achieve life-span extension have been proposed (Van Hemel and Brezet 1997; Kostecki 1998; Charter and Tischner 2001). The effectiveness of such a strategy, however, will depend on the motive that underlies the replacement. Its application in the wrong situation may even lead to an increase rather than a decrease in the environmental impact. For example, improving the reparability of a computer may require additional resources (and thus increase its environmental impact) without resulting in longer life-spans since replacement due to technological change is more likely than replacement due to disrepair, whereas improving reparability might be an effective strategy for extending the life-span of an iron. So for each situation, depending on the type of product and type of user, a designer has to assess which strategy will be most effective. It is important to be aware that it is the consumer’s choice to replace a product. The ending of a product’s life is the result of a user’s decision and not necessarily a predetermined design criterion. This difference is critical. For this reason the terminology of product life-span extension is very confusing, and becomes even more confusing when talking about different types of life-span such as economical life-span, technical life-span, aesthetical life-span and so forth. Focusing on the product life-span lays the emphasis on the product, but it is not a matter of changing an intrinsic product characteristic; the challenge is to influence the behaviour of the consumer through the product design. The effectiveness of a design strategy depends on whether it affects replacement motives, which are very diverse and seem to vary for each product type and for each consumer type. The clue for finding or developing an effective design strategy thus lies in a good understanding of the motivation that drives consumers to replace products. This chapter first briefly addresses the environmental desirability of longer lasting products. An empirical study on consumers’ motives to replace products

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is then presented and, based on this knowledge, design solutions to influence replacement motives are explored. The chapter ends with a vision on design for longevity and conclusions.

Environmental Desirability of Longer Lasting Products A longer product life-span is normally desirable from an environmental point of view (Van Nes and Cramer 2006a). Only one category of products is an exception to this general rule: products that consume energy and for which a more efficient alternative is available on the market. For these products, early replacement (i.e. replacement of the product before it is broken) may be desirable, depending on three variables:

•

the initial environmental impact of the replacement product

•

the improvement in energy efficiency of the replacement product compared to the product in possession

•

the expected usage time of the replacement product (or the lifespan of the product).

The environmental desirability of early replacement can be assessed with the use of the ‘eco-payback period’. The eco-payback period is the time taken to earn back the ‘environmental investment’ (i.e. reduced impacts during production, distribution and disposal) in the replacement product through the improved efficiency during use. Replacement is desirable only if the eco-payback period is significantly shorter than the expected life-span of the replacement product (Van Nes and Cramer 2006a).

Understanding Replacement Behaviour An extensive multidisciplinary literature survey (Van Nes 2003) provided basic understanding of the process of decision making concerning product replacement and the factors that influence these decisions. It reviewed studies

 

Or other consumables such as water or chemicals. Environmental impacts are calculated using life cycle analysis and measured in milli ecopoints. The efficiency increase is converted to milli eco-points per hour based on data for the environmental impact of energy.

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on the disposition process (e.g. Pickering 1975; Jacoby et al. 1977; Burke et al. 1978; Antonides 1988; Antonides and Van Raaij 1998; Roster 2001 Okada 2001) as well as insights from consumer behaviour research and diffusion of innovations (e.g. Richins and Bloch 1986; Celsi and Olson 1988; Wilkie 1990; Engel et al. 1995; Mowen 1995; Rogers 1995; Peter and Olson 1996; Antonides and Van Raaij 1998; Solomon et al. 1999). The replacement decision arises from a deterioration in the actual state of a product or an upgrade in the desired state (Figure 5.1) (Solomon 1994). Deterioration occurs when the product suffers wear and tear, while an upgrade in the desired state is often the result of information seeking and information processing activity by users exposed to new products, which leads to new desires. A user decides on replacing a product at the moment that the gap between actual state and desired state increases to a certain threshold (i.e. when the advantage of a new product over the one in possession is large enough).

Relative advantage

Desired state

Actual state

Figure 5.1

The replacement decision as a deterioration of the actual and desired state

Information thus plays a central role in this decision making process. The motivation to utilize information will depend on the level of consumer involvement with (i.e. interest in) the product. Consumers who experience



Involvement refers to people’s level of interest in a particular type of product. The more involved people are, the more motivated they are to read or talk about the product.

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a high and enduring level of involvement tend to seek more actively for information and are more willing to process it.

Research Design A wide range of factors influence the replacement decision process. These may be categorized into three groups: product characteristics, situational influences and consumer characteristics (Figure 5.2). Two empirical studies undertaken to develop understanding of these influences further are discussed below, a qualitative study to reveal and define the factors that influence the replacement decision and a quantitative study to provide insights into the relative importance of the different factors and how they interact. Consumer characteristics

Product characteristics

Figure 5.2

Replacement decision process

Situational influences

The three groups of factors that influence the product replacement decision

Method of Qualitative Research The qualitative research aimed to develop a well-defined list of factors that contribute to the motivation to replace a product and to provide insight and understanding in the chain of reasoning underlying the replacement decision. This empirical research had a typical explorative nature (Malhotra and Birks 2000), aiming through new knowledge to contribute to the development of theory on replacement behaviour. The data were collected through 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews with people who had recently replaced a product. The use of in-depth interviews made it possible to uncover a chain of reasoning for replacing the product. Each interview addressed the replacement of a particular product by a particular person, a specific product–consumer combination. Another person might have come to a different decision, and the same person might have come

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to a different decision for another type of product. It was important that the sample covered the diversity of products and people to ensure comprehensive coverage of the various factors. Judgement sampling was used as the sampling method (Oppenheim 1992; Churchill 1999; Malhotra and Birks 2000). In this non-probability sampling technique, the sample elements (i.e. products and people) are handpicked based on the expectation that they will serve the research purpose. They need not be representative. In this research, case selection was based on the expectation that each new element would offer fresh insights into the phenomenon studied (Churchill 1999). The final sample met the objective of covering a range of products and people. The products in the sample varied with regard to some important criteria: price, complexity, sensitivity to technological developments, and visibility (a factor that might reveal the importance of aesthetic and social aspects). They ranged from rather cheap and simple products, such as an iron or teapot, to expensive and complex products such as a computer or car. They included products with a low technological influence, such as a bed, but also products heavily influenced by technology, such as a digital camera, DVD player or computer. They also ranged from the very visible, such as a pair of glasses or mobile phone, to the hardly visible, such as a satellite receiver. A diversity of respondents was achieved with respect to standard sociodemographic factors. The structure underlying the interview was deliberately kept very loose; it was not much more than a checklist. The order of questions was not allowed to dictate the sequence of issues that emerged during the interview. This open attitude was required to ensure that thoughts in unexpected areas were uncovered. This gave maximum room to respondents to tell their story in detail and bring to light all factors of influence. The duration of the interviews varied from 40 to 90 minutes, mainly depending on the complexity of the replacement decision. The interviews were held in each interviewee’s home, a familiar environment that provided a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Another advantage of home interviewing was that the product in question was present during the interview, which made communication about it much easier. Moreover, the interviewer could observe the context of the replaced product, such as its location and direct surroundings, and the similarity with other products in the house.

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The analysis of the data was divided into three steps: rendering the raw data to a ‘fact sheet’ for each interview, the development of codes on an abstract and a general level, and the refinement of the codes. The result of the analysis was a set of well-defined codes that covered all possible factors influencing the replacement decision and increased insight into the process behind the decision and interrelationships between the different factors.

Method of Quantitative Research The objective of the quantitative survey was to develop a replacement typology, a condensed and organized representation of a limited number of replacement motivations, each describing a particular combination of factors that together determine a replacement decision. The data were collected through questionnaires, as using a standardized and structured list of questions makes cases (i.e. reasons for replacing a product) comparable and suitable for quantitative analysis. The questionnaire utilized the results of the qualitative research. Questions were asked about the influencing factors identified and were framed using terminology used by respondents in the interviews, sometimes almost quoting directly. There were 253 respondents. Their replacement decisions covered a wide range of products, from large and expensive products such as cars, televisions, furniture and computers to cheap products, such as irons and hair dryers, and small products such as watches. The majority, around 75 per cent, concerned electronic products. A decision was taken to include the replacement of defective products, as well as functioning products, in order to gain insights into the replacement decisions for malfunctioning products that involved several factors. The technical condition of the products in the sample had a good spread: 22 per cent of respondents indicated that their old product was ‘broken and didn’t function any more’, 36 per cent that it ‘partly functioned, but one or more functions were out of order’ and 42 per cent that it was ‘functioning properly’ or ‘functioning properly but showed some wear and tear’. The typology was developed with the use of exploratory data analysis techniques. No a priori criterion was used to group cases to clusters; groups were suggested by the data. Cases with similar motivations behind the replacement decision were grouped together with the use of cluster analysis. A limited

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number of groups was thereby created, representing the complete sample, in a simplified and ordered manner.

Processes Underlying the Product Replacement Decision The qualitative research provided increased insight and understanding into the decision-making process behind product replacement. Four typical characteristics of the process came to the fore. Firstly, the process often takes a long time. Secondly, it involves continuous weighing of potential advantages and costs. Thirdly, a hierarchy seems to exist in the groups of influencing factors created. Fourthly, often a combination of factors collectively determines the replacement need. These characteristics are explained in turn below and followed by some additional insights. It appears from the interviews that the decision to replace a product often plays in a consumer’s mind for quite a long time before actual replacement takes place. Many respondents reported that they considered replacing a product for more than six months, or even more than a year. Some explained that they had thought of replacing the product from the moment of purchase; they had never been really satisfied with it. Only a few made the replacement decision within three months of initially considering it. That the decision to replace a product is gradual is reinforced by the fact that often during interviews another product that the respondent considered replacing was mentioned. The respondent was aware of some relative advantages of replacement but these did not yet outweigh the effort required. People often had a kind of mental list of products that they considered in need of replacement. To delete a product from this list was perceived as a pleasant experience in itself. Decision making evidently involves a process of continuous evaluation as the advantages of obtaining a new product are weighed against the costs of replacement, the effort required in terms of time and the expense. The owner decides to replace a product when convinced that the benefits of replacement exceed these costs. The core of the replacement decision lies at the product level: a comparison of the current product with the new product. This process of comparison is activated by situational changes that affect either the desired or actual state of the product and thus the gap (i.e. difference) between them. The outcome is dependent on consumer characteristics, differences between people that

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explain why they make different decisions in the same situation. The hierarchy between these influencing factors is visualized in Figure 5.3. Replacement Replacement decision decision on on product product level level

Relative Relative advantage

Desired state state Desired

Situational Situational Influences influences

Consumer Consumer characteristics characteristics

Actual Actual state state

Figure 5.3

The hierarchy between the three groups of factors that influence the product replacement decision

A final characteristic of the process is that the decision is generally based on an accumulation of factors and is determined by a combination of them, rather than one alone. It appeared from the interviews that once respondents are aware of a potential advantage in replacing a product, they are more open to additional information. They keep in mind a ‘log’ that records the pros and cons of an existing product compared to new products. Over time the different influences accumulate to shape a decision. Besides insights on the replacement decision process, some additional insights were obtained from the interviews:

Bonding with the Product People have some level of bonding with products in their possession. A product fulfils a need over a period of time which creates a relation of trust: the consumer is familiar with the product and knows that it can be relied on. In the process of bonding, early satisfaction with the product seems to play an important role. In cases where the owner is not really satisfied soon after acquisition the bonding does not take place (or is even negative), as when the new product is an unsolicited gift or a compromise at the time of purchase. During the interviews, people were asked about the destination of the old product and revealed that they often found it emotionally difficult to leave the product behind. Often after the new purchase, confronted with the fact that their old product had become useless, they felt unprepared. They often tried to

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find a dignified destination for the old product, reflecting the intensity of their bond with it.

Replacement Morality This concerns the reasoning used by consumers as valid justification for replacing a product. Generally, people tend to postpone replacement until, in their perception, it is ‘really needed’ or otherwise justified. The majority of respondents indicated that they would expect other people to replace the product earlier than they had done. The replacement morality involves selfreflection with regard to the validity of their decision to replace a product. The interviews revealed that people had considered replacing a product but had not done so because they did not consider their reasoning to be valid. It seems that consumers, for themselves and probably also for others, sense a need to justify a replacement purchase and cannot replace a product without a valid reason. In other words, there seems to exist a sort of morality around the validity of replacement decisions. Justifications that were perceived as valid were: Fear of emerging defects – Expectation of defects on products sometimes serves as a valid reason for replacement. As the product ages, people become aware that defects may occur and that they cannot fully rely on the product any more. The fear of such defects is perceived as justification for replacement. Satisfactory product age – The age of the product is considered a replacement justification in its own right. People sometimes have a certain period of time in their minds that the product should last. When the age of the product approaches that time, or exceeds it, the owner has a feeling of satisfaction. The product has done its job and is mentally ‘written off’. Deserving the new product – This concerns the idea that people replace a product to reward or spoil themselves. People may feel that they ‘deserve’ the new product and consider this a valid reason to buy it. Destination of old product – The destination of the product in possession sometimes plays a part in the decision to replace it. People can have a bad feeling about disposing of a well-functioning product. Replacing it is easier when it is kept in use in some way, either by someone else or in another application.

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On the other hand, purchase satisfaction with the old product could inhibit replacement. High satisfaction with a purchase contributes to the process of bonding with the product. Early satisfaction plays an important role, as it strengthens the initial bonding. Satisfaction with a product through such bonding eventually becomes a barrier for disposal.

Second-Hand Initial Acquisition There is a distinction in consumer behaviour research between initial purchases, the first time a product is purchased, and replacement purchases. The interviews suggested that the first acquisition of a product is often a second-hand item, typically a gift from a relative who has replaced a well-functioning product and wants a dignified destination for their old product. Such products more or less unintentionally sneak into the household. People accept and get used to them, but eventually replace them in what is often the first conscious and intentional purchase of the particular type of product.

Influencing Factors The replacement decision is thus a continuous process influenced by the three types of factors noted earlier: product characteristics, situational influences and consumer characteristics. Based on the empirical research, a model may be constructed of the replacement decision process and its influencing factors (Figure 5.4). The factors in the model are described in Tables 5.1–5.3. Replacement decision on product level

Relative advantage

Desired state

Technical condition

Actual state

Figure 5.4

Functionality Comfort of use Emotional value Social value Design Quality Upgradeability Safety Economy in use

Situational influences

Consumer characteristics

Wear and tear Peer and media influences Physical surroundings Personal life Market developments Incidental need Reduced price Opportunity Financial situation

Involvement Innovativeness Replacement morality Specific interest

Model of factors influencing the arousal of the replacement need

The core of the decision process is at the product level, the comparison of the current product (actual state) with the replacement product (desired state).

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Table 5.1

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Product characteristics affecting the replacement decision

Technical condition: The extent to which the product functions properly. The technical condition can change due to time or usage (e.g. wear and tear). Comfort of use: The ease of use and the presence of functions (mainly technological), attributes and utilization possibilities of the product. Emotional value: The meaning that people instinctively ascribe to the product. This is very personal and based on an individual’s relationship with a particular product and its meaning for him or her. This meaning can take various forms, such as memories, uniqueness and representing someone’s personality. Social value: The image of the product or the meaning that people collectively ascribe to the product. Consensus may exist within a group on the social value of the product, but between groups it may differ. Social value is a rather wide concept, covering the image of the product, the appreciation by others, the sense of luxury and the provision of status. Design: The appearance of the product. It includes (more or less) objective issues of appearance, such as styling, shape, colour and texture, and more subjective and temporary aspects, such as being trendy or fashionable. Quality: The perceived quality of the product. This has a subjective element, the intrinsic quality as perceived by the consumer, which is derived from former experiences and brand reputation. It also includes objective aspects, such as solidity, durability and firmness of materials. Upgradeability: The possibility of adding components or connecting other products during the product’s life-span. Safety: The extent to which the product is safe to use. Economy in use: The efficiency with which a product makes use of raw materials. The raw materials used by products are diverse – electricity, petrol, gas, water, paper and chemicals. A more economical product saves money as well as reducing the environmental burden. This process is influenced and triggered by situational changes. Situational influences arouse a perceived need to replace a product or, in certain cases (reduced price, opportunity and financial situation), reduce barriers to acting on this need. At another level, consumer characteristics determine the decision made in a specific situation: two people may come to different decisions in the same situation.

replacement behaviour and design solutions

Table 5.2

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Situational influences upon the replacement decision

Wear and tear: The process of wear and tear that leads to a problem with the technical condition of the product. It can be sudden or the result of gradual degradation. Peer influence: Knowledge about the new product acquired through people’s immediate contacts, such as family, friends or colleagues. Media influence: Knowledge about the new product acquired through media sources, such as magazines and consumer guides, or from the mass media such as commercials and advertisements. Physical surroundings: A change in the positioning of the product may have an effect. It could be that the product is moved and given different surroundings, or that the product is kept in the same place but the surroundings are changed. Personal life: Changes in the owner’s life may influence needs or desires with regard to the product. A range of different circumstances can play a role: state of health, family situation, housing situation, working situation and view of life. Market developments: Changes in the range of new products available on the market may influence needs or desires with regard to the product. These could relate to technological innovation, changes in fashion or price developments. Incidental need: A need or desire that is of a temporary nature. It may be evoked by a unique event, such as a wedding or graduation, or a recurring event such as a birthday or holiday. Reduced price: An opportunity to buy the product for a lower than usual price. This reduces the cost of obtaining the desired product. Opportunity: The availability of time and people’s physical and mental condition influence the possibility of making a replacement purchase i.e. to explore the market, compare alternatives and make a choice. Financial situation: The availability of money. People’s financial situation can change permanently, for example through an increased income, or temporarily, as when they receive money as a present or award.

A Replacement Typology The model of the replacement decision process (see Figure 5.4 on p. 117) may be used to provide insights into the influences upon replacement. If longer lasting products are to be developed, it is important to understand which

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Table 5.3

Consumer characteristics affecting the replacement decision

Involvement Involvement concerns a consumer’s interest in a product category and motivation to process information on a certain type of product. When consumers are more involved with a product, information that comes to them is processed more actively and, as a result, new desires can come up more easily and stimulate the replacement need. A distinction can be drawn between situational involvement (which results from being in the purchasing process) and enduring involvement (which plays a role in arousal of the replacement need). The latter depends on the extent to which a consumer enjoys gathering information about the product (e.g. through shopping, reading or talking) and the frequency with which the product is used. Innovativeness Innovativeness concerns the extent to which a consumer is willing to adopt new developments. There may be different types of development, varying from technological advance to changes in fashion. Replacement morality This concerns the reasoning used by consumers as valid justification for replacing a product. It involves self-criticism by the consumer with regard to the reasoning. Consumers need to justify replacement purchases for themselves (and probably also for others): one cannot just replace a product without a valid reason. There seems to exist a sort of morality around the validity of replacement reasons. Specific interest Specific interest concerns the special importance of certain product characteristics; it mainly applies to more complex products, such as an audio system or car. Different people care about different characteristics of a product. One person could care very much about the design of an audio system, while someone else primarily cares about the technological possibilities or sound quality. The specific interest of a consumer influences the sensitivity to developments in the market. Thus when consumers care a lot about technological possibilities, developments in this area are more likely to give rise to the replacement need. factors that influence replacement decisions are most important and whether certain combinations of factors appear together. A replacement typology (i.e. a condensed and organized representation of a limited number of replacement motives) was derived from the quantitative survey data using cluster analysis. Cases with a similar motivation behind the replacement decision were linked 

Cluster analysis is an exploratory post hoc segmentation method through which groups or clusters are suggested by the data (Wedel and Kamakura 1998).

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to create groups (clusters) that represented the complete sample in a simplified and ordered manner. The four clusters that were identified reflect the following replacement motives: Wear and tear – The decision is dominated by a single factor, ‘wear and tear’. The primary replacement motivation appears to be the fact that the product is partly or fully defective. New desires – The motive is not concerned with a defect of the product in possession, but is caused by the arousal of new desires. These could concern any kind of product characteristic, and could be one in particular or a combination of several. Improved utility – A combination of ‘wear and tear’ and new desires linked mainly to safety and economy of use. In other words, the motivation is to obtain improved utility. Improved expression – This is also characterized by the combination of ‘wear and tear’ and new desires, but for this motive the new desires mainly concern comfort of use, design aesthetics, quality and, to a lesser extent, upgradeability.

Situational Influences and Consumer Characteristics The role of situational influences and consumer characteristics in the replacement decision was analysed for each of these replacement motives (together with the condition of the replaced product). This led to the following insights: Wear and tear – People’s motive was not subject to situational influences other than ‘wear and tear’. In these cases the technical condition of the replaced product was, in general, rather bad; it was either partly or totally defective. In general, people’s involvement with (i.e. interest in) the product category was relatively low. The replacement morality that people apply was ‘fear of emerging defects’. New desires – People were influenced by several situational influences, such 

An analysis was undertaken to identify if there was a significant difference between the clusters using a univariate ANalysis Of VAriance (ANOVA). When a significant difference was found, the relevant variable was considered useful for further typifying of the clusters.

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as peers, the media or changes in their personal life. The technical condition of the replaced product was mostly good. In general, involvement with the product category was relatively high. The replacement moralities that people applied were ‘destination of old product’ and ‘deserving the new product’. Improved utility – People were influenced by changes in their personal life, a situational influence. The technical condition of the replaced product was often not good: most were partly defective. Involvement with the product category was relatively low. The replacement morality that people applied was ‘fear of emerging defects’. Improved expression – People were influenced by their peers and/or changes in their personal life, two situational influences. The technical condition of the replaced product was, again, often not good; most were partly defective. However, involvement with the product category was, in general, relatively high. The replacement moralities that people applied were ‘destination of old product’ and ‘deserving the new product’.

Exploring Design Solutions The next step in the research was to explore the possibility of influencing product life-spans through design, while taking account of companies’ need to be profitable. A design workshop to explore possible directions for developing longer lasting products resulted in a ranked collection of ideas and some basic sketches that demonstrated the concrete application of design strategies. This led to two main outcomes: a listing of design directions and a set of concrete design concepts embodying the most challenging and innovative design strategies.

Design Strategies The set of design strategies that was developed is presented in Table 5.4. There are five main strategies and several sub-strategies.



The results of the workshop were worked out in collaboration with a design agency, STIO Industrial Design.

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Table 5.4

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Design strategies for longevity

1 Design for reliability and robustness 2 Design for repair and maintenance

•

•

Make it easy: – make most wearing parts easily changeable – (automatic) self detection of defective part – providing a spare button – ordering of repair parts through internet Make it fun

3 Design for upgradeability

• • •

Everlasting frame (main frame with replaceable or/and additional parts) Equal elements Changeable cover

4 Design for product attachment

•

•

•

Personification by acquisition: – design made personal – finishing of the product by the user – uniqueness Personification during use: – capture memories – adding of personal elements – ageing with dignity Pleasure/fun

5 Design for variability

•

Natural variability or variability activated by user

The meaning of the strategies ‘Design for reliability and robustness’ and ‘Design for repair and maintenance’ is self-explanatory. ‘Design for upgradeability’ enables an opportunity to add new functionality during the life of the product by replacing parts or modules with more advanced ones. ‘Design for product attachment’ concerns the creation of a bond between owner and product and is the most elusive; Schifferstein et al. (2002) and Mugge (2007) have undertaken some explorative research on the possibilities of increasing product attachment through design. ‘Design for variability’ refers to the possibility of the product offering some kind of variation for the user on the basis that change can offer benefits. For example, many people periodically reorganize their living 

See also Chapter 3 (Chapman).

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room: furniture is placed in a different composition and a new ‘look’ is created. Similarly, enabling the parts of a product to be moved could create a satisfactory new composition such that interest in the product is maintained. This set of design strategies, derived from the workshop, has much in common with listings of design strategies for life-span optimization proposed by Van Hemel (1998) and in Charter and Tischner (2001) (Table 5.5). Some strategies have a different name, but they are in essence the same. Charter and Tischner mention additional strategies that are outside the scope of this research (such as ‘long life guarantee’) as they concern the service around the product rather than product design as such, and strategies that concern intensity of use rather than postponing the replacement decision (such as multifunctionality and shared use). The strategy ‘aim to achieve a classic design’ (Van Hemel 1998) and the equivalent ‘timeless design’ (Charter and Tischner 2001) does not appear in the listing from the workshop, although it was discussed. Its essence is the intention to avoid changing desires in response to fashion, but designers at the workshop did not believe it possible to develop products that would not be subject to fashion. A ‘classic’ design qualifies as such with hindsight, but even classic design is not timeless as timeless design simply does not exist: ‘All products, and in particular those labelled timeless, are children of their time’ (Desmet 2002: 1). Table 5.5

Comparison of design strategies from workshop with lists from literature

List from the workshop

List from Van Hemel (1998)

List from Charter and Tischner (2001)

Design for reliability and robustness

Increase reliability and durability

Robust reliable wear-resistant design

Design for repair and maintenance

Ensure easy maintenance and repairs

Design for easy repair and maintenance

Design for upgradeability

Ensure a modular, adaptable product structure

Design for update to the best available technology Possibilities of combination

Aim to achieve a classic design

Timeless design

Design for product attachment Design for variability

Ensure a strong product-user relation Variability, multi-functionality ‘Long life’ guarantee Possibility of re-use and shared use

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The comparison of the three lists did not demand alterations in the proposed design strategies. It should be stressed that the workshop list was intended to inspire product developers and did not pretend to be an exhaustive list of all possible strategies related to design for longevity. Product development and design are creative processes and additional directions could be developed in future.

Illustrative Cases The design strategies discussed above are rather abstract. Anyone wishing to apply the strategies is likely to have very practical questions, such as what it means to design for upgradeability, or how could product attachment be increased. There is no comprehensive answer to such questions, but three illustrative examples are provided below of what it might mean to apply these abstract strategies to actual products. They aim to explain the strategies and be a source of inspiration. Each of the conceptual product ideas embody one or more of the design strategies for longevity and is presented with a visual image and short description. They demonstrate that the same strategy can result in completely different solutions for different products. The Teletangram (Figure 5.5) is a modular telecommunications device with essential functional components embedded in the base module. Its functionality can expand with many kinds of additional modules, such as a fax, computer modem, baby-phone monitor or voicemail service. Some functions only require additional software programming as the necessary hardware is already embedded in the product: this is the case with the voicemail service, for example, for which a PC card is simply inserted into one of the slots in the base module.

Figure 5.5

Telecommunication device ‘Teletangram’

Source: Nicole van Nes, 1996. 

The user’s interaction with the product, including all of its additional modules, is through a touch-screen on the base module.

See Van Nes (2003) and Van Nes and Cramer (2006b) for a full set of illustrative cases.

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The modular structure of the product enables reparability and upgradeability through easy replacement and addition of modules. Variability lies in the possibility of users choosing how to arrange the separate modules; they can be stacked up or arranged on the wall around the base module. The acquisition of an extra module invites the user to re-arrange the composition such that the extra functionality goes together with a new look for the product. The flexibility of the product and the possibility of personalising it, either in terms of functionality or appearance, may enhance product attachment. In the design of the ‘Sound 2000’ audio system (Figure 5.6), a division has been made between fastchanging technology and slow-changing technology. The product structure of the Sound 2000 centres on the power module, the main part of the product (slowchanging technology). The power module contains the transformer, tuner board and amplifier, together with the main printed circuit boards. Diminishing Figure 5.6 Audio set: ‘Sound 2000’ technological performance Source: Erik Smeels, 2000. can be counteracted through replacement and additional upgrades: in total, three technological modules (fast-changing technology) can be attached to the power module through a vertical backbone. Power and signal distribution to and from the power module is provided through the backbone. The speakers of the Sound 2000 are connected to the power module through hinges that allow their position to be altered by the user. A change in the position of the boxes influences not only the three-dimensional shape but also the colour of the product, because the colour of the inside is different from that of the outside. A change in position makes different colours visible and thereby contributes to the different look, allowing the user to vary the product’s appearance. Its appearance can also be changed by varying the background of the touch-screen that makes up a large part of the front (e.g. its colour) and the

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design of the buttons and the way they are positioned on the screen. This is, to a certain extent, a means of personalization. Encouraging the user to personalize the appearance of the product increases product attachment and prevents boredom. The basic idea behind the personal computer (Figure 5.7) lies in the transparency of the product and the division between fastand slowdeveloping technology. The personal computer is an extreme example of a product for which replacement is frequently caused by the obsolescence of small single parts such as the processor or memory. The current generation of computers Figure 5.7 Personal computer are often designed in such a way Source: Erik Smeels and Nicole van Nes, 2002. that replacing and upgrading of these parts is possible, but many users do not have the knowledge to do even basic operations such as adding extra memory or a CD/DVD drive. This computer is designed in such a way that the product architecture is visible and the relevant parts can be removed without having to open any casing. A clear distinction is made between the replaceable parts and the structural base. The processor forms, literally, the heart of the product. It can be easily taken out and updated. The other fast-moving technological functions such as the hard disk, CD/DVD drive and network card are also easy to update: they are simply pulled out of the slots and another module is pushed in. The structural base provides the power supply and signal supply, as well as the cooling system.

A Vision of Design for Longevity The research described above confirms that people’s replacement motivations are very diverse. There is often a combination of several factors that gradually accumulate. In essence, people want a well-functioning and up-to-date product that meets their changing needs and this requires the development of more

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dynamic and flexible products. The challenge in product development is to address the potential replacement reasons and induce a more enduring satisfaction with the product. Is it possible to develop products that are more flexible? Products that can evolve alongside the changing desires of the user, adapt to technological developments or adjust to changes in fashion? Five design strategies for longevity have been introduced above: design for reliability and robustness, design for repair and maintenance, design for upgradeability, design for product attachment and design for variability. Design for reliability and robustness would prevent defects and wear and tear, and thereby contribute to longer life spans. It would increase a user’s trust in the reliability of a particular product. If the reliability and robustness of products improved, their perceived value would increase. Design for repair and maintenance is still promising for a group of products. In order to enhance reparability, repair work should be so simple that consumers are able to perform it themselves. This would reduce repair costs, because defective products would not require expensive repair centres with professionals undertaking the work. This approach is, in fact, an extrapolation of an existing trend: repair centres increasingly merely replace modules rather than repair defective parts. Searching for a defect is often difficult and timeconsuming and it is easier and cheaper to replace the faulty module. The current tendency is towards simplifying repair work so that it requires little knowledge and can be done by relatively cheap, low skilled employees. It is only a small step to designing products in such a way that consumers can perform the repair, which becomes as simple as replacing a used battery or changing a CD. Upgradeability should similarly be so simple that consumers can undertake it. As with reparability, the development of upgradeability may extend an existing trend: it is often current practice for newly introduced models to be roughly the same as previous models, only with some more advanced parts. Often, modularity is used for reasons of cost, so that when new models are introduced it is not necessary for all parts (and also production equipment) to be redesigned. Upgradeability may relate both to hardware and software. As there is an increasing tendency to make software ‘upwards compatible’ (i.e. compatible with a previous version), it is a relatively small step to develop upgradeable products. Upgradeability can apply not only to technological attributes but to the appearance of the product, in order to respond to fashion.

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A design strategy to enhance product attachment needs to be considered especially carefully. Its basis is the idea that disposing of a product is harder when the owner feels attached to it, such as when it carries memories, is unique or has some personal elements. Designers may question whether it is possible to cultivate product attachment. For example, can mass-produced products ever be personalized? Is it feasible and desirable to apply this strategy widely? One person will be more eager than another to create a bond with a product, and people generally only feel attached to a small selection of their possessions. What would happen if people had close bonds with many of their products? It would be a real burden to care for all of them. They cannot all be treated as ‘favourites’. Perhaps it is unrealistic to seek to increase attachment to all products. Lastly is the strategy of design for variability. This concerns the possibility of offering variety to the user without a need for additional parts and thereby retaining their interest in the product. It mainly concerns the physical appearance of the product, but could also be related to functionality.

Conclusion Effectiveness in extending product life depends on successfully matching replacement motives and design strategy. The research findings reported in this chapter provide insights into different motives, each of which comprises a combination of reasons that together give rise to a perceived need to replace a product. A set of design strategies was created to respond to these motives; each motive can be approached with different strategies. Even though product replacement motives are complex and diverse, in general what most people want are well-functioning and up-to-date products that meet their changing needs. This requires the development of products that are dynamic and flexible. The proposed set of design strategies is intended to result in such products and to create a more enduring satisfaction for users. Design for longevity thus implies dynamic, flexible products. The designer must think about what will happen during the life-span of the product. This will involve looking ahead during product development to anticipate user demands, future possibilities and potential problems. It implies variability, product attachment and preparing the product for future repair or upgrading.

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The challenge of design for longevity lies in achieving an enduring satisfaction with the product rather than only meeting the momentary desires of today.

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OPPENHEIM, A.N. (1992). Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London: Pinter. PETER, J.P. and OLSON J.C. (1996). Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy. Chicago, IL: Irwin. PICKERING, J.F. (1975). Verbal explanations of consumer durable purchase decisions. Journal of the Market Research Society 17 (2), 107–13. RICHINS, M.L. and BLOCH, P.H. (1986). After the new wears off: The temporal context of product involvement. Journal of Consumer Research 13 (September), 280–85. ROGERS, E.M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. New York, NY: The Free Press. ROSTER, C.A. (2001). Letting go: The process and meaning of dispossession in the lives of consumers. Advances in Consumer Research 28, 425–30. SCHIFFERSTEIN, H.N.J., MUGGE, R. and HEKKERT, P. (2002). Designing consumer-product attachment. In: MCDONAGH, D.C., HEKKERT, P., GYI, D.E. and VAN ERP, J. (eds). Proceedings, Design and Emotion Episode 3: The Experience of Everyday Things. Design & Emotion Conference, 1–3 July, Loughborough. SOLOMON, M.R. (1994). Consumer Behavior: Buying, having and being. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. SOLOMON, M., BAMOSSY, G. and ASKEGAARD, S. (1999). Consumer Behaviour: A European perspective. London: Prentice Hall International. VAN HEMEL, C.G. (1998). EcoDesign empirically explored: design for environment in Dutch small and medium sized enterprises. Thesis, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. VAN HEMEL, C.G. and BREZET, J.C. (1997). Ecodesign: A promising approach to sustainable production and consumption. Paris: United Nations Environmental Programme. VAN NES, C.N. (2003). Replacement of Durables. Influencing product lifespan through product design. Thesis, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. VAN NES, C.N. and CRAMER, J.M. (2006a). Product life-span optimization: A challenging strategy towards more sustainable consumption patterns. Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (15–16), 1307–18. VAN NES, C.N. and CRAMER. J.M. (2006b). Design strategies for the optimization of product life-span. Journal of Sustainable Product Design 3, 101–107. WEDEL, M. and KAMAKURA, W.A. (1998). Market Segmentation: Conceptual and methodological foundations. Boston, MA: Kluwer. WILKIE, W.L. (1990). Consumer Behavior (2nd edn). New York: John Wiley.

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6

Adjusting Our Metabolism: Slowness and Nourishing Rituals of Delay in Anticipation of a Post-Consumer Age Alastair Fuad-Luke

Abstract A broad movement of ‘slow activists’ is beginning to contest the notion of continuous production and consumption and its inherent, unsustainable, economic growth. This movement is finding diverse expressions and, within it, design is finding a new voice, ‘slow design’. This chapter examines the emerging canvas of slow design activities, especially those created and curated by slowLab, to explore how design can deliver improved well-being. It shows examples of slow design aimed at slowing the metabolisms inherent in product:user relationships in order to generate improved relationships and experiences for the user while helping to create positive social, environmental and economic change. It suggests that slow design and co-design (participatory design processes) offer fresh approaches for revitalizing our thinking about product life-spans and novel ways of designing, making and producing. These design approaches offer the design community a new, more active, voice that could encourage new visions of enterprise and improved human flourishing.

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Introduction Without reflection there is no consciousness, without consciousness there is no progress. (Anon., Greek)

There is an emerging paradigm called ‘slow design’ which represents a series of diverse opportunities to encourage consumption in which people reflect on what really nourishes them while simultaneously reducing negative environmental, social and economic impacts. Like all paradigm shifts, however small or large, it subtly or robustly challenges the status quo and involves new ways of seeing, knowing and believing. It demands that ‘design’ explores a new philosophy and purpose. As a paradigm challenge, it has some parallels to that between the eighteenth-century Newtonian rationalist, reductionist and (now) traditional view of science and the holistic science of Goethe (Bortoft 1996). ‘Slow design’ reveals new sensorial, intuitive and psycho-social possibilities that embrace inherently slower resource metabolisms with fresh human rhythms. It encourages new levels of awareness and understanding which can potentially drive a critical debate on our notions of progress. It fundamentally challenges what we make and how we make it and suggests new possibilities for enterprise. In doing so, it frees the debate on sustainable consumption and production away from a product-centric business language and takes the debate back to a wider society.

Profligate Production and Conspicuous Consumption ‘The most serious offence many of the depth manipulators commit, it seems to me, is that they try to invade the privacy of our minds’ wrote the American journalist Vance Packard (1957: 216). Fifty years ago Packard was penning his trilogy of books, The Hidden Persuaders, The Waste Makers and The Status Seekers, outlining the commercial, political and social nexus that employed advertising, marketing and public relations to encourage consumption as a national obligation (Packard 1957, 1960, 1961). By 1968 the UNESCO Biosphere Conference in Paris found consensus that unprecedented levels of production and consumption were having a negative effect on the biosphere. This laid the foundations for conversations that would lead to the concept of sustainable development in the late 1980s.

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By the 1990s, the stark inequality of consumption on a global level was shockingly revealed. A minority, the rich 20 per cent of the world’s population, largely living in the ‘developed’ countries, accounted for over 80 per cent of resource use (Fussler with James 1996). This metabolism, the rate of flow of resources, is regarded by many august international bodies as unsustainable. A raft of eco-efficiency measures was launched: life cycle analysis, Factor ‘X’, MIPS, ecological footprinting, and more. Companies sought new tools to manage their eco-efficiency, from the eco-compass (Fussler with James 1996) to ‘natural capitalism’ (Hawken et al. 2000) and the triple bottom line (Elkington 1997). There was talk of the ‘next industrial revolution’ and moving to ‘ecoeffectiveness’ (McDonough and Braungart 2002). Nonetheless, there remains considerable divergence of opinion between economists and environmentalists as to what constitutes eco-efficiency, how it is measured and regulated and its usefulness as a tool (Huppes and Masanoubu 2005). In reality, eco-efficiency gains are often neutered by the rebound effect because growth of production and sales units continues unabated (Frondel 2004). This is eloquently demonstrated by the headline indicators of sustainable development published by the UK Government which clearly demonstrate that many do not show a de-coupling of economic growth and its negative effects (Defra 2004). This malaise is widely recognized. Some contest the underlying mantra of economic growth and its universal measure of gross domestic product (GDP). The New Economics Foundation suggests that the Measure of Domestic Progress (MDP) is a much more accurate reflection of our progress as it factors in the negative costs to the health of individuals, society and the environment (Shah with Peck 2005). The UK’s MDP has remained fairly constant since the 1970s, reflecting the more disturbing fact that levels of life satisfaction and happiness have not improved either (Shah with Peck 2004: 5). While academic studies of ‘happiness’ are fraught with difficulties, as happiness is a subjective perception, many people intuitively recognize that balancing economic growth with happiness presents a number of dilemmas (Layard 2006). Today’s world of 24/7, representing a state of ‘always on’, driven by the way we work and trade, creates the sensation of a fast world. This perception of an accelerated reality, noted by many observers (e.g. Brand 1999; Van Hinte 2004; Honoré 2005) has, in part, been driven by 

Material intensity per unit of service.

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the phenomenal growth of ICT networks in the form of the internet, new telephony systems, satellite navigation, and ‘virtual reality’. This networking affects the perceived speed of life and simultaneously cements the concept of globalization. These generated the conditions for a response in the form of a new activism that recognizes the benefits of slower rhythms: ‘slow activism’. Slow activism represents a small but increasingly noted counterweight to the juggernaut of (fast) capitalism. Perhaps slow activism offers hope for a means of transition towards a post-consumer age, where living and working with slower rhythms is more important than shopping and consuming. Cline (1997: 88) wonders whether we can strive for new forms of pleasure: ‘What rituals of delay could nourish us? Or have the “virtual realities” of film and television made even “real time” tedious, and therefore slowed up time unbearable?’

Expressions of Slow Activism Since the birth of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century and Marinetti’s First Futurist Manifesto in 1909, progress and speed have intertwined and embraced, and yet dissonant design voices have always provided alternative visions or manifestos as a counterbalance. These include the simple ethos of the American Shaker movement, the UK Arts and Crafts movement led by William Morris, ‘design for need’ in the 1960s championed by Victor Papanek, Ivan Illich’s ideas of conviviality in the 1970s and the various Italian movements of the 1960s and 1970s (anti-design, radical design, Arte Povera) which catalysed the emergence of postmodernism. Various strands of the ecopostmodernists championed slower, more thoughtful resource use and holistic design approaches in the built environment (Jencks and Kropf 1997). In part, the current green/eco- and sustainable design movement has a default desire to help slow down (resource) metabolisms. But it is in the grass roots of society that ideas of ‘slow activism’, focusing on human metabolisms, have found greatest expression (New Internationalist 2002). Slow activists are motivated by different drivers, some expressing themselves through a clear anti-global, anticonsumerist agenda, while others are motivated by philosophical, cultural, environmental or lifestyle factors (Table 6.1). International Buy Nothing Day and No Shop Day are a direct attempt to get consumers to press the pause button, building on the challenge  

http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/ http://www.altruists.org/static/files/Are%20You%20Happy%20(Anti-Consumerist%20Leaflet). pdf

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Table 6.1

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Expressions of slow activism

Type of expression

Sub-type

Example organizations

‘Anti’-activists

Anti-globalization

A diverse coalition of ‘anti-globalization’ groups and interests

Anti-car culture

Reclaim the Streets

Anti-consumerist

Buy Nothing Day, No Shop Day

Slow localism

Slow Food, Slow Cities

Slow environmentalism

The Sloth Club

Slow design

SLow, SlowLab

Organic food

Soil Association

Green/eco-consumerism

Greenmap, Global Ecolabelling Network

Transportation

Sustrans, Human Powered Vehicle Association

Eco-tourism

Centre for Environmentally Responsible Travel, International Ecotourism Society

Slow positivism

Green/eco-lifestyle

laid down in Naomi Klein’s No Logo (Klein 2000). Reclaim the Streets represents the expression of a loose network of activists, from cycling aficionados to hardened eco-activists, protesting against expansion of the road infrastructure in the United Kingdom. The Slow Cities movement, which originated in Italy, takes a more holistic view of the negative effects of cars in urban areas and embraces policy changes that remove traffic from streets on a temporal basis. Its forerunner, Slow Food, which now has members in over 80 countries, brings together ideas of local food production, cultural and regional distinctiveness and human conviviality. Slightly more tangential to organizations that have a clear manifesto on the benefits of slowness are others concerned with ways of producing and living that imply slower metabolisms. Green Map, for example, celebrates local and green consumption. Local people co-create digital and paper maps using Green Map’s standard icons to indicate where one can get products, services or activities ranging from organic food producers to cycle networks, alternative technology groups and so on.

   

http://rts.gn.apc.org http://cittaslow.blogspot.com/2008/10/who.html http://www.slowfood.com http://www.greenmap.org

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Ironically, the very networks that encourage faster communication, such as the internet, are of increasing importance to the growth of slow activism. These facilitate grass roots activity, encouraging wider dissemination of ideas, engagement and participation. Ezio Manzini (2005) has noted that this bottom up effect, deploying ICT networks, offers some hope for new ideas of social collaboration, open source dialogues and more sustainable practices. Examples such as the growth of the Wikipedia phenomenon and the BBC’s Gardening Message board suggest that ICT offers a powerful platform for social exchange. Mass collaboration, ‘crowdsourcing’ and other examples of internet-facilitated cooperation through networks are suggested as a new means of enterprise and production by a number of commentators (Tapscott and Williams 2007; Leadbeater 2008).

Designing Slow:Fast Balance Examinations of eco-design in practice at a global level reveal that a plethora of eco-design strategies is available to the design and manufacturing industries to encourage implementation of more eco-efficient practices (Charter and Tischner 2001; Datchefski 2001; Lewis and Gertsakis 2001; Birkland 2002; Fuad-Luke 2002b, 2004). However, by the start of the present decade eco-design was not reaching a critical mass in education, everyday design practice, manufacturing or consumer demand. There was a sense that the eco-efficiency agenda had not captured the imagination of, or galvanized, the design or wider community. New conversations were needed in design. In particular, the humanist dimensions of eco-design and sustainable design had been neglected (although two Dutch organizations, design collective Droog Design and the Eternally Yours Foundation, started exploring these issues in the 1990s). ‘Sustainable development’ and ‘sustainability’ remained fuzzy concepts beyond individual comprehension and therefore often failed to engage. With this in mind, and acknowledging the growing expressions of slow activism, a new conversation was sought in the term ‘slow design’ (Fuad-Luke 2002a) and an emergent theory of slow design and manifesto was published under the brand ‘SLow’ (Table 6.2), with several thematic clusters for expression being suggested (Fuad-Luke 2003). Early slow design thinking was stimulated by Manzini’s contributions to the ‘Speed’ and ‘Flow’ conferences organized

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbgardening http://www.droogdesign.nl

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by Doors of Perception10 (Manzini 1996, 2002), his phrase ‘island of slowness’ (Manzini 2001), the work of Eternally Yours and Stewart Brand’s The Clock of the Long Now (Brand 1999). Here design seemed to hint at ideas of regeneration rather than consumption. Table 6.2

Slow Design manifesto, 2003

Philosophy and principles

• • • • • •

design to slow human, economic and resource use metabolisms repositioning the focus of design on individual, socio-cultural and environmental well-being design to celebrate slowness, diversity and pluralism design encouraging a long view design dealing with the ‘continuous present’ design as a counterbalance to the ‘fastness’ (speed) of the current (industrial and consumer) design paradigm.

Process The process of slow design is comprehensive, holistic, inclusive, reflective and considered. It permits evolution and development of the design outcomes. It belongs to the professional and public arenas and emphasizes the importance of democratizing the design process by embracing a wide range of stakeholders. Outcomes Slow design is manifest in any object, space or image that encourages a reduction in human, economic, industrial and urban resource flow metabolisms by:

• • • • • • • •

designing for space to think, react, dream, and muse designing for people first, commercialization second designing for local first, global second designing for socio-cultural benefits and well-being designing for regenerative environmental benefits and well-being democratizing design by encouraging self-initiated design catalyzing behavioural change and socio-cultural transformation creating new economic and business models and opportunities.

Outcomes can be represented in eight overlapping themes: Tradition, Ritual, Experiential, Evolved, Slowness, Eco-efficiency, Open source, Technology. A new canvas emerged in 2004 for those exploring the positive aspects of slowness by design in the form of slowLab,11 founded by Carolyn Strauss in New York, where designers, artists, critics, educationalists, architects and other creative 10 The activities of Doors of Perception include a design and innovation blog by John Thackara. See http://www.doorsofperception.com/ 11 http://www.slowlab.net/

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professionals forge their dialogue. Slow design aims to offer potent freshness by creating new awareness of connections and rethinking human relationships with a designed world. Gradually the diverse projects feeding into slowLab from practitioners began to suggest to its president (Strauss) and vice-president (FuadLuke) that several major themes were emerging (slowLab 2006). The following represent some examples curated by slowLab (slowLab 2006). 1. Slowing down – slowing down human metabolisms, less haste Example: 60 minutes sofa/bench by Alastair Fuad-Luke Conceptual seating representing a contemporary binary world of time, where an upright sitting position is analogous to productivity (real time, the dominant commercial time paradigm) and an inclined seating position is analogous to leisure (contemplative time, a whorl or eddy in the dominant time paradigm). This metaphor is deliberately broken down as the sitter moves along the sofa/bench. Occupants can mix any activity with any seating position and so establish their own time environment. 2. Towards an [old] new social equity – sharing, a social conviviality based on existing and new social structures Example: Sustainable Everyday: Scenarios of Urban Life by Manzini and Jégou (2003) This project describes ‘multi-local’ societies and urban environments. The city provides a new kind of service, offering citizens the opportunity to carry out their daily functions while minimizing the consumption of environmental resources and generating new forms of community. 3. Interstices/interventions – exploring unseen rhythms and metabolisms Example: paraSITE project by Michael Rakowitz This proposes the appropriation of the exterior ventilation systems on existing architecture as a means for providing temporary shelter for homeless people. 4. Renewal/rethink – reconnecting human endeavour with cyclicity and imbuing tasks with pleasure

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Example: Tyranny of the Plug by Dick van Hoff This series of kitchen machines chop, churn and blend, but do not require electricity. They are powered by human energy – by pulling on them, turning them or moving them to and fro – and function beautifully. The ethos of slowLab projects reflects what Jay Griffiths calls ‘slow knowledge’, which is shared and multidisciplinary, shaped to particular cultural and geographic contexts, and humble. It stands in contrast with ‘fast knowledge’, which is ‘technological, profit orientated, hierarchical, competitive, universally applied and cocky’ (cited by Thorpe in Van Hinte 2004: 232). Many of the projects seem to operate in what Brand (1999) refers to as ‘slow layers’ – culture and nature – as distinct from the fast layers of fashion/art and commerce, or the intermediate layers of infrastructure and governance. Indeed, the interconnected principles of slow design (Reveal; Expand; Reflect; Engage; Participate; Evolve) provide a interrogative and reflexive tool that indicates a deliberate engagement with slow knowledge (Strauss and Fuad-Luke 2008). This raises a question as to how far the principles, processes and activities of slow design can be applied to, or borrowed by, the commercial world without succumbing to its inherent fastness (although projects such as ‘Project Alabama’ by Natalie Chanin neatly circumnavigate the fast layer of fashion by making clothing production a local, social enterprise) (slowLab 2006). Perhaps these positive aspects of slowness could be rolled out to a new local and social enterprise economy. This would imply fresh and exciting roles for design.

Ideas of Well-Being Central to the ethos of slow design is the idea of focusing on well-being and not material consumption. How does design contribute to improved individual or group well-being without damaging the financial, social and ecological systems that support well-being? An examination of consumption and needs theory by Jackson et al. (2004) asked: ‘Could we envisage a theory of wellbeing that accepted the limitation of material resources (both ecologically and psychologically) and offered some other way to facilitate social and psychological functioning?’ Slow design is already finding expressions that directly address these types of functioning, but a model of well-being for design was lacking until a generic model was proposed (Fuad-Luke 2005) which could be easily

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adapted for overlapping domains of design culture: producers, consumers and designers (Julier 2000). The model addresses interrelated needs and has more empathy with the needs typology of Max-Neef (1991) than that of Maslow (1943), who suggested that there is a tendency to satisfy certain needs before others. It recognizes the importance of balancing ourselves with our external environments, as expressed in some major Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, and is updated here (Figure 6.1) to include seven interactive spheres of well-being that need balancing in each individual: physical/physiological, mental/psychological, emotional, spiritual, personal finances, social network and local environment. Scales of well-being applied to the model may be either qualitative or quantitative, and reflect a range of viewpoints.

Economic well-being

physical

(physiological)

personal finances local environment

mental

(psychological)

individual well-being

emotional

social network

Socio-cultural well-being

spiritual

Environmental well-being Adapted from Fuad-Luke (2005)

Figure 6.1

Model for design and well-being

The model offers a potential framework for studies into product:user relationships (see below). For example, it could be used to interrogate a design brief by enquiring how well-being is actually delivered by a product, service or product-service system to the individual while simultaneously delivering profits to the manufacturer/service provider and being cogent of the possible social consequences and environmental impacts. For example, how does extending the life of a product affect the ‘well-being’ donated by that product?

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Posing the question ‘How do I deliver mental, emotional or spiritual wellbeing?’ can raise some challenging issues with certain products or services. A mobile phone and its network can deliver well-being, but what are the tradeoffs between enhancing individual well-being and balancing the familiar three dimensions of sustainable development (profits, people, planet)? The model may even help a designer consider whether the product or service should exist or whether the well-being it provides can be delivered another way. While an eco-efficiency approach can sensibly balance profits with a reduction in environmental impacts, it cannot guarantee that the product (or service) will continue to be in demand. Increasing product durability is fine for products that are already eco-efficient, but such products have to continue to deliver well-being in several other dimensions. This demands improved ‘cultural durability’: the ability of a product to provide sustained meaning and well-being to an individual or social group over time. Such cultural durability requires that products are manufactured in ways that deliver eco-efficiency and a substantively different relationship between product and user (Walker 2005). Greater insights are needed into the delicate balance between the technological, socio-psychological and emotional factors that drive obsolescence (Chapman 2005; Cooper 2005). This requires effective measurement of individual, collective and ‘external’ perspectives of well-being in order to determine the well-being delivered by a product per life-span year, or per unit of service life provided. This in turn suggests the idea of ‘reflective consumption’, consumption that improves people’s sense of physiological, psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being while concurrently dealing with issues of economic viability, environmental stability and socio-cultural benefits. At one level this is in line with the discourse of Heiskanen and Pantzar (1997), who refer to ‘self-reflective consumption’ as a transformation in the way we think about consumption: the consumer develops a more critical and discriminatory relationship with commodities and is able to question his or her materialistic lifestyle. At another level ‘reflective consumption’ suggests that we need to explicitly balance our needs met through commodities with collective and externalized needs of others, moving beyond a purely anthropocentric worldview. Two ceramic products by Spanish designer Martin Ruiz de Azua beautifully capture the concept of reflective consumption. The first is a fitting marriage of a traditional terracotta water cooler with the portable leather wine bottle, or botijo. The rebotijo (summer jug) naturally cools the drink by the process of evaporation from the surface of the terracotta (Figure 6.2); a version for winter has a glazed

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interior. The second product, Tache Naturelle (natural stain), is an unglazed vase that the user places in a secret place in nature or the city and then retrieves at a later date to find the vase given its final decoration (Figure 6.3). This act creates unique links and memories to a locale, our accomplice(s), the seasons and more. The design links us to something beyond the commodity. Both products cleverly weave together a tapestry of well-being by combining low ecological footprints with strong psychological, cultural and emotional ties.

Figure 6.2

Rebotijo (summer jug)

Figure 6.3

Tache Naturelle (natural stain)

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Product:User Relationships – Slowing the Metabolism Three recent texts concerning the product:user relationship (Chapman 2005; Cooper 2005; Mugge et al. 2005) suggest strategies to target improving the psychological or emotional spheres of well-being (Table 6.3, Figure 6.4). Several interconnected themes emerge: Design: Co-designers – where the design of a product requires mutual input from the designer and from the users, who are encouraged by the designer as facilitator to use their own innate ability as designers. Production: Extended durability, value for money, co-producers – where the making of a product is by a manufacturer and also by a user, because its life is extended by the user continuously reusing, remaking or repairing it. Socialization: Sharing products, social connections – where access to products, and the functions they provide, is available to people in a specific social group or organization; ownership of the product is not necessarily a prerequisite to obtain the functions. Narratives: Creating personal narratives, retaining narrative/aesthetic appeal, increasing sensorial variety12 – where ideas of co-design, co-production, personalization and customization of products help create deeper relationships between product and user through memory, marks of time, mark of the maker, and so on. Many of these themes are also represented in the growing body of work surrounding slow design. Slow design may, potentially, extend the reach of the four themes while also embracing other themes such as localization. There are several slow design axes that seem ripe for further exploration in the context of the product life-span and sustainable consumption and production agendas. These are interconnected and include: ‘Deep’ localization – deepening and expanding connections with the local. Most mass-produced goods are made by manufacturers who are distant from the user. More local production and more making by the user is demonstrated by moving upwards and to the right in Figure 6.5. The ultimate expression of deep localization is for a user to make a product 12 ‘Narrative’ refers here to the idea that personal or collective stories can be embedded in forms or objects.

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Table 6.3

Strategies and approaches for extending the product:user relationship

Product attachment 1. 2. 3.

Shared use products – stimulate social contact with and through products. Perfumed products – embedding odours to stimulate and encourage product-related memories. Personalization, customisation – stimulate irreplaceability by creating highly unique and personal products that encourage self-expressive meanings. 4. Co-designers – create unique and personal products by involving consumers in the design. 5. Halfway products/achievement products – involve the consumer in finishing/making an aspect of the product. Product expresses aspects of ‘self’, experience and memory. 6. Use-personalization products – as product is used it ages in a way that reflects something of how the user has interacted with it over time. Mugge et al. (2005)

Product characteristics (‘shapes and surfaces’) 1. High quality products (resistance to abrasion/wear, reliability, reparability and upgradeability) that are robust, made of high quality materials, carefully made, well-designed for assembly/ maintenance/disassembly. 2. Products that ‘age with dignity’ (after van Hinte 1997) and/or retain aesthetic appeal. 3. Intrinsic geometry, style, features, quality and detail – i.e. the overall aesthetic. 4. Involvement of customers in the production process leading to greater appreciation and longer product lives.

People’s relationship with products and other people (‘signs and scripts’) 1.

Products communicate messages about who we were/are/want to be. Replacing a product might signal that the symbolic meanings generated were no longer communicating the right messages. 2. Negative signals from the media/advertising can make products symbolically redundant/ obsolescent (after Packard, 1960). 3. How many products (in their lives) can people feel deeply attached to? (after Van Hinte, 1997) 4. People seem increasingly unwilling to take long term care of possessions through repair and maintenance. 5. Need to investigate the potential of ‘affective attention’ as a mechanism to encourage owners to develop deeper, more caring relationship with products (after Manzini, 1993) – this requires the creation of ‘islands of slowness’ (Manzini, 2001).

Operational system or context (‘sales and services’) 1. New marketing strategies to inform customers of the real price/performance ratios, and (trustworthy) durability aspects. 2. Ecological tax reform – making repair and maintenance more attractive by shifting tax from employment to energy. 3. Moving from selling products to selling the services products provide. Product-service systems (PSS) that add value to the life cycle of a product by improved after-sales service or by offering an ‘enabling platform’ for consumers to purchase a service without having to own a product. Eternally Yours framework for extending product lives, adapted by Cooper (2005)

A toolbox of ideas 1. 2. 3. 4.

Layers of narrative: durable narrative experiences embodying multiple layers. Producers not observers: user as co-producer of the narrative rather than passive observer. Pace: getting the right speed or slowness at which narrative experiences unfold. Ageing gracefully: ageing factored in to add value. Chapman (2005)

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high quality, good design reliable, upgradable, maintainable

performance labels tax relief for extended life

making social connections

extended durability

increasing sensorial variety

value for money

shift from products to services (PSS) or shared products

customisation

creating personal narratives

sharing products

producer/co-producer of narrative

personalisation

co-designers and co-producers

retention of narrative and aesthetic appeal

memory

use-personalisation ageing with dignity overall aesthetic

producer/co-producer of product

cultural semiotics – status, identity

Collated from: Mugge et al (2005); Cooper (2005) and Chapman (2005)

Figure 6.4

Strategies for extending product:user relationships production location local

local manufacturing and craft

customisation personalisation

making by the 100% self-made user

manufactured the majority of mass-produced goods

DIY self-design-make using local materials

customisation personalisation

DIY self-design-make using imported materials

distant

Figure 6.5

Making and localization

for him- or herself using local materials. Examples of contemporary ‘deep’ localization products (and services) include the aforementioned ‘Project Alabama’ (slowLab 2006) and ‘Sustainable Everyday’ (Manzini and Jégou 2003) and community-focused projects such as Couleur Locale by Droog Design (Raemakers and Bakker 1999).

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Ways of designing and making – investigating the benefits of users designing and making all or part of the product. Most products are professionally designed and manufactured, with little or no involvement of the user (bottom left in Figure 6.6). They are ‘ready-made’. Some products require assembling, such as an IKEA flat-pack wardrobe, and some can be customized, such as ordering a blue car rather than a red one. Moving upwards and to the right in the Figure 6.6 demonstrates users becoming designers and makers. Products are ‘halfway’ if the original intention of the designer/manufacturer is not fully realized until the user has designed or finished the product in some way. Examples include the aforementioned ceramic vase, Tache Naturelle, and objects in Droog Design’s ‘doCreate’ project.13 A ‘halfway’ furniture product is N.Fornitore’s Terra-grass armchair (Fuad-Luke 2004: 156), which is a cardboard former that the user fills with soil and sows with grass. ‘Makeit-yourself’ furniture examples include Tempo’s ‘8×4’ project (for the individual) and Jurgen Bey’s Garden bench (for the community) (FuadLuke 2004: 25). This territory is ripe for innovation and can slow resource use by reincarnating old furniture: examples include Tempo’s Furniture Fiesta and Raw Nerve’s Life is Suite (slowLab 2006). These design and making processes embed strong narratives and can potentially contribute to psychological, emotional and cultural durability for the product. true customisation

100% self-design

true personalisation DIY self-design-make

products are ‘finished’ ‘half-way’ by the user

products

manufactured manufacturer’s customisation

products are ‘worked’ on by the user

products are ‘assembled’ by the user the majority of mass-produced goods

Figure 6.6

products are built by the user, designed by others professional design

Ways of designing and making

13 http://www.droogdesign.nl

100% self-made

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Social fabric – extending from the personal to a more social interface by moving from ownership to sharing (Figure 6.7). Instead of individual ownership, products are rented or leased per unit of time (e.g. tool hire) or are owned by a group and shared on a time/need basis. This embraces the product-service systems agenda and is perhaps exemplified by the Sustainable Everyday project, which recognizes ‘fast’, ‘slow’ and ‘cooperative’ solutions to meet people’s needs as they move around the urban environment (Manzini and Jégou 2003). It is also reflected in many other projects that try and create new rhythms of experience between friends or family, such as Slow Water and Vesta by Cranbrook Academy students (slowLab 2006), Go Slow by Droog Design14 and Human Chair by Martin Ruiz de Azua.15 The latter is a dematerialized ‘non-product’ that does not require a ‘chair’ but is enabled by each person offering their laps for the next person to sit in, all the people joining up in a circle to support each other. degree of ownership ‘TOOL HIRE’

none

rental of product per unit time as required

‘LEASING/SERVICE’

use per unit time as required; product not owned by group

individual

shared the majority of consumer durables

degree of sharing

specified share of time use of product owned by group

‘CONSUMER GOODS’

‘CO-OPERATIVE’ full ownership

Figure 6.7

From ownership to sharing

Expressions of slow design show some positive overlapping foci on rhythms, user experiences (cf. products), localization, place, social bonding and celebrating diverse world views. Findeli (2001) has called this type of design, which values place, time and cultural difference, ‘design mindfulness’. Other commentators 14 http://www.droogdesign.nl 15 http://www.martinazua.com

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offer synergy with the slow design conversation while not invoking the term. For example, Thackara’s design manifesto focuses on knowable systems, closed loops, things to be located closer together, connections between people/knowledge/ disciplines and new ways to collaborate (Thackara 2005). A common feature of these approaches is a renewed focus on the balance between the material product, what is offered ‘beyond the product’ and who creates the product.

Human Flourishing in the Post-Consumer Age Many slow design strategies complement the first three primary requirements of humans noted by Nohria et al. (2001): to acquire objects and experiences, bond with others in long term relationships of mutual care and commitment, and learn to make sense of the world and ourselves. Slow design strategies help shift the focus from the material product (object) to experiences, bonding and learning. In doing so, design can suggest new behavioural scenarios with slower in-built metabolisms. Design is a powerful vehicle by which to encourage people to aspire and achieve new ways of living, working and recreating. Design should spend less time on envisioning utopias and focus more on what American architect Bruce Goff called ‘the continuous present’ (Saliga and Woolever 1995), a sentiment echoed by Brian Eno: ‘We have the frame we operate in which we call “now”. “Now” is all the things that are affecting me. All the things I can affect in a certain timeframe I shall call “now”’ (Eno, cited in Van Hinte 2004: 64). Design has a pivotal role in designing our behaviour in ‘now’, each design act/object conditioning us for the next design act/object; as Tony Fry puts it, ‘design designs’ (Fry 2005). Design can reconnect us to a wider world where the ambition could be to encourage what Greek philosophers called eudaimonia, or human flourishing. Slow design offers that potent ‘reconnection’ to discover more eudaimonia. If human flourishing is pegged to economic growth perhaps only a cataclysmic shift in resource availability (for example, as a result of fossil fuels running out or continued high growth in India and China), a sudden hotting-up of the climate or some man-made disaster will elicit a dramatic re-appraisal of the status quo. Such events could force a tribal defence of the meagre resources remaining. Alternatively, we could pursue much more rigorous design explorations. Design needs to be radical and courageous. Bonsieppe (1997) sees design as a political act in a sociological context rather than in that of narrow party politics.

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Marchand (in Van Hinte 2004: 104) quotes Morin, who suggests a new kind of civil resistance using micro-social structures, small groups of like-minded people, to regenerate social, political and individual life: ‘a “politics of civilization” based around the renewal of social intangibles such as human relations and mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.’ This is certainly a growing phenomenon in the ‘open source’ communities of the internet. If such renewal is a societal ambition then slow design, linked to open source dialogue with co-design, seems a viable road for further exploration by designers, manufacturers, economists, sociologists, politicians and eco-/socio-entrepreneurs. These themes of more democratic involvement in the whole design process, from collectively examining the context with a wide variety of stakeholders, to co-creating and co-designing the design brief and the solutions, are examined in depth under the rubric of ‘design activism’ (Fuad-Luke 2009). Fuad-Luke suggests that there is a need for the revival of participatory democratic spaces for co-design decision making in the form of a MootSpace, building on historic examples (the Anglo-Saxon moot) and contemporary practices (the Maori marae).

Conclusion If issues of product life-spans are to be creatively addressed, the debate needs to move well beyond the comfortable confines of the business perspectives of eco-efficiency and the product-orientated consumer market. The issues need to be explored with reference to the slow design and co-design models. This requires a rethinking of what we make and how, exploring new concepts of enterprise and changes that are culturally acceptable and culturally durable. Does growth in the social enterprise sector, for example, currently just 1.2 per cent of GDP (IFF Research 2005), offer a fertile arena to explore new design visions? A number of social enterprises in the UK give second-hand furniture new lives by redesigning: reusing and refurbishing components. Arguably we should similarly be redesigning our existing stock of chairs – and other product types – rather than generating yet more new products. New visions of local enterprise can reconnect people to place but will require a shift in design practice to ensure that the output of such enterprise can compete with globally manufactured products and services. There is an urgent need to contest current notions of progress, aka ‘economic progress’. Now is the time for the design community to find a new voice and to re-activate its role with society. The positive societal associations with slowness

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need building upon by design. Only then might we be able to talk about a beautiful life in a (slower) ‘post-consumer age’.

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Durability, Function and Performance

7

Walter Stahel

Abstract Durability is a characteristic of certain goods in the industrial economy, which is focused on producing goods for sale. Producers operating in saturated markets, however, may regard durability as an undesirable quality, as it represents an obstacle to replacement sales. In recessionary times they may even get support from governments who seek to overcome this problem by paying an allowance to owners of perfectly working old automobiles to scrap them and buy new ones. The result is an increase in resource throughput without an increase in wealth! Possible longevity is aborted. This chapter explores the potential for product durability and longevity as economic objectives in a ‘functional service economy’, which (by contrast with the traditional industrial economy) is focused on selling performance. In such an economy the supply side actors (i.e. producers) exploit the existing stock of goods in order to make more money with less resource input. As product ownership remains with these supply side actors, there is an economic incentive to prevent waste and loss. The consumer becomes a user; ownership is replaced by stewardship.

Introduction This chapter explores the durability of products in the context of their functionality and performance. Durability, in the sense of a longer service life for consumer goods, has a positive impact on all three pillars of sustainability. Economically, it is more cost effective for the owner of the goods; environmentally, 

Many of the ideas in this chapter are detailed in Stahel (2010).

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it prevents waste and CO2 emissions by preserving non-renewable material and energy resources; and socially, it creates skilled jobs and fosters systems innovation locally. It also has potentially important implications for industrial economies: it demands a shift in economic power from centralised or globalized manufacturing to regional workshop-based activities, and from a throughputfocused industrial economy to performance-based ‘loop’ and ‘lake’ economies (Stahel 2010). In the process it will lead to the substitution of manpower for energy (Stahel and Reday-Mulvey 1976/1982). Consumer goods currently tend to be less durable than industrial goods. Industrial users demand function from goods: machinery and equipment must work effectively. In the case of consumer goods, however, fashion is used to tempt people to buy new products and replace existing functioning ones, especially in markets near saturation. Fashionable goods act as status symbols and lead to peer acceptance, which is what many consumers want. Satisfactory performance implies functionality over time and hence is linked to durability. Performance, in a sustainability context, also means achieving a desired result with a minimum input of non-renewable resources (both materials and energy), for a competitive cost and in a socially responsible way. New business models to profit from durability, function and performance may be designed to focus on selling performance in what may be described as a ‘functional service economy’. By selling function (i.e. results or performance), suppliers can exploit the durability of goods and systems for selfish economic reasons – higher profits. The greatest potential efficiency comes from using such strategies to create system-based solutions, prevention and sufficiency, which provide reversed incentives to reap higher profits by doing less but doing it smarter! Producing less waste, for example, means a company has less waste to ‘manage’. Selling performance also entails extended product responsibility for the supplier, internalizing the cost of waste in the price of products.

Durability Durability has different meanings according to its field of application, whether physical goods or services. The durability of physical goods depends primarily 

The ‘lake economy’ uses business models of retained ownership (such as rental); the ‘loop economy’ uses business models of a circular economy (sale and possible take-back). The two have different transaction costs and performance responsibilities.

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on the determination of owners to continue using them, their maintenance capability and the possibility of adapting these goods to changes in utilization and technological progress. For some goods, such as Stradivarius violins, adaptation to change is not necessary but skilful maintenance over long periods is crucial. For other goods, design for ease of repair and maintenance, including technological upgrading, is a precondition for durability. Product durability can also be undesirable; optimum durability is a societal strategy and varies with cultural differences. Technical factors that may limit optimum durability include quantum leaps in technology and goods with a prototype character, when use-experience data of a good (i.e. its track record) cannot be utilized in the development of the next-generation product. Mobile phones, with an average service life of eight months, still have a prototype character (even though they now number one billion worldwide). The durability of services demands an understanding of the underlying principles of many service jobs, ‘caring’ and ‘sharing’, soft words that often appear to have invisible results: once a sick person has recovered, neither the sickness, healing process or service provided are visible! Caring implies an awareness of need and motivation over time. Servicing and repairing the same car regularly is periodic work that leaves no trace and is often taken for granted. The fact that the car keeps running over a long period is typically credited to the engineer who designed it rather than the anonymous mechanic in a workshop who services it regularly, at least in industrialized countries. In the long run, such attitudes towards mechanics may negatively influence morale in the car service sector and ultimately, perhaps, the quality of service provided.

Supply, Demand and the Durability of Goods In the case of scarcity, as in less developed countries (LDCs), the demand for and supply of goods increases without reducing the durability of the existing stock. For example, cars in LDCs are easily used for 30 years, and remanufacture is common – witness Ambassador cars in India and Jeepneys in the Philippines. Industrialization is still the best strategy to overcome the problem of a scarcity of goods to fulfil the basic needs of shelter, survival and food and shift attention to areas such as education and knowledge development. With industrialization, however, comes fashion, the key hazard for durability.



See Chapter 2 (Burns).

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Meanwhile in the consumer societies of the industrialized world, the durability of goods is increasingly questioned by manufacturers. Mass production and growing sales volumes demand mass consumption – and durability is an obstacle to mass consumption. In saturated markets, increases in production and sales volumes are only possible if the average life-span of goods diminishes. The concept of industrial design originated in the USA in the 1920s precisely to overcome stagnant demand in markets that were near saturation. Once every citizen had a vacuum cleaner, radio, washing machine and so on which functioned and fulfilled the owner’s needs, industry had to provide them with a reason to spend money and substitute a new for a stillfunctioning item. Hence the key role of design: of using shapes and colours to distinguish the new from the ‘old-fashioned’. Lately, electronic components have become a main factor in product replacement sales, because faulty components often cannot easily be repaired. Ten-year-old cars are scrapped in otherwise perfect working order due to an irrepairable fault in the electronics and non-availability of spare parts, as any scrap yard manager can confirm, while laptop computers are discarded because the battery is tired and no spare battery available. The strategy of cascading the good to a new utilization with a lower sophistication is then barred.

Why Durability Matters In 1994, a group of researchers founded the ‘Factor 10 Club’. Its objective was to draw the attention of engineers and society at large to the need to dematerialize the economies of industrialized countries by a factor of 10 (i.e. 90 per cent) in order to give each inhabitant of our planet equal access to resources within the limits of the Earth. It developed a new concept to measure the potential for (de-)materialization and resource productivity, MIPS (material input per unit of service). The logic and mathematics behind the Factor 10 concept are as follows. Present resource consumption has been unsustainable for some time as measured by, for instance, the ecological footprint, and 80 per cent of all resources is consumed by the 20 per cent of the world’s population living in    

For example, old laptops could be cascaded down to less demanding, stationary use (e.g. in an old people’s home), while components from outmoded mobile phones can be integrated into other technical systems (Steinhilper 1998). By comparison, the Stern review on the economics of climate change estimates a sustainable level of CO2-emissions at 80 per cent below the current level. See Stern (2007). See http://www.factor10-institute.org for further information. See http://www.wwf.org on the global footprint.

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industrialized countries. If these 1.4 billion people reduce their present average resource consumption of around 80 tonnes per capita/annum by a factor of 10, to 8 tonnes per capita/annum, while those in less developed countries increase theirs to a similar level, overall consumption on the planet will reach a sustainable level, below the Earth’s carrying capacity and allowing for the forecast growth in the world’s population. Cultural influences play an important role in resource consumption. Greater durability of goods based on caring may be one approach to extending product life-spans. Product life extension is a way to use skilled human labour, a renewable resource, instead of non-renewable energy and materials, and thus move towards increased industrial sustainability. Consider, for example, the life cycle cost analysis of a long lasting car (excluding fuel costs) shown in Figure 7.1. Over a period of 50 years the share of accumulated labour costs in maintenance and repair services approaches a ceiling of 80 per cent of total cost, while the share of nonrenewable resources shrinks from almost 100 per cent at the point of sale to 20 per cent.10 Contrast this with situation when a new car is purchased every 10 years. In manufacturing, labour costs represent 15 per cent of total cost,11 similar to the 18 100% 90% 80%

ENERGY + MATERIALS

70% depreciation oil parts labour

60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

MANPOWER

10% 0% P.O.S

10

20

30

40

50

Years of utilisation

Figure 7.1 

Evolution of shares in life cycle costs for a car over a 50-year period

Similar calculations have been done in energy terms based on the solar radiation that arrives on the planet’s surface. In 1990 Prof Hans-Peter Dürr, former director of the Max Plank Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, Germany, started to promote a 1.5 kW society and in 2000 the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology started a programme to create a 2 kW society in Switzerland.  The data are from a life cycle cost analysis of cars and trucks researched by the Product-Life Institute and available (in German) at http://product-life.org/en/archive/case-studies 10 In addition, the data revealed average cost per mile decreasing over this period. 11 German Ministry of the Environment (2006) Umwelt, No. 10, p. 501.

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per cent during the first 10 years of operation. The car owner will therefore spend only around 20 to 30 per cent of total cost (including manufacturing) over the full 50 years on labour, but 70 to 80 per cent on energy and materials (depending on the amount of repair and maintenance work necessary). The above example is based in part on the author’s car, bought in 1969 and now a collector’s item. Its origin was curiosity to see what happens if an owner simply continues operating a car over a prolonged period. Very few consumers keep any goods for such a long period of time (with the possible exception of houses) and even fewer keep all the bills or have an interest in statistics. For this reason few comparable statistics exist. A service life of 50 years is not unusual for investment goods as distinct from consumer goods; steam engines, electric motors and hydro turbines, for example, can even operate for 100 years with appropriate maintenance. Other components in railway systems and aeroplanes can reach 50 years of age. Again, however, there are no comparable data because fleet managers normally only keep records up to the next remanufacturing or general overhaul. Research studies on this issue are equally rare. In 1976 the European Union commissioned a study to analyse the potential for substituting manpower for energy in the case of buildings and automobiles (Stahel and Reday-Mulvey 1976/1982). Using Delphi methodology,12 the report came to similar conclusions to those of the case study presented here. Product durability tends to be welcomed in situations of scarcity (for example, in LDCs), as it provides additional welfare, while this is less often the case in markets near saturation, as it slows down consumption and threatens economic growth. Attitudes could change if and when the availability of resources becomes limited and resource prices rise through, for instance, continued rapid growth in China and India. Maintaining durable goods as a locally available ‘resource’ in industrialized countries would become a feasible alternative, but shifting from a globalized to a regional economy would require a restructuring of economic powers and structures.

Function In the context of consumer durables, the word ‘function’ has two meanings: to fulfil a function in the sense of meeting a need, and to work properly and reliably. The former can be achieved physically or psychologically. 12 The Delphi method involves panels of experts completing a series of questionnaires in facilitated ‘rounds’ that draw upon interim findings.

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Technology contributes to fulfilling the physical function, fashion to fulfilling the psychological one. Yet the question of ‘function’ hides another issue, of understanding the problem to be solved. Archigram, a group of British architects in the 1960s, had as its motto: ‘When you are looking for a solution to what you have been told is an architectural problem – remember, it may not be a building.’13 The proper and reliable functioning of goods has several possible limitations: the unavailability of spare parts or a product design or geographical location that make repairs impossible can render their continued function difficult or impossible. Independent producers of spare parts can overcome the unavailability problem. In most industrialized countries, however, they are hindered by intellectual property rights. The design protection is 30 years in Germany, while in other countries it can be one or five years. Hence consumers can buy cheap spare parts in, say, Italy that may be confiscated in Germany. In the UK it is common that owner-clubs of, for example, vintage cars form to produce and share spare parts for their cars. Another example is European legislation that blocks innovative alternatives in repairs for consumer goods when safety issues may be involved, as in electrical and automotive goods. For example, ripping out non-functioning electronic systems in cars and replacing them with electromechanical ones is a standard method in LDCs but in Europe any technical change involving a car, whether to wheels or electronics, needs MOT approval. For investment goods, by contrast, technological changes and upgrading during utilization do not face the same obstacles: aircraft, for example, are periodically equipped with new, quieter engines.

Of Tools and Toys Function may be explored by distinguishing ‘tools’, goods used in a productive activity to earn money, from ‘toys’, goods used by consumers to have fun (or, at least, to use without any need for efficiency in an economic sense) (Stahel 2010). Tools are used to achieve productive performance. For tools, beauty and ownership are of less importance than functionality; indeed, unnecessary functions are undesirable as they can lead to breakdowns or distract the attention of the operator. A hundred years ago, one of the founders of the 13 See http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2008/02/on-the-archigra.html

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engineering company Brown Boveri (now ABB) said that the art of engineering is the elimination of parts! The durability of tools can be influenced by the context. If a new tool for a particular task provides a higher return for a lower cost, economic actors may act quickly to maintain their competitiveness; if not, existing tools will be kept in use. In the case of businesses, the economic nature of tools means that tax incentives can play a role in maximizing profit, independently of their technical durability. As investment goods such as cars and computers depreciate in value, replacement orders are placed by companies long before they reach the end of their technical life in order to avoid losing tax benefits, thus leading to ‘depreciation waste’. Performance-based business models are common for tools: witness energy saving contracting, operational leasing contracts for photocopiers and private finance initiatives (PFI) for infrastructure. Toys, by contrast, compete on fashion and gadgetry more than on productive performance. New electronic goods such as mobile phones or MP3 players are ‘cooler’ but do not necessarily represent better value for money than their predecessors in terms of cost per unit of service. Due to changing fashions, most toys never live up to their technical service life. For most toys, with the exception of cars,14 ownership is normally a precondition for use. This situation is slowly changing, however, possibly linked to the new internet generation as described in Futureshop by US trend researcher Daniel Nissanoff (2006). A trend towards renting luxury goods has started in the USA and spread to Europe,15 while other consumers rely on buying a luxury item and selling it again quickly on eBay.16 The impact of economic and psychological influences is exemplified by tyres. The main difference between the retreading of lorry tyres and car tyres is the economic nature of the former as ‘tools’; the need for economic actors to minimize costs has a decisive influence in optimizing the durable functioning of lorry tyres.

14 Cars may be either tools or toys, depending on the context. 15 For example, the website http://www.bagborroworsteal.com has been copied by http://www. bagstealandborrow.co.uk and http://www.luxusbabe.de, while another rental company, http:// www.runawaybag.com, has copied the US business model of http://frombagstoriches.com 16 For example, in the second quarter of 2006 $1.7 billion of eBay’s $12.6 billion US turnover was on watches and jewellery.

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Lorry tyres are ‘tools’ and, as such, designed to keep life cycle costs low. They are manufactured to facilitate regrooving and retreading in order to maximize service life and are used under defined conditions (i.e. speed limits). Lorry tyres are retreaded in the ‘lake economy’ by specialized regional retreaders as a service activity for lorry owners. There is no change of ownership and thus no transaction cost. The decision to retread tyres is taken by the owner (e.g. fleet manager) based on considerations of adequate quality, cost versus benefit, and spare parts management. Trust plays only a small role, as the client retains ownership of the tyres. The possibility of regrooving and retreading is a precondition for tyre purchase. Lorry tyres are retreaded several times over their service life.17 By contrast, car tyres are ‘toys’ that are manufactured to comply with the top speed of cars, despite the fact that only one country worldwide (Germany) has no general speed limit! Car tyres are retreaded in the ‘loop economy’. Used tyres become consumer waste at the end of their service-lives. Regional retreaders buy them from scrap dealers, in competition with other potential industry users.18 After retreading, they are remarketed in competition with new tyres from global low-cost manufacturers. A strategy of selectively buying the most suitable used tyres directly from the last owner is not open to retreaders. Car tyre retreading thus has high transaction costs due to a multiple change in ownership. Buyers of retreaded tyres are influenced by fear and mistrust (how did the previous owner treat them?), ignorance (how safe are retreads?) and advertisements for new tyres (in contrast with the absence of publicity for retreads). Consumers, as owners of one-off goods, do not have the opportunity to cash in on the economic advantages of the lake economy, but may exploit the loop economy by buying cheaper second-hand goods, albeit with an uncertain track record.

Maintaining Function over Time In general, cheap regional or local repair facilities are a key factor in maintaining the functionality of durable goods. They face a range of problems. For example, attempting to repair sealed unit products such as electronic gadgets and other appliances is liable to destroy them. The failure of any single component thus terminates the service life of a 17 Similarly, aircraft tyres of jumbo jets and fighter planes, which suffer heavy wear in landing, are retreaded up to 12 times. 18 For example, in cement works they are used as a cheap energy source.

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good in what may be called the pars pro toto syndrome.19 The withdrawal of key spare parts from distribution channels by the manufacturer when introducing a replacement product has the same effect, a form of product life abortion. If rubber seals for refrigerators or dust bags for vacuum cleaners are no longer offered for sale, otherwise perfectly functioning equipment ends up on the waste heap unless the market offers alternative solutions (which is often the case in LDCs). Component standardization would overcome this problem. However, manufacturers often make spare parts for new products incompatible with existing ones and intellectual property rights forbid third parties to produce spares. Car engines produced by one manufacturer for competitors may be identical except for fixing points in order to prevent customers putting a ‘cheap’ engine into an expensive car. In a similar way, non-standardization is used to protect national markets. Some 20 years were spent developing an EU technical standard for sprinkler systems despite the fact that each country already has a national standard for sprinklers! This situation changes if the production of parts and consumables is outsourced, as is often the case with, for example, electric motors for washing machines and consumables for power tools. Component standardization with multiple fixing points enables the third-party manufacturer to achieve lower unit costs through economies of scale. Independent distributors prefer standardized components as they need less shelf space in shops and improve logistics and spare parts management. Advantages of component standardization for economic actors are shown in Table 7.1. The ability to repair goods is a key to guaranteeing their continued function and thus their durability and performance. A product or system design with built-in resilience to potential faults could overcome many of the above problems. There are, however, inadequate incentives to adopt these strategies unless the economic actors get revenue from operating goods, as in the case of industrial machinery. Those who benefit most from durability are the owners of the goods, not the manufacturers, and the owners of consumer goods are relatively powerless as regards repair once the goods have been purchased.

19 Pars pro toto may be translated as ‘(taking) a part for the whole’.

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Table 7.1

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Advantages in manufacturing, after-sales services and utilization of component standardization

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and manufacturers selling performance

• • • • • • •

avoids duplication of efforts in development, quality assurance, storage, parts numbering makes production easier reduces production and handling costs speeds up time to market of goods opens up saturated markets improves product information and customer choice enables profitable product take-back for re-use and remanufacturing.

Fleet managers (operation and maintenance) and companies selling performance

•

• • •

reduces costs of utilization by reducing – cost of training personnel – number of stand-by crews – cost of stock and spare parts management – potential for mistakes in maintenance (and subsequent losses) facilitates technological upgrading and repairs and reduces overall system cost facilitates re-use and remanufacturing of components encourages interoperability.

Selling Function Improves Durability Whereas in emerging markets (and in a service economy) durability is a necessity, in an industrial economy with saturated markets it is a problem, as demonstrated in the following example. When the Model T Ford was first put on the market, the design brief for engineers was to build a car that could be repaired by any blacksmith (as there were no car workshops). Years later, after the Model T Ford had conquered the market, Henry Ford held a strategic workshop with his engineers and asked if there were any parts that never broke down. After the proud engineers informed him that the rear axle was an example, he ordered: change it! Commercial strategies to sell the function or performance of goods, instead of the goods themselves, will lead to changes in the design of goods. The sale of function or performance, as in operational leasing, encourages product and system design to maximize profit over the full product life-span, leading to

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strategies to minimize operation and maintenance costs and maximize the reuse of parts and goods. For example, the market dominance of leasing companies in the aircraft business in the 1980s led to the imposition of technology upgrade guarantees over a 15-year period for all major aircraft components, including jet engines. One outcome was that engines were built using a modular system design with standardized components. Similarly, the standardization and reuse of components by Xerox, which is applied across all of its product and part lines, is a classic example of a strategy to sell performance, and was later copied by Ricoh and other competitors. The success of Xerox (which now calls itself a ‘document company’) has also come from adapting goods and services to changes in customer needs and technology. It has integrated the digital revolution into its equipment, offering services such as ‘print on demand’ at its service centres: the printing of books, brochures and technical manuals on Xerox machines anywhere in the world in small numbers. This eliminates the problem of surplus stocks that have to be recycled, the fate of perhaps 50 per cent of all printed matter produced. Some lorry tyre manufacturers, such as Michelin, have considered selling mileage, instead of tyres, in order to benefit from the longer service life of their tyres. As a manufacturer-turned-service contractor it would have to integrate retreading as a second core activity. This implies a departure from the centralized high-volume production process and the development of a regionalized business model for retreading that is fundamentally different from tyre production. For the moment, its business strategy aims to sell individual hauliers fewer tyres by encouraging regrooving, a strategy which has been described as aiming ‘to sell fewer tyres to more people’.20 In summary, selling stand-alone goods, rather than systems or performance, is the dominant business model upon which the manufacturing economy has built its success. Pressure for change comes from profit-motivated economic actors. It has been emerging in industry, with capital goods and their suppliers questioning traditional models, rather than among consumers, who tend to be driven by fashion rather than economics.

20 See http://www.abba.co.uk/media/5860/michelin%20(regroove)_strat.pdf

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Performance The performance economy focuses on results and its aim is to achieve these with a minimum input of non-renewable resources, for a competitive cost and in a socially responsible way. What kind of performance should be optimized, however, and how is it to be measured? Is the key factor the management of an individual product’s performance over time, including operation and maintenance? Or is it the exploitation of technological progress in order to reach new heights of technical performance? Should the focus be the performance of the system or the service?

Product Performance If the European Union is to fulfil the Lisbon objectives and follow a path towards sustainable growth, the value-per-weight ratio of products needs to increase dramatically, both at national and corporate level. Stahel (2010) has distinguished three types of economies: ‘stone age’, with goods valued at a few pence per kg; ‘industrial’, with goods valued at around £20 per kg; and ‘performance’, which creates goods valued at thousands of pounds per gram. In today’s industrial economy the value-per-weight ratio, as a simple metric to measure sustainable performance, needs to increase over time. For manufacturers, new products should show a higher value-per-weight ratio than the previous ones. This is not always the current trend, as demonstrated in a comparison of the original Volkswagen Golf GTI, produced in 1976, with the second Golf GTI, manufactured since 2004 (see Table 7.2). During this period of around 30 years the value-per-weight ratio decreased by 44 per cent due to the ‘bigger-better-safer’ syndrome: building faster cars with additional safety technology, while using traditional materials and manufacturing processes, results in greater weight. Material resource consumption (weight) increased by 63 per cent, while energy efficiency during utilization (i.e. fuel consumption) was unchanged. This does not suggest progress toward sustainability and contradicts the publicity of car manufacturers on progress in fuel efficiency and dematerialisation. With regard to technical performance, the engine has become more complex (turbocharged, four valves per cylinder), the number of gears has increased and the engine size is 27 per cent bigger. Top speed has increased by 29 per cent and there has

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Table 7.2

Performance comparison of Volkswagen Golf GTI, 1976 and 2004

VW Golf GTI

1976

2004

Engine type

4 cylinders, 8 valves

4 cylinders, 16 valves, turbo

Engine size

1,566 cm3

1,984 cm3

+ 27%

Number of gears

4

6

+ 50%

Length

3,705 m

4,216 m

+ 13%

Width

1,630 m

1,759 m

+ 8%

Height

1,395 m

1,336 m

- 4%

Fuel consumption

28 mpg

28 mpg

no change

Top speed

182 km/h

235 km/h

+ 29%

Acceleration (0-100 km/h)

9.0 seconds

6.7 seconds

- 25%

Weight

820 kg

1,336 kg

+ 63%

Sales price

29,350 €

27,000 €

- 8%

Value-per-weight ratio

35.8 €/kg

20.2 €/kg

- 44%

Size

Change

been an increase in acceleration. Although both have little practical relevance,21 top speed and acceleration are important sales arguments. No information is available from Volkswagen on durability, reliability and the cost of operation and maintenance for either car, although some real-time performance data after the point of sale may be available from consumer and drivers’ organizations. Eco-design strategies are still rare in today’s industrial economy. For example, the eco-design of cars focuses on disassembly at end-of-life to recycle materials. Yet a majority of cars are not disassembled but end up in a shredder (primarily to recover metallic elements). The EU Directive on Endof-Life Vehicles cannot be implemented properly for cost reasons, despite cars being designed for disassembly. Sustainable solutions will need to offer economic, environmental and social advantages over the full life cycle in order to succeed (Stahel 2001) whereas legislation such as the EU Directives on Endof-Life Vehicles and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment has focused on

21 The top speed is already above existing speed limits which, with the exception of some stretches of German motorways, are around 130 km/h. Acceleration matters little given frequent congestion and traffic jams on motorways and urban roads.

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the environmental dimension rather than creating more skilled jobs or higher corporate profits. One option for manufacturers is to sell performance by switching to the business models of the functional service economy referred to above, which do not distinguish between durability and longevity.22 These include corporate strategies of optimising goods ‘from cradle to cradle’ and durability and product life extension strategies, to achieve the objective of a higher value-per-weight ratio. Another option is a radical change in technology to new materials and manufacturing processes, as with the ‘hypercar’ concept developed by Amory Lovins at the Rocky Mountains Institute.

System Performance Another way to look at the efficiency of products is through system performance. A substantial literature exists on how to meet needs using a systems approach. Performance optimisation poses the same question as Archigram’s quest for function; before starting work the problem that needs solving and the key factors to optimise should be agreed upon. In general, the need for public transportation and other goods or services in common utilisation almost inevitably require system solutions (Stahel and Gomringer 1993; Whitworth et al. 2006). For example, in the late 1990s the Swedish Parliament introduced a concept called ‘Vision Zero’, a simultaneous optimization of the three elements of a traffic system (automobiles, roads and drivers), with the objective of reducing to zero the number of people killed in road accidents. Another example is from industry. System performance in distribution can be achieved by addressing reusable transport packaging and the products together, facilitating distribution and reverse logistics. This not only enables the delivery of new goods and take-back of used goods without damage, but opens the opportunity to design lightweight white goods with reusable panels designed to withstand only the loads during utilization, a strategy Mitsubishi has started to follow. New interest has emerged in recent years in the subject of service performance (and, more specifically, product-service systems) (Giarini and Stahel 1989/1992; Stahel 1997a, b; Hawkins et al. 2000). The output of the functional service economy ranges from shared systems, such as public transport, to rental ‘goods’ such as apartments for hire, hotel rooms, sports 22 See Chapter 1 (Cooper).

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equipment, single-use cameras and clothes for special occasions, and private services, such as taxis. In this economic model the customer only pays when satisfied with the result. The supplier of a service, on the other hand, carries the full risk for the cost and liability of faults in operation and maintenance, and the cost of waste disposal. Thus if a rental car breaks down the client returns the key and gets a replacement; if a taxi driver gets lost, he or she has to switch off the meter. Selling services means selling performance (Stahel 1990). Manufacturers who shifts their business model from selling goods to selling services or service performance need new capabilities (such as risk management and loss prevention in utilization) and will have to change their corporate strategy (including marketing). The main differences between the business models of selling goods and selling service performance are summarised in Table 7.3. Table 7.3

Selling performance versus selling products

Sale of a product [industrial economy]

Sale of a performance [service economy]

Object of the sale is a product

Object of the sale is performance

Liability of the seller: the manufacturing quality [defects]

Liability of the seller: quality of the performance [usefulness]

Payment is due for, and at the transfer of, the property rights [‘as is where is’ principle]

Payment is due pro rata if and when the performance is delivered [‘no fun no money’ principle]

Work can be produced centrally/globally [production]. Products can be stored, re-sold, exchanged

Work has to be produced in situ [service], around the clock. No storage or exchange possible

Property rights and liability are transferred to the buyer

Property rights and liability remain with the fleet manager

Advantages for buyer: • possible increase in value • status value (as when buying performance) • security of ownership

Advantages for user: • high flexibility in utilisation • little product knowledge necessary • cost guarantee per unit of performance • minimal risk • status symbol (as when buying product)

Disadvantages for buyer: • zero flexibility in utilization • own knowledge necessary [e.g. driver licence] • no cost guarantee per unit of performance • full risk for operation and disposal

Disadvantages for user: • no right to a possible increase in value

Marketing strategy = publicity, sponsoring

Marketing strategy = customer service

Central notion of value: high short term exchange value at the point of sale

Central notion of value: constant value over long term utilisation period

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Product-Service Systems Most market offers today are combinations of products and services in systems. ‘Pure products’ or ‘pure services’ do not exist in a modern world; the era of the Model T Ford that could be serviced by any local blacksmith has long passed. The concept of ‘product-service systems’, first used by Purcell and Stahel (1994), is nonetheless problematic. An analysis of recent research reports on product-service systems in Europe suggests that they do not necessarily reflect the main characteristic of the functional service economy, which is to achieve sustainable profits without an externalization of costs for waste and liability (Stahel 2010).23

Business Models for a Different Economic Performance As suggested above, new business models that combine turnover growth with skilled job creation and reduced resource consumption exist for many investment goods but are rare for consumer goods (Stahel 2010). Giarini and Stahel (1989/1992) note that economists have traditionally focused much attention on the optimisation of the production process, economies of scale and fast depreciation to fuel growth. The result is a predominance of shortlife consumer goods of the latest technology and fashion, characterized by a lack of reparability and little adaptability to change. An ever-increasing share of consumers’ income is consequently devoted to product replacement and maintaining, not adding to, wealth. The speed of material flow matters as much as its volume. However, as fast product replacement has gained momentum in fashion-based consumer societies obsessed with performance defined as ‘bigger-better-faster-safer’ and more exciting new products, progress through eco-design has been outweighed by increased speed of change. Cheaper goods have enabled people to buy more, creating a rebound effect. As a result, resource consumption and endof-life waste have continued to increase according to the logic of the industrial economy. The business models in this chapter fit new economic models that address material ‘throughput’, measured as volume per unit of time. Decoupling economic success from resource throughput is not possible in the linear industrial economy, as it would slow down economic growth. This was bluntly admitted in an evaluation of waste policies by the Swiss Government: 23 For example, Suspronet. See www.suspronet.org

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The federal waste concept of 1992 requested financial incentives to prevent waste at the source and to specifically promote long-life easy-torepair goods. The lack of such measures in the new concept is due to the following reasons: Efficient measures to avoid household waste would lead to changes in, or even a reduction of, the volume of consumer goods sold. Due to the feared dampening effect on economic growth as well as a potential limitation of the freedom of trade, the political discussion (i.e. the Swiss Parliament) considered such measures to be exaggerated and not to be pursued. (BHP and Electrowatt-Ekono AG 2005: 49) Such decoupling needs new business models based on producer responsibility from cradle back to cradle, which is very different from the present system of optimizing production up to the point of sale. Greening today’s linear industrial economy involves addressing end-of life-issues. A start has been made through European Union producer responsibility legislation and, in the case of plastic bags, regulation by national governments. For consumers, there are two alternatives to the kind of goods typical of the linear fast-replacement system that would reduce resource consumption and waste, while also creating new jobs and thus countering the fears of the Swiss Parliament: ‘teddy bear goods’ and ‘chewing gum goods’ (Stahel 2007). Teddy bear goods are designed for long product life-spans and kept in use due to a caring attitude by their owner, often based on affection.24 They are characterized by few, if any, changes of ownership. Some may be collectors’ items. For technically complex teddy bear goods, such as vintage cars, repair and maintenance activities depend upon, and also foster, knowledge and skills linked to their operation. Teddy bear goods exist in a lake economy, which offers economic and environmental benefits. Longer product life-spans increases the number of skilled jobs in services (Figure 7.1, above) and reduced economies of scale in production implies more manufacturing jobs. As a result of doubling product life-spans, the depletion of material resources and the amount of waste created are halved (Stahel 1984a, b, c, 1986). Chewing gum goods are discarded when the fun is over. Examples are toothbrushes, portable music devices, drink containers and other forms of packaging, and even white goods. They can be designed for a loop economy: product life extension, component reuse and materials recycling are all possible if non-destructive take-back systems exist to ‘close the loop’. Products that 24 See Chapter 5 (Van Nes).

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currently take this form are those used intensively in closed loops between retailers and consumers (such as rental sports equipment, hired clothing and, in some parts of Europe, glass bottles) and those which have a strong and non-destructive bring-back incentive (as exemplified by single-use cameras). Reverse logistics is a key capability of these new business models.

Conclusion This chapter has sought to show the links between durability and the business model of selling performance. Durability is limited by fashion for consumer goods, whereas for capital goods it is rewarded by a focus on function. Moreover, while durability benefits the owners of consumer goods, it may have little attraction to manufacturers in markets near saturation because it reduces the number of goods sold and thus the economies of scale. Many manufacturers and other supporters of the present industrial economy conclude that durability implies economic stagnation. In the current industrial system, the life-span of consumer goods thus depends mainly on consumer attitudes and behaviour and the availability of cheap repair services (and spare parts). This is unfortunate, as increased durability would reduce resource throughput, prevent end-of-life waste and create decentralized, skilled jobs. New marketing and logistics strategies need to be developed to guarantee the function and performance of consumer goods such as teddy bear goods and chewing gum goods. A functional view of goods leaves out psychological aspects such as fashion. If function is to dominate over fashion, however, changing people’s relationship with goods from ‘owners’ to ‘users’ may be needed. The insight that the status value of goods depends on ‘user-ship’, not ownership, should help. Marketing strategies to intensify the use of fashion goods (e.g. handbag rentals, single-use cameras) may convince consumers that ‘performance’ is what they have always wanted. Ownership does not make sense for goods that lose value over time, which is the case for most consumer goods. New framework conditions to make the sustainable choice the most attractive (for example, because it is cheaper or more convenient) will be needed for such a transition.25 Emphasizing function in this way changes the economic focus from optimizing flow, the basis of the industrial economy, to making optimum use of the stock of existing goods, 25 Consumer Commission of the Land Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

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the basis of the lake economy, or functional service economy. This is well established for many capital goods which are used as tools in manufacturing to make money from productive activities. Achieving and selling performance is a new challenge, particularly for industrial designers. They need, first, to design goods and systems within a performance-focused economy that encourage customers to use goods intuitively ‘the right way’. Secondly, they need to design goods as modular systems with components that can be dismantled and reused in new products. Thirdly, they need to design reusable transport packaging to optimize the delivery of new dematerialized products of standard size and the take-back of end-of-life goods. Durability, function and performance are intertwined concepts of great significance to a sustainable economy, in which wealth and jobs will be created with considerably reduced resource throughput.

References BHP and ELECTROWATT-EKONO AG (2005). Evaluation der Abfallpolitik des Bundes: Bericht im Auftrag des BUWAL (Evaluation of the waste politics of the Federation: Report on behalf the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape). Zurich: BHP (Brugger und Partner AG). GIARINI, O. and STAHEL, W.R. (1989/92). The Limits to Certainty: Facing risks in the new service economy. Dordrecht: Kluwer. HAWKEN, P., LOVINS, A.B. and LOVINS, L. (2000). Natural Capitalism. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. NISSANOFF, D. (2006). Future Shop. Munich: Finanzbuchverlag. PURCELL, A. and STAHEL, W.R. (1994). Product-service systems: U.S. case studies. Report to the US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, USA (unpublished). STAHEL, W.R. (1984a). The product-life factor. In: ORR, S.G. (ed.). An Inquiry into the Nature of Sustainable Societies: The role of the private sector. Houston, TX: Houston Area Research Center, pp. 72–105. STAHEL, W.R. (1984b). How to overcome obstacles and barriers to productlife extension. Creativity and Innovation Network 10 (3), Manchester Business School, Manchester. STAHEL, W.R. (1984c). Longer life – less waste (product-life and wealth creation). UN Development Forum XII(2), New York/Geneva.

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STAHEL, W.R. (1986). Hidden innovation: R&D in a sustainable society. Science and Public Policy 13 (4), 196–203. STAHEL, W.R (1990). Eine neue Beziehung zu den Dingen: Verkauf von Nutzen statt von Produkten (die Strategie der Dauerhaftigkeit) [A new relationship with goods – selling utilization instead of goods (the strategy of durability)]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung Beilage Technologie und Gesellschaft 49 (28), February 1990. STAHEL, W.R. (1997a). The service economy: ‘Wealth without resource consumption?’ Philosophical Transactions A 355 (June), Royal Society, London, pp. 1309–19. STAHEL, W.R. (1997b). The functional economy: Cultural and organizational change. In: RICHARDS, Deanna J. (ed.). The Industrial Green Game. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 91–100. STAHEL, W.R. (2001). From ‘design for environment’ to ‘designing sustainable solutions’. In: TOLBA, M.K. (ed.). Our Fragile World: Challenges and opportunities for sustainable development. (Forerunner to the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems). Oxford: UNESCO and EOLSS, pp. 1553–68. STAHEL, W.R. (2007). Resource-miser business models. International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management 7 (5–6), 483–95. STAHEL, W.R. (2010). The Performance Economy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. STAHEL, W. and GOMRINGER, E. (1993). Common utilization instead of singular consumption – a new relationship with goods. Proceedings, International Design Forum 1992, Ulm, Germany. Giessen: Anabas Verlag. STAHEL, W.R. and REDAY-MULVEY, G. (1976). The Potential for Substituting Manpower for Energy. Report to the Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (published as STAHEL, W.R. and REDAY-MULVEY, G. (1981). Jobs for Tomorrow. New York: Vantage Press). STEINHILPER, R. (1998). Remanufacturing, the ultimate form of recycling. Stuttgart: Fraunhofer IRB Verlag. STERN, N. (2007). The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Report for HM Treasury. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. WHITWORTH, B., FJERMESTAD, J. and MAHINDA, E. (2006). The web of system performance. Communications of the ADM (Association for Computing Machinery) 49 (5), 93–99.

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Part 3

Public Policy and Product Life-Spans

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Durability and the Law

8

Cowan Ervine

Abstract The contribution which the law makes to the durability of goods, principally through the law of contract, is explored in this chapter. Until surprisingly recently it was not clear that durability was a characteristic that consumers could expect from goods. With the amendment of the law relating to the quality standards implied in contracts for the supply of goods, which occurred in 1994, it has become clear that this is so. However, such case law as there is on this reform does not suggest that it has made a dramatic difference. In any event, it is one thing to have legal rights but quite another to be able to enforce them. Problems of access to justice often make it difficult for consumers to do so and thus prevent the development and clarification of the law. Having discussed the role of contract law in relation to durability, the chapter also addresses the role of tort law and safety legislation.

Introduction This chapter explores how the law approaches the idea of durability with particular reference to consumer products and considers how effective the law is in protecting consumers from products with unsatisfactory life-spans. The construction of products using materials from sustainable sources and the efficiency of products in use tend to feature much more than their durability in discussions relating to sustainable consumption. This may be demonstrated by the single reference to durability in the UK Government’s sustainable development strategy. An earlier White Paper, however, had observed that ‘Effective waste minimisation is not just a question of reducing unwanted 

Defra (2005: 186). In fairness, it should be added that the idea of durability is implicit in Chapter 3 of the strategy, especially section 2 on ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’.

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outputs from the manufacturing process. It also involves producing ... longer lasting products’ (Her Majesty’s Government 1994: 151). As a working definition of durability, one might use that of lawyers Atiyah, Adams and MacQueen (2005: 190), that ‘goods, when delivered, should have the capacity to remain reasonably fit for their purpose, and retain their nonfunctional attributes, for a reasonable time.’ This emphasizes that durability is not just about the product continuing to be functional but also the retention of other attributes. Such attributes might well include appearance and finish. The main legal avenue for approaching the issue is through the law of contract, which is the area on which this chapter will concentrate. Other areas can have relevance, too, and these are discussed later.

Durability and Contract Law In relation to consumer goods the concept of durability has appeared on the legal radar most prominently as a result of the quality standards mandated by contract law. We shall look mainly at the contract of sale which has been governed by various versions of the Sale of Goods Act since 1893. In passing it should be noted that sale is only one legal form dealing with the supply of goods. Sale is defined in the current Sale of Goods Act 1979 as ‘a contract by which the seller transfers or agrees to transfer the property in goods to the buyer for a money consideration, called the price.’ There are a number of other legal mechanisms which involve the supply of goods but are in some respects rather different legally. Hire purchase is an example. Here, the seller, usually a finance company, retains ownership of the goods until the final instalment is paid by the purchaser. Goods may also be bartered (though this is unusual in modern consumer transactions), or provided in exchange for a voucher or token. There is also the hybrid contract for work and materials which combines the provision of goods with the performance of a service. Examples would be a contract to install a central heating system or for the repair of a motor car. In addition to obtaining the boiler, radiators and piping comprising the central heating system, the purchaser is also contracting for the skill of the engineers who install it; the same would be true for spare parts used in car repair work.

 

Section 2(1). This includes payment by cheque or credit card. The classic example is trading stamps, though these are not now so popular. Promotions inviting customers to collect tokens and exchange them for a ‘gift’ fall into the same category.

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These legally different transactions are governed by various statutes. Hire purchase transactions are governed by the Sale of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 and barter, acquisition of goods in exchange for vouchers and contracts for work and materials by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. For present purposes, however, the fact that legally different transactions with the same economic purpose are governed by separate pieces of legislation will be seen below not to make much difference. It is quite possible for the parties to a contract to specify in great detail their agreement, including the nature and characteristics of the product. Setting out explicitly what has been agreed is said to result in the creation of the express terms of the contract. In practice, in consumer transactions this is done only to a limited extent. This is where the concept of the implied term is important. In certain circumstances the law will embark on a kind of gap-filling exercise. In the context of the various methods of supply of goods this is now done by legislation although originally these implied terms were the result of common law rules devised by the judiciary. A central feature of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the other pieces of legislation referred to above is a number of implied terms. These relate to the right to transfer ownership of the goods, their description, terms relating to the sale of goods by means of a sample, and, crucially for present purposes, two implied terms about quality contained in Section 14 of the Act. These two terms are that the goods will be of satisfactory quality and, where the buyer expressly or by implication makes known to the seller any particular purpose for which the goods are being bought, that the goods will be reasonably fit for that purpose. The latter implied term can clearly have relevance to the issue of durability, as the buyer may have made clear that one of the characteristics of the product which is important is its durability. In practice, however, it is the implied term about satisfactory quality that is more likely to be relevant and which requires detailed discussion. The current implied term about satisfactory quality is the result of a lengthy process of development. As Mitchell (2001) has pointed out, nineteenth-century judges had evolved quality terms relating to contracts of sale of which the most important was that of ‘merchantable quality’ and when the law of sale was

 

For purposes not connected with the issue of quality standards, the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is also of considerable importance. For England and Wales the relevant provisions are to be found in Part 1 of the Act while those relating to Scotland are in Part 1A.

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codified in the Sale of Goods Act 1893 this term was set out in it. The Act did not define more precisely what was meant by merchantable quality. As the Law Commissions (1987) later observed, it was a term well understood by business people and it was not thought that in the context of the sale of commodities, for which it was most generally relevant, anything more was needed. However, with the growth of the consumer society a term which had worked well enough for business people was found not to operate so successfully in relation to consumer goods. Whether the concept of merchantable quality included durability was for many years by no means clear. In England there seemed to be the highest authority for the proposition that the implied terms of merchantability and fitness for purpose did indeed encompass durability. In 1982 in the House of Lords case of Lambert v Lewis a distinguished commercial judge, Lord Diplock, delivered an opinion, with which all of the other Law Lords concurred, in which he said: The implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose relates to the goods at the time of delivery under the contract of sale in the state in which they were delivered. I do not doubt that it is a continuing warranty that the goods will continue to be fit for that purpose for a reasonable time after delivery, so long as they remain in the same apparent state as that in which they were delivered, apart from normal wear and tear. What is a reasonable time will depend on the nature of the goods. However, there were other decisions that cast doubt on this. In an earlier House of Lords judgment Lord Pearce had stated that ‘the date of delivery … is the time at which one must estimate merchantability.’ Some judges who took the view that the date of delivery was the critical time did find a way to apply that approach which imported an effective element of durability. A good example is the 1975 case of Crowther v Shannon Motor Co.10 This involved a typical consumer transaction, the purchase of a second-hand car. The car was a Jaguar and the dealers referred to it as ‘hardly run-in’ although it had travelled over 82,000 miles. After the buyer had driven about 2,000 miles in three weeks the engine seized up and he sued for breach     10

See Bridge (2003). See Ervine (1984) for a detailed survey of the issue. [1982] A.C. 225 at 276. Kendall v Lillico [1969] 2 A.C. 31 at 118. [1975] 1 W.L.R. 30.

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of the implied term of merchantability. The County Court judge had applied the approach which Lord Diplock was later to approve but although the Court of Appeal (to which the dealers appealed) agreed with the result arrived at by the trial judge, it did so by another route. The Court of Appeal asserted that the time of delivery was the critical time but argued that the fact that a car of this kind suffered such a serious breakdown within two weeks of sale was evidence that it cannot have complied with the implied term at the date of sale. The problem over whether durability was an aspect of the implied terms about quality was intertwined with the issue of remedies. The primary remedy for breach of the implied terms about quality is rejection of the goods. This is a powerful remedy but one which, at least in the context of the contract of sale, must be exercised speedily as it can easily be lost: it is lost when a buyer indicates that he or she is accepting the goods by an act inconsistent with the ownership of the seller11 or by the lapse of a reasonable period of time. A reasonable time under the wording of the Act prior to the 1994 reforms (discussed below) meant only a time to inspect the goods to ensure that they conformed to the contract. With complex goods it could mean sufficient time to give them an appropriate trial, but it could still be quite short. A consumer case which highlighted this and demonstrated that the right to have goods which were durable might, in practice, be something of a chimera was Bernstein v Pamsons Motors (Golders Green) Ltd. in 1987.12 Mr Bernstein had bought a new top of the range Nissan car just before Christmas. Partly because of the holiday season and partly because he was ill for several days, he did little more than drive the car round the block before going for his first proper journey 27 days after taking delivery. This ended on the hard shoulder of a motorway after he sensed that there was a serious fault. The engine had seized as a result of narrow tubes in the engine having been blocked by sealant that had inadvertently been left in the engine during manufacture. Had Mr Bernstein not taken action on realizing that something was wrong, there would have been a very serious accident. Although assured by the sellers that a repair would leave the car as good as new, the buyer did not wish to retain the car and indicated that he was rejecting it. Under the existing version of the Act the judge found that Mr Bernstein had lost his right to reject. He was not without all remedy, however, for although the right to reject had been lost the remedy of damages (i.e. monetary compensation) 11 The concept of acceptance applies only to the contract of sale. 12 [1987] 2 All E.R. 220.

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was still available. The facts of this case are a very good illustration of how the right to damages can be an inadequate remedy. Mr Bernstein had lost confidence in the car so financial compensation was of no use to him. Although this is an extreme example, in consumer cases damages will often not be an adequate remedy. The consumer wants a product of the quality that he or she contracted to buy, not monetary compensation.13 How far recent reforms have addressed this problem will be discussed below, after these reforms to the implied term about quality have been outlined. Since that case was decided amendments to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 go some way to ameliorating this situation and it seems likely that Mr Bernstein would not now be regarded as having accepted his car. However, these reforms do not provide what is sometimes referred to as a long term right to reject.

Merchantable Quality Principally to cater for the needs of the consumer buyer, the term ‘merchantable quality’ was first defined by section 7(2) Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973, which incorporated the following definition into the Sale of Goods Act 1893: Goods of any kind are of merchantable quality within the meaning of this Act if they are as fit for the purpose or purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly bought as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if relevant) and all other relevant circumstances. This reform proved relatively short-lived and its limitations were exposed in 1976 by a Scottish case, Millar’s of Falkirk v Turpie.14 This case involved the purchase of an expensive new car. Two days after delivery the buyer noticed an oil leak and returned the car to the garage. The garage carried out a repair which they said had cured the defect and returned the car the following day. The next morning the buyer again found an oil leak under the car and this time purported to exercise his right to reject the car and obtain repayment of the 13 Damages will normally only cover loss of value or the cost of repair. The general approach is not to award damages for distress or disappointment. 14 [1976] S.L.T. (Notes) 66.

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purchase price, a course which the sellers resisted, arguing that the defect did not amount to a breach of the implied term. The Inner House of the Court of Session held that the car was of merchantable quality. In coming to this view about the problem, which involved a leak of oil from the power-steering unit, the court took the following into account: (i) the defect was a minor one which could readily and very easily have been cured at very small cost; (ii) the sellers were anxious to cure the defect; (iii) the defect was obvious; and (iv) the risk of the car being driven long enough to create some danger (if the steering unexpectedly ceased to be assisted) was slight. They also noted that many new cars have some defects on delivery to a purchaser and it was not exceptional for a new car to be delivered in a condition similar to that of the defender’s car. Not surprisingly this decision caused alarm amongst consumers, though it must be said that how likely courts in England would have been to have taken a similar approach is open to doubt, as some of the reasoning was open to criticism.15 In a later case, involving a new Range Rover, the English Court of Appeal observed that factors that should be taken into account in deciding whether a car was of merchantable quality ‘would include … not merely the buyer’s purpose of driving the car from one place to another but of doing so with the appropriate degree of comfort, ease of handling and reliability and, one might add, of pride in the vehicle’s outward and interior appearance.’16 By this time the process of reform of the 1979 Act was well under way and led to what, with some minor additions, is the quality standard that now exists.

The 1994 Reforms The next important change occurred in 1994, when Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, which contains the implied terms about quality, was recast. Section 1 of the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 inserted a new version of Section 14(2) into the 1979 Act and also added new subsections (2A), (2B) and (2C). A new subsection (2D) was inserted in a later reform, in 2002.17

15 See Clarke (1978). 16 [1987] Q.B. 933 at 944. 17 This was done by the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 SI 2002 No. 3045 as part of the implementation of the EC Directive on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees, dir. 1999/44 [1999] O.J. L17/12.

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These reforms replaced the concept of merchantable quality with that of satisfactory quality. Satisfactory quality, like merchantable quality, is defined and the definition is as follows: ‘… goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.’18 The definition of satisfactory quality, however, goes further than its predecessor by expanding on what is meant by the quality of goods in a series of guidelines. The following aspects of the quality of goods are listed. They are:

•

fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied

•

appearance and finish

•

freedom from minor defects

•

safety

•

durability.

These aspects of quality apply ‘in appropriate cases’. This underlines the fact that satisfactory quality is a broad and flexible standard designed to cover a wide range of products, both new and second-hand and both commercial and consumer transactions.19 Clearly, one cannot expect second-hand goods to be completely free from minor defects and the appearance and finish of a load of compost is not a matter of any importance. On the other hand, as was stated in a recent decision of the Court of Appeal: ‘In some cases, such as a high priced quality product, the customer may be entitled to expect that it is free from even minor defects, in other words perfect or nearly so.’20 Durability will often be an important aspect of goods, but some products are designed for transitory enjoyment and in such a case durability will be of less importance. 18 Section 14(2A) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 provides that the ‘other relevant circumstances’ include public statements about goods. 19 Defects which are specifically brought to the attention of the buyer before the contract is made and defects which by examination the buyer ought to have discovered are not taken into account in determining satisfactory quality. See s. 14(2C). See Ervine (2005) for a full discussion of ‘satisfactory quality’. 20 Hale L.J. in Clegg v Andersson [2003] EWCA Civ 320.

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The importance of this list is that it made clear that the approach of the judges in Millar’s of Falkirk v Turpie was no longer to be followed. This is of particular importance to consumers. Appearance and finish, and even durability, might not be of such importance to traders who were buying for resale. Consumers, however, buy for use and want a product that meets their needs; if a product is not of the quality that they expected they do not have the facilities that businesses may have of disposing of it in some other market. This is the importance of the inclusion of the listed aspects of quality. In the specific case of durability it removed any last vestige of uncertainty about quality including durability. Undoubtedly these reforms are, in theory, helpful to consumers, not least because they serve ‘the didactic purpose of educating the consumer or consumer rights organisation reading the statute’ (Bridge 2003: 175). The fact that durability and the other factors are explicitly set out clarifies the law and should make it easier for consumers to resolve disputes. In practice, however, where a dispute cannot be resolved by negotiation the position of the consumer is not such a strong one because of the difficulties of asserting his or her rights. In theory, consumers can look to the courts to vindicate their rights but, as research shows, this is not a course that consumers tend to take.21 There are various reasons for this, including lack of information, an equation of courts with being in trouble rather than places to resolve disputes, and fear of the cost. To some degree the cost problem has been overcome in England and Wales through the simpler and cheaper procedure of the small claims court, although as the upper limit is £5,000 significant numbers of disputes involving consumers will not fall with its jurisdiction. This is even more likely in Scotland, where in January 2008 the upper limit was increased from £750 to only £3,000. One of the problems about consumer law in general is that very few cases are heard by courts that give authoritative decisions that clarify the law. As has just been observed above, consumers are reluctant to go to court and often their claims will be heard in the small claims court or in other procedures in the County Court in England and Wales or the Sheriff Court in Scotland. Decisions of these courts in the system of precedent are not particularly important.22 It is rare for consumer cases to be heard in the High Court in England and Wales or 21 For empirical research on these issues see Genn (1999) and Genn and Paterson (2001). 22 Under the system of precedent operating in England and Wales and Scotland it is only the decisions of the higher courts that must be implemented by lower courts. Decisions by County Court judges in England and Wales or sheriffs in Scotland, for example, need not be followed by any other judge. In any event the judgments in such courts are less likely to be widely available.

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the Court of Session in Scotland, where a decision is more likely to be officially reported and to give guidance binding on lower courts. As it happens, the issue of durability following the 1994 reforms has been raised in a Scottish case, though not with altogether happy results from a consumer point of view. This case, the first to discuss the new satisfactory quality term, was Thain v Anniesland Trade Centre,23 a decision of the Sheriff Principal of Glasgow and Strathkelvin, and it raised the issue of durability. Ms Thain had paid £2,995 for a second-hand Renault 19 car which had travelled about 80,000 miles and was about six years old. Two weeks after she purchased it, an intermittent droning noise was noticed and this proved to be a failing differential bearing in the automatic gear box. The sellers refused to replace the gear box. Eventually, after about nine to ten weeks, the car was unusable and Ms Thain purported to reject it. The sellers refused to take the car back, arguing that there was no breach of contract on their part.24 The Sheriff Principal upheld the sheriff’s decision that the car was of satisfactory quality, observing: the sheriff’s conclusion can only be described as that of the reasonable person. Even a negligible degree of durability may not represent unsatisfactory quality where the secondhand car supplied is as old and as heavily used as the Renault had been. The plain fact is that, given the Renault’s age and mileage when supplied, its durability was a matter of luck. Durability, in all the circumstances, was simply not a quality that a reasonable person would demand of it. One might question how many car buyers would share the sheriff principal’s view that it was reasonable that they should take all the risk of a serious breakdown almost immediately after purchase. The decision appears to reduce the importance of the express inclusion of durability as one of the factors to be taken into account in assessing satisfactory quality. However, it may be possible to argue that this case turns on its own somewhat special facts. There was evidence even from Ms Thain’s own expert witness that there was no sign of a problem during the first two weeks that she drove the car and that the part which failed could work well and suddenly deteriorate. Given that nine to ten weeks was regarded as reasonable durability, the problem of when the test 23 1997 S.L.T. (Sh. Ct.) 102; 1997 S.C.L.R. 991. 24 In fairness to the dealers it should be pointed out that they did offer on two occasions to replace the car, a course which Ms Thain did not accept. While this is irrelevant to the assessment of satisfactory quality, one cannot avoid the suspicion that the sheriffs may have thought her behaviour unreasonable and were loath to make such a finding which would lead to the right to reject.

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(i.e. of satisfactory quality) has to be satisfied never arose. As we have seen, it is sometimes said that it is the date of the contract, at which point in this case there was no evidence of a defect. That could have been circumvented, as was done by Lord Denning in Crowther v Shannon Motor Co.,25 by using the fact of a short life-span as evidence that the car did not meet the statutory standard at the date of the contract.26

The New Remedies The 1994 reforms are not the end of the story for, with effect from March 2003, some further reforms came into effect. It is important to note that these only affect transactions between consumers and traders. The reforms were contained in the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, which implemented an EC Directive.27 The relatively minor alteration made to the meaning of satisfactory quality has already been noted and the important reforms relating to guarantees are discussed elsewhere in this volume.28 For present purposes the significance of these regulations lies in the fact that they provide an additional set of remedies which consumers may use where there is a breach of a contract for the supply of goods. This is effected by an amendment to the Sale of Goods Act 1979,29 the effect of which is to provide consumers with a different set of remedies which they may choose to use instead of the traditional remedies of rejection and damages. Under this alternative regime, the consumer’s primary remedy is to demand repair or replacement of the defective product. This is an important change in the law because under the original scheme of remedies there was no right to a repair or a replacement. If repair or replacement is not feasible30 the next remedy is a reduction in price and, if all else fails, the final remedy is rescission (which is the original remedy of rejection under another name). Two points may be made about this version of rejection compared to the original version. First, it is not lost in the way that the right to reject under the original set of 25 26 27 28 29

[1975] 1 W.L.R. 30. See Ervine (1998). Op. cit. Note 17. See Chapter 9 (Twigg-Flesner). This is contained in the new Part 5A of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. In the case of other contracts for the transfer of goods such as barter, contracts for work and materials or the supply of goods in return for vouchers, the changes are to be found in Part 1B of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The additional remedies do not apply to hire purchase or other forms of hire. 30 It seems that the choice is that of the consumer.

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remedies is lost: the original right to reject can be lost through lapse of time and it is likely to be a fairly short time. On the other hand, under the new version any reimbursement is subject to a reduction to take account of the use that the consumer has enjoyed. In the context of a discussion of durability there is an interesting provision in these reforms which provides an argument for using the new set of remedies rather than those in the original Act. Section 48A(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 provides that ‘goods which do not conform to the contract at any time within the period of six months starting with the date on which the goods were delivered to the buyer must be taken not to have so conformed at that date’. This does not apply if the seller can show that the goods did in fact conform during that period, or if the rule is incompatible with the nature of the goods or the nature of the defect. This is in contrast to the original remedies, where the burden of proof is on the buyer to prove that the goods were defective. Linked to the other provisions about using the new alternative remedies, it goes some way to providing a proper remedy when goods prove not to be durable.

Durability and Tort So far the discussion has centred on the role of contract law. It should not be forgotten that tort law has a role in the standard of goods produced. The famous 1932 decision in Donoghue v Stevenson31 is authority for the proposition that a manufacturer owes a duty to take reasonable care that the ultimate consumer of goods which are not likely to undergo intermediate examination do not injure that person. While this focuses on the safety of goods, it also has some impact on durability. A product which is unsafe may well be unsafe because it is not sufficiently well designed or manufactured to last for as long as the purchaser would expect. Similarly, the imposition by Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 of strict liability on manufacturers (and some others) to ensure that goods are not defective, in the sense that they can cause personal injury or damage to property, also has some impact for the same reasons as under Donoghue v Stevenson. These approaches are buttressed by safety legislation mainly sanctioned by criminal penalties. The General Product Safety Regulations 2005,32 which 31 [1932] AC 562. The case is sometimes referred to as ‘the Snail in the Bottle case’ as it involved a decomposed snail emerging from a bottle of ginger beer. 32 SI 2005/1803.

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implement an EC Directive,33 seek to prevent unsafe goods getting into the market place. Part 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 permits ministers to make safety regulations governing the design of various goods. Various EC directives which have been implemented in the U.K. include provisions relating to durability and these are usually sanctioned by criminal law. Most of these relate to safety in the workplace but one which relates to consumer goods is implemented by the Recreational Craft Regulations 2004.34 Under the heading of durability, these require that ‘The manufacturer of the engine shall supply engine installation and maintenance instructions, which if applied should mean that the engine in normal use will continue to comply with the above limits throughout the normal life of the engine and under normal conditions of use.’

Conclusion It cannot be said that the law relating to the supply of goods makes a very significant contribution to ensuring that goods are durable. It has taken many years even to establish clearly that goods have to be durable as part of the more general requirement that they should be of satisfactory quality. In addition, there are difficulties in obtaining an effective remedy. Is there more that could be done to protect consumers from unduly short-lived goods? One possibility is to encourage manufacturers to provide better guarantees, as discussed elsewhere in this volume.35 A further closely related option is to make it a legal requirement that more information be provided about products. During the passage of the Sale and Supply of Goods Bill 1994 Lord Beaumont unsuccessfully moved an amendment to make this a requirement for certain products.36 His amendment would have required sellers of products with ‘normal expected life-spans’ to state that life-span. The Government’s spokesman indicated that they were not sympathetic to this approach on the grounds that it would be a restriction on the working of the market and might result in spare parts becoming hard to find beyond the expected life-span. While the specific amendment may not have been the best way forward, in principle the idea surely has merit in that, far from inhibiting the operation of

33 34 35 36

EC Council Directive 2001/95 (OJ L11, 15.01.02, p. 4). SI 2004/1464, as amended by SI 2004/3201. See Chapters 9 (Twigg-Flesner) and 10 (Cooper). Hansard, H.C. Vol. 557, Cols. 960–967.

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the market, it would provide consumers with important information on which to base their decisions.

References ATIYAH, P.S., ADAMS, J.N. and MACQUEEN, H. (2005). The Sale of Goods (11th edn). Harlow: Pearson. BRIDGE, M. (2003). What is to be done about sale of goods? Law Quarterly Review 119, 173–77. CLARKE, M.G. (1978). The buyer’s right of rejection. Scots Law Times (News), 1–5. DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS). (2005). Securing the Future: Delivering UK sustainable development strategy. Cm. 6467 (2005). Norwich: The Stationery Office. ERVINE, W.C.H. (1984). Durability, consumers and the Sale of Goods Act. Juridical Review, 147–62. ERVINE, W.C.H. (1998). Satisfactory quality, Thain v. Anniesland Trade Centre. Juridical Review, 379–82. ERVINE, W.C.H. (2005). Satisfactory quality: what does it mean? Journal of Business Law, 684–703. GENN, H. (1999). Paths to Justice. Oxford/Portland, OR: Hart Publishing. GENN, H. and PATERSON, A. (2001). Paths to Justice in Scotland. Oxford/ Portland, OR: Hart Publishing. HER MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT (1994). Sustainable Development: The UK Strategy. Cm. 2426 (1994). London: HMSO. LAW COMMISSIONS (1987). Sale and Supply of Goods. Law Com. No. 160; Scot. Law Com. No. 104, Cm. 137 (1987). London: HMSO. MITCHELL, P. (2001). The development of quality obligations in sale of goods. Law Quarterly Review 117, 645–63.



The Law on Guarantees and Repair Work

9

Christian Twigg-Flesner

Abstract This chapter analyses the law on guarantees and repair work. It considers the extent to which the law in the United Kingdom provides that a consumer can request that faulty goods be repaired. Although recent legal changes have the effect of introducing repair as a consumer right, its availability is restricted. In many cases when goods are faulty, it seems more likely that a consumer will be given a replacement or a refund. Although consumers may be able to ask for a repair under a guarantee (which operates as an addition to their legal rights), there is no legal requirement to provide a guarantee, nor to include repair as one of the remedies offered. Generally, therefore, consumers seeking to have defective goods repaired may have to bear the financial cost of this out of their own pocket rather than being able to rely on a specific legal entitlement. Obtaining repair is made more difficult by the absence of any legal requirement on a retailer or manufacturer to stock spare parts and to make available appropriate servicing facilities. Attempts to reform the law in this area have not come to fruition. Overall, the law on repair work is not in a satisfactory state and improvements are needed. An examination of the approach in other jurisdictions suggests possible ways forward.

Introduction The law regarding guarantees and repair work is of particular interest with regard to the life-span of consumer products (i.e. durable goods supplied to consumers). Whenever a consumer product has broken down, the availability of repair, either 

The terms ‘goods’ and ‘products’ are used interchangeably in this chapter.

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as a legal right or as an option for the consumer, will potentially help to extend the life-span of the product concerned. If it is not possible to repair products, or if there is no legal obligation to do so, then the number of goods which will have to be discarded as soon as a problem arises may be very high indeed. It will become apparent in this chapter that the law, as it currently stands, does not go very far in encouraging the use of repair as a way of extending product life-spans and that more could be done to regulate this area. Indeed, more than two decades ago the European Consumer Law Group identified a range of problems, many of which have retained their currency (ECLG 1989). They were: (i) inadequate information about the durability of goods; (ii) the possibility and conditions of after-sales support; (iii) costs issues, including call-out charges, labour costs and the cost of spare parts; (iv) delays; (v) quality of service provided; and (vi) spare parts availability. It will be seen in this contribution that, two decades on, the law still has not addressed all of these concerns. The starting point for a discussion of the law in the UK on repair is to note that there is no legal requirement, at present, that goods must be repairable if a fault arises, nor that spare parts are available for this purpose. Indeed, there will be many products which will not be repairable once a fault has occurred, a classic example being a single-use (‘disposable’) camera. It is, however, possible to identify three broad circumstances in which the law specifically addresses the question of ‘repair’ as a remedy for dealing with faulty products: first, it may be a remedy which a consumer is entitled to under the legislation on the sale of goods; secondly, it may be a remedy which is available under a guarantee offered by a manufacturer or a retailer; and thirdly, it may be a service purchased separately by a consumer, either through an extended warranty or as a separate service. The purpose of this chapter is to set out the legal position regarding the provision of repair in each of these circumstances in turn, with a particular focus on the limitations that may exist in the legal framework as it is at present.

Repair Under Sale of Goods Legislation The law on the sale of goods generally requires that goods are of satisfactory quality, correspond with their description, and are fit for any particular   

The terms ‘retailer’ and ‘seller’ are used interchangeably in this chapter. Section 14(2) Sale of Goods Act 1979 (‘SoGA’). Section 13 SoGA.

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purpose which the buyer has made known to the seller. These requirements are implied by law into every contract of sale (i.e. whenever a consumer agrees to buy goods from a retailer, the contract will automatically include terms setting out these matters). One of the aspects to consider in establishing whether goods are of satisfactory quality is their durability. Crucially, these requirements only come into play if it can be shown that the goods at the time of delivery were not in accordance with them. Goods may, of course, break down due to normal ‘wear and tear’. In that case, a consumer will not be entitled to any specific legal rights and will instead have to seek a remedy either under an insurance policy or by paying to have the goods repaired. However, it is not easy to establish whether goods have broken down due to normal wear and tear or because of an inherent defect which has caused the goods to fail sooner than expected. The law does not set a minimum period of durability, nor does it provide any guidance on what might constitute ‘normal’ wear and tear. In view of the complexity of many consumer goods and the fact that consumers will look after their goods with varying degrees of care, it does not seem possible to set a clear legal standard (Law Commission 1987, paras 3.49–3.50). Consequently, a consumer seeking to argue that goods failed earlier than could reasonably be expected may have to produce expert evidence to persuade the seller (or, ultimately, a court) that they were not of satisfactory quality because they were insufficiently durable. If goods fail to meet the requirements set out above, then there will be a breach of contract and a consumer will be entitled to a range of remedies. These are based partly on the general law of contract and partly on specific rights made available to consumers under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SoGA). It is important to appreciate that a consumer will only have legal rights against the person from whom he or she bought the goods, who, in most cases, will be the retailer (whether in a High Street shop, by mail order or online). A manufacturer does not normally have any legal responsibility towards the consumer, except where the manufacturer is selling directly to consumers and is therefore in effect also operating as a retailer.    

Section 14(3) SoGA. It is not permissible for a retailer to exclude these implied terms from a contract of sale with a consumer: Section 6 Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. It is not possible, nor necessary, to cover all the aspects of the law on the sale of goods to consumers in this paper. See Chapter 8 (Ervine) in this volume and Bradgate and Twigg-Flesner (2003). This issue is separate from the liability which a manufacturer may assume voluntarily under a guarantee. It also does not include liability for personal injury or property damage caused by defective goods under Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

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If there is a breach of contract because goods are faulty and do not meet the requirements set out above and a consumer demands that the retailer put right these faults by repairing the goods, in legal terms the consumer would be asking the retailer to perform the contractual obligation originally agreed (i.e. to deliver goods which are of satisfactory quality). However, the general approach of English contract law is not to require actual performance of the contract once there has been a breach, but rather to allow the innocent party to terminate the contract and/or claim compensation (damages). To require the party in breach (the retailer, in our case) to perform the contract fully would mean that the innocent party (the consumer) could ask for what is known as ‘specific performance’ (i.e. a court order obliging a party to a contract to do what they promised in the contract when that party has refused to do so). English courts are very reluctant to order specific performance of a contract, however, and will only do so in exceptional circumstances and subject to the proviso that damages would not be an adequate remedy.10 Although SoGA enables a court to issue an order for specific performance ‘in any action for breach of contract to deliver specific or ascertained goods’,11 this provision is limited to circumstances where there has been no delivery rather than delivery of faulty goods. It reflects the general position in English law in respect of specific performance and the situation is similar with regard to Scotland. In Scots law, the right of ‘specific implement’ is available to order a contracting party to perform its obligations under a contract but is also generally not available where damages would be an adequate remedy. The upshot of this is that, in certain cases, goods that break down are not of satisfactory quality because they are insufficiently durable and, as a result, the seller would be in breach of contract. However, the buyer will only be entitled to terminate the contract (and obtain a full refund of the purchase price in return for handing over the faulty item) or to claim damages; the buyer cannot insist on a right to repair. Such damages will generally cover the difference in the value of



In essence, the goods would have to be unique, which would not be the case with ‘ordinary articles of commerce’: Cohen v Roche [1927] 1 KB 1. 10 Other key decisions are Behnke v Bede Shipping Co. [1927] 1 KB 640 and Co-operative Insurance Society v Argyll Stores (Holdings) Ltd [1998] A.C. 1. Generally, Treitel (2003: 1020–26). 11 Section 52(1) SoGA focuses, in particular, on circumstances where a seller has failed to deliver goods altogether, rather than where the goods delivered are defective. Section 48E SoGA deals with the defective delivery of goods in the context of consumer transactions (see below). The SoGA distinguishes between ‘specific’ goods (goods which are ‘identified and agreed upon’ at the time of concluding the contract – see section 61(1) SoGA), and ‘unascertained’ goods (those which are not specific).

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the goods as delivered and the value of non-faulty goods.12 The difference may take into account the cost of having the goods repaired, although SoGA does not make this explicit.13 The right to terminate the contract, however, is limited: a buyer will only be able to exercise this right if he or she is not yet deemed to have accepted the goods. ‘Acceptance’ in this context is a legal concept and, in the case of a consumer contract, most commonly occurs when a ‘reasonable time’ has passed since they were received.14 Where this is the case, a buyer will only be left with a right to claim damages. Prior to amendments made in 2003, when UK law was changed as a result of its obligation to implement Directive 99/44/EC on Certain Aspects of the Sale of Consumer Goods and Associated Guarantees (the ‘Consumer Sales Directive’),15 the sole acknowledgement that repair might exist as a possible remedy in the case of faulty goods was made indirectly in Section 35(6)(a) of SoGA. According to this section, a buyer will not be deemed to have accepted the goods simply because the buyer has asked for, or agreed to, ‘their repair by or under an arrangement with the seller’. However, this is a far cry from granting a buyer the right to ask for repair; it merely acknowledges that a buyer may decide not to exercise his or her right to terminate immediately and thereby allows the seller a further opportunity to perform his or her contractual obligations by repairing faulty goods. Its purpose is to protect the buyer’s right to terminate the contract by deeming an agreement to repair to be insufficient to constitute ‘acceptance’ under the Act. This is intended to protect a buyer in circumstances where a seller, having been asked to repair faulty goods, fails to do so and seeks to claim that the buyer cannot now terminate the contract. Although one might think that, provided the seller adequately repairs the goods, the buyer can no longer exercise his or her right of rejection, the House of Lords held that it is not possible to lay down a general rule of this kind.16 Rather, what needs to be considered is whether the buyer was aware of the nature of the defect. Some faults are obvious, and, if the buyer agrees to repair, he or she would be precluded from rejecting if the goods were duly 12 Section 53(3) SoGA. 13 Section 53(2) SoGA refers to the ‘estimated loss directly and naturally resulting, in the ordinary course of events, from the breach’. This may cover the cost of having the goods repaired so as to make them usable again. 14 Section 35(4) SoGA. The concept of a ‘reasonable’ time is vague, with limited guidance from court judgments available. The Law Commission (2008) recently proposed that a default period of 30 days be adopted instead, with the possibility of adjusting this (e.g. where goods are bought for a particular purposes, such as skis bought in June for a Christmas holiday). 15 (1999) O.J. L 171/12. 16 J&H Ritchie Ltd. v Lloyd Ltd. [2007] UKHL 9, judgment of 7 March 2007.

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repaired.17 However, if the defect is not apparent and further investigation is required, then it may be necessary for the seller to inform the buyer about the findings. In the latter case, if the buyer is not told about the nature of the defect, it is possible that the buyer may retain his or her right to reject even if the goods are repaired. This is because he or she did not have the information needed to consider whether to reject or accept the goods. Prior to 2003, therefore, there was no legal entitlement to repair at all. The law only provided that if goods were faulty, a consumer could either return the item and demand a full refund, or receive compensation (which would be sufficient to cover the cost of repair, although the consumer would not have been obliged to have the repair carried out). As a result of having to implement the Consumer Sales Directive into domestic law, there are now additional remedies available under the SoGA specifically for consumers. These include the right to ask for a repair, although this is still not the primary remedy in the law as it stands at present. The key new provision is Section 48A(2) of SoGA, which states that where goods are faulty,18 a consumer ‘has the right … to require the seller to repair … the goods’. If that is the case, the seller must repair the goods within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience to the consumer and, importantly, bear the costs of repairing the goods, including labour charges, materials and postage. It should be noted that the legislation does not specify whether a consumer is expected to cover these costs subject to reimbursement, or whether a consumer is not required to pay upfront. This issue may be important: whilst the overall outcome may not be any different, in that the consumer will not be out of pocket, the fact of having to pay first and being reimbursed later may operate as a barrier to consumers exercising their right to request repair because of potential uncertainty as to whether there will be reimbursement. Consequently, a consumer may request another remedy and a perfectly repairable item may be discarded altogether. Repair is not a right given to consumers without restriction, however. A consumer cannot ask for the goods to be repaired where it is (i) impossible to repair; (ii) disproportionate when compared to replacing the goods; or (iii)

17 Per Lord Mance, para. 48. 18 The word ‘faulty’ does not appear in the language of SoGA, of course. The precise legal phrase is ‘goods do not conform to the contract of sale at the time of delivery’ (Section 48A(1)(b)).

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disproportionate when compared to either price reduction or rescission of the contract.19 These matters will be considered in turn. The legislation is silent on when repair would be ‘impossible’ and there is, as yet, no clear guidance available from relevant case law. Clearly, the nature of the fault might mean that a repair is out of the question (e.g. because the goods have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair). Moreover, a product may be designed in such a way as to rule out repair if a fault has occurred, leaving disposal as the only option. In either case, a consumer would be left with the possibility of obtaining either a replacement or a refund. More controversially, a lack of available spare parts might mean that it is impossible to repair a product. If the manufacturer is unable or unwilling to supply spare parts then the seller clearly cannot repair the goods. However, not having spare parts in stock when these could easily be obtained would not be a sufficient reason for saying that repair is impossible. We will return to the problem of spare parts shortly. Alternatively, repair may be regarded as ‘disproportionate’ and consequently not offered to a consumer. Although again there is, as yet, no case law on the application of this criterion, repair will generally be disproportionate if the cost of providing a replacement is lower than the costs (taking into account any spare parts to be used and the labour involved) associated with repair.20 It would also be disproportionate if the overall market value of the goods is lower than the cost of repair, even where no replacement is available.21 A seller who is required to repair faulty goods will not only be faced with the cost of the spare parts used and the labour involved but will also need to have in place the necessary infrastructure for processing repairs. A retailer, for example, would either have to employ qualified staff for this purpose or have an arrangement with a third party. For some types of consumer goods it may be preferable for a retailer to undertake repairs (or arrange for this to be done) because the cost of doing so will be lower than any alternative remedy. However, for many types of consumer goods, a retailer may seek to rely on a claim that repair is uneconomic and that a different remedy should be provided instead. In doing so, the need to make the necessary infrastructure 19 Section 48B(3) SoGA. 20 Although note that Recital 11 to the Consumer Sales Directive indicates that the difference in cost should be significant. 21 Obtaining exact figures for all these aspects may be difficult, particularly when a consumer is seeking to exercise his or her right to have the goods repaired directly against the retailer, rather than in a court (where such evidence can be produced).

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arrangements required for repair work would be avoided. There is a need for an empirical study of the financial burden of each remedy, in the context of different types of goods, in order to obtain a fuller understanding of their practical operation, and to assist individual consumers as well as courts with applying this remedial scheme accurately. Somewhat worryingly, the UK Government drafted the legislation in a way which permits a comparison of repair with the alternative remedy of price reduction (in the form of a partial refund – see below) in order to assess whether repair might be disproportionate. This is not in accordance with the corresponding provision of the Consumer Sales Directive (Art.3), which permits comparison only between repair and replacement. Repair and replacement are both likely to be more costly for a seller than price reduction. As noted above, offering repair requires an investment in staff and repair facilities, while replacing goods leaves a retailer with a faulty item that can no longer be sold as new, even if subsequently repaired. In practice, therefore, a partial refund, which will be based on the difference in value between non-faulty goods and the defective item, may result in the lowest cost for a seller, although quite how this might be calculated is anybody’s guess; no consistent practice has emerged to date, nor is any authoritative guidance available from case law. Consequently there is a likelihood that consumers who would otherwise be entitled to have goods repaired may instead be given a partial refund, which would neither solve the problem itself (the fault would not be repaired) nor put the consumer into a position whereby he or she would have the financial resources needed to obtain a repair from a third party. In this regard, therefore, the legislation shows serious shortcomings, both at the technical level of having to comply with the relevant EU legislation and from the perspective of prolonging the life-span of consumer products. Repair may also be regarded as ‘disproportionate’ when compared to a reduction of the purchase price or rescission of the contract (this may also be true for replacement). Price reduction is a remedy which has the effect of giving the consumer a partial refund but allowing him or her to keep the goods. Rescission, on the other hand, brings the contract to an end.22 The consumer would have to return the goods to the retailer, who would then give him or her a refund, subject to a deduction for the period of use the consumer had before

22 The SoGA uses both ‘termination’ and ‘rescission’, but these are not identical concepts: the former is forward-looking from the date of the breach, whereas the latter undoes the entire contract. This may have implications for the return of goods provided and sums paid under the contract. There appears to be a degree of incoherence in the terminology used in the Act.

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the failure occurred.23 It is not at all clear in either case how this deduction would be calculated. The estimated life-span of the product could be used as a basis, although it may be difficult to come up with a sufficiently reliable estimate. It might also have to be borne in mind that the depreciation of goods tends not to be linear, with a more rapid loss in value during the first part of the product’s life-span. To summarize: as far as the strict legal entitlement of consumers is concerned, the right to repair is now a specific right, but it is not the primary remedy. In practice it will often be the case that a consumer is more likely to receive a replacement product, or perhaps a partial refund, than to get a faulty item repaired. However, if goods break down due to normal wear and tear, a consumer will have no legal recourse at all and will have to make alternative arrangements to have goods repaired. One matter not considered so far is whether a retailer has a right to insist on repairing goods where the consumer might wish to exercise his or right to reject the goods and terminate the contract. The law in its current form does not give the seller this right,24 and the Law Commission decided against recommending such a right when it last examined this area of law. The reason given was that the right to terminate is a strong bargaining tool for consumers, and permitting the seller to insist on repairing goods might put consumers into a more difficult position (Law Commission 1987: para. 4.13). This does not, of course, stop a retailer from offering to repair goods and the consumer agreeing to this, but there is no legal right for the seller to do so.

After-Sales Support and Spare Parts It was noted above in passing that one possible situation in which the legal entitlement to repair would not be available is where there are no suitable spare parts that could be used for this purpose. This raises the more general question as to the extent to which the law requires that manufacturers or retailers keep stocks of spare parts available and for how long. Perhaps surprisingly, the law makes few demands in this regard; crucially, it does not mandate the availability of any form of after-sales support, whether free of charge or at a premium. Similarly, the question of whether there should be any obligation to keep spare parts for a specific period of time, and to make these available for the purposes of repair, is one which has not been addressed adequately in 23 Section 48B (3) SoGA. 24 Known as a ‘right of cure’.

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domestic law. There is no statutory obligation to stock spare parts in general. It might conceivably be argued, however, that goods would not be of satisfactory quality if spare parts were not available to consumers. On the one occasion on which the courts have had to deal with this issue a negative answer was given. In L Gent & Sons v Eastman Machine Co Ltd,25 the court held that there was no obligation to provide spare parts where there was no evidence that a trade custom to that effect existed. However, that case was decided under the older requirement that goods must be of merchantable quality,26 and it did not involve a consumer. It seems, therefore, that the general argument is still open and that the legal position at present regarding an obligation to keep spare parts is uncertain. The last opportunity when serious thought was given to amending UK law by introducing specific rules on spare parts and after-sales support was when the Law Commission, the body charged with reviewing domestic law with regard to possible reform, considered the law on the sale and supply of goods in 1987 and concluded that no action should be taken (Law Commission 1987: para. 3.66), adopting the conclusions reached by an earlier report by the Law Commission (1979: paras 115–29). The earlier report considered whether there should be a legal obligation on a retailer or manufacturer to stock spare parts or maintain servicing facilities. A number of objections were raised: there was concern about the impact on retailers, particularly small shopkeepers, who would find it very difficult to maintain a stock of spare parts for every item they sold. In addition to the pressure on space, there would also be a need to retain suitable staff. Imposing a legal obligation would result in extra costs for retailers and these would be passed on to consumers, with the effect of increasing prices overall. Even if a retailer were not obliged to stock spare parts but merely to obtain them, there would be an additional burden imposed, the risk of not being able to provide them. In addition, there were further practical problems, including whether there should be a specific duration for keeping spare parts laid down by law and whether this obligation should cover both ‘functional’ and ‘non-functional’ parts. The conclusion reached by the Law Commission was not to recommend the introduction of a specific legal rule on spare parts and repair facilities, but instead to encourage business sectors to address this issue in codes of practice.

25 A case decided in 1985, but not reported in the official law reports. 26 This was replaced in 1994 with the current requirement as to satisfactory quality.

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The European Commission raised the issue in its Green Paper on Consumer Guarantees and After-Sales Services27 in 1993 and suggested that there might in future either be a legal requirement that spare parts be kept available or a requirement to provide information to the consumer as to the duration for which spare parts would be kept. Alternatively, this matter could be left to self-regulation through voluntary Codes of Practice.28 Subsequently, however, the Commission proposed to take no action because there was an insufficient impact on the Single Market.29 This might reflect the limited competence of the European Union to act; it only has general legislative power to the extent that legislation is linked to EU objectives and within its powers. A major difficulty for consumers at present is that they will often be unaware of the availability, or otherwise, of spare parts and after-sales support. There is not even an obligation to inform consumers about the extent to which parts may be available. Although this matter was discussed at the European level as part of the preparatory work which eventually resulted in the Consumer Sales Directive, no legislative action was taken. The European Parliament considered whether to introduce at least a basic informational obligation into the text of the Directive but decided not to press for such a provision. The rule suggested was this: If the consumer is entitled to expect an appropriate after-sales service on the grounds of the nature of the goods, but the seller does not offer such a service himself, he must inform the purchaser of the fact before the contract is concluded. At the purchaser’s request, the seller must, before or after the contract is concluded, supply the purchaser with any practical information at his disposal on access to the after-sales service, any subsequent delivery and the duration of availability of spare parts.30 This would have been limited to an obligation to inform a consumer about the fact that appropriate after-sales support is not available where a consumer would be entitled to expect this, and to a separate obligation to provide essential information about after-sales support where this is available, but only 27 COM (1993) 509 final, p. 100. 28 For example, the Society of Motor Manufacturers’ New Car code of practice includes a spare parts promise. 29 COM (1995) 520 final, p. 7. 30 Draft first report of the European Parliament (A4-0029/98), proposed Amendment 37. This proposal was not adopted by the Committee preparing this report, and consequently never debated.

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at the consumer’s request. However, this proposal was not adopted by the Parliament. In other jurisdictions there are provisions in place that address the question of spare parts, notably in Ireland and New Zealand. Thus, the Irish Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 contains a provision which states: In a contract for the sale of goods, there is an implied warranty that spare parts and an adequate aftersale service will be made available by the seller in such circumstances as are stated in an offer, description or advertisement by the seller on behalf of the manufacturer or on his own behalf and for such a period as is so stated, or, if no period is so stated, for a reasonable period.31 This provision also does not extend very far. It imposes a binding obligation to make available spare parts and an adequate after-sales service, but only where this has been mentioned by the seller in any offer or advertisement. It does not go as far as to impose an obligation to make after-sales services and spare parts available. It merely has the effect of binding a seller to statements about spare parts and after-sales support which were made but may not otherwise have become express terms of the contract. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 in New Zealand is more promising. It states that: where goods are first supplied to a consumer in New Zealand (whether or not that supply is the first ever supply of the goods), there is a guarantee that the manufacturer will take reasonable action to ensure that facilities for repair of the goods and supply of parts for the goods are reasonably available for a reasonable period after the goods are so supplied.32 This, it seems, places a much stronger emphasis on the need to ensure that spare parts, as well as repair facilities, are kept available. However, it must first be noted that the obligation is imposed only on the manufacturer and not the retailer. Second, the vague formulation of this section (note the triple reference to ‘reasonableness’, a notoriously vague standard) makes it difficult to establish just how strong an obligation this section introduces. It certainly 31 Section 12 Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act [IE]. 32 Section 12 Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 [NZ].

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gives a manufacturer plenty of scope to argue that the obligation to provide repair facilities or spare parts would be unreasonable. Third, a manufacturer can contract out of this obligation – it is not an absolute one. This is possible if a manufacturer has taken reasonable action to notify a consumer, at the latest at the time of supply of the goods, that no guarantee regarding spare parts is given at all or that it is only given for a limited period.33 This kind of rule is clearly an attempt to strike a balance between permitting goods to be sold at all and ensuring that adequate repair facilities and spare parts are available. The starting point is that such facilities should be available and it is for a manufacturer who does not wish to comply with this requirement to state so clearly and before the consumer has bought the goods. It may be that a consumer who is made aware of the lack of available facilities will not buy goods made by that manufacturer and may instead opt for those made by a competitor. The practical effect of a rule such as this could well be improvements in the availability of spare parts and repair facilities, although its vagueness might make it unsatisfactory for anyone seeking a clear legal obligation in this respect would hope.

Legal Entitlement to Repair: Conclusions The preceding discussion shows that whilst repair is now a legal right which consumers can request when goods are faulty, its availability is restricted and in practice it will often be the case that a different remedy will be provided to a consumer. The rather weak legal position with regard to the availability of spare parts may be a contributing factor in this regard. Other legal systems have shown themselves more willing to introduce rules on spare parts and it would be a positive development if the law in the UK could develop along similar lines. However, as there are variations in practice between the EU Member States concrete action in this regard may have to come from the direction of the EU, possibly as part of its planned revision of the Consumer Sales Directive. Unfortunately, the proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive presented in 2008,34 which would replace the Consumer Sales Directive, does not deal with this issue. The remedies as discussed above would remain in their present form, although the seller would be given the choice between repair or replacement, rather than the consumer (as is the case at present). The proposal is controversial and has given rise to considerable objections (Twigg-Flesner

33 Section 42 Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 [NZ]. 34 COM (2008) 614 final.

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2009), and major changes will be made, with a final text unlikely to be agreed before 2011. In summary, the legal entitlement to repair remains somewhat weak, but it may be that the other routes by which repair may be available offer a more promising picture.

Repair Under Guarantees The second possible route by which a consumer may be able to have a faulty product repaired is by claiming under a guarantee provided by the manufacturer of the item or – as is increasingly the case – by the retailer. A guarantee can be defined (Twigg-Flesner 2003: 1) as a voluntary undertaking given by a manufacturer [or retailer] without charge to provide a remedy, should the product covered by the guarantee become defective as a result of poor workmanship or the use of faulty materials in the manufacturing process during a specified period of time after purchase. The term ‘guarantee’ only includes guarantees given free of charge: what might be termed the traditional manufacturer’s guarantee. Consumers are often able to purchase additional protection in the form of an ‘extended warranty’; these will be considered in the following section. Guarantees are often viewed as a type of quality signal, the level of cover and duration being regarded as an indicator of the quality of the corresponding goods (e.g. Priest 1981; Agrawal et al. 1996). However, empirical testing of this assumption has revealed that it only holds true to a limited extent35 and the suggestion that there is a link between guarantees and product quality is ‘not useful for policy purposes’ (Schwartz and Wilde 1983: 1398). This means that consumers should not expect that goods with a guarantee of shorter duration than those offered with competing goods to necessarily be of lower quality. At present, the guarantee period and expected life-span of the corresponding goods do not coincide. Guarantees are generally of fairly short duration, with a standard period for electric and electronic appliances between 12 and 24 months (although some manufacturers are starting to offer longer guarantees 35 See Twigg-Flesner (2003: Chapter 3) for a discussion of the relevant literature.

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and for other items, such as bed-frames, much longer periods are common). One reason for their short duration may be that the longer the consumer has had the goods, the greater the risk that any failure may be the result of the way in which the consumer has used or maintained the goods rather than a manufacturing fault (Eddy 1977). In particular, consumers are a heterogeneous group, and the degree of care they will invest in looking after goods varies; consequently, guarantees may be of a shorter duration to reflect the fact that some breakdowns may be the result of high-intensity or careless use (Emons 1989). The law on guarantees is much simpler than the statutory rules applicable to the sale of goods to consumers. There is no specific obligation to offer a guarantee, and where a guarantee is provided there are no requirements as to what the guarantee should offer to a consumer. The only strict requirement is that it must not attempt to exclude or restrict the legal rights of consumers.36 In practice, this has resulted in the addition of the phrase ‘This does not affect your statutory rights’ to guarantees, which satisfies this requirement technically although consumers are none the wiser as to what their legal rights are; attempts to propose a different wording have not come to fruition thus far. Beyond this, the law only deals with a number of fundamental matters. First, it ensures that guarantees are legally enforceable.37 This is significant because if a guarantee is given and the guarantor does not honour it, a consumer will be entitled to take legal action. Such action would be for breach of contract, however, and as noted earlier the remedies available are generally restricted to termination of the contract and a claim for damages rather than a court order requiring that the guarantee be honoured. Furthermore, if the manufacturer is based in another country, the practicalities and costs associated with taking legal action in another jurisdiction would undoubtedly act as a bar to a consumer attempting to enforce a guarantee through the courts. Secondly, it requires that a guarantee provides certain items of information to the consumer. This obligation is phrased in rather general terms. The information given to the consumer must be the ‘contents of the guarantee and the essential particulars necessary for making claims under the guarantee, notably the duration and territorial scope of the guarantee as well as the name

36 Regulation 15(2A) Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002; Regulation 5(7) Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. 37 Regulation 15(1) Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002.

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and address of the guarantor’.38 From this, it becomes clear that it is largely up to the person giving the guarantee to determine exactly what it will offer. It is therefore perfectly possible for a manufacturer to provide a guarantee with goods but to exclude repair as a possible remedy if the goods break down. This brief overview shows that there is no legal obligation to offer repair as one of the possible remedies under a guarantee. In fact, the scope of the guarantee and its terms and conditions can be determined by the guarantor with few constraints. Only where the terms on which the guarantee is provided turn out to be particularly disadvantageous to a consumer is it possible to interfere with the substance of a guarantee.39 The European Commission asked for comments on proposals to introduce more detailed regulation of guarantees.40 It considered whether to create a ‘default guarantee’, i.e. content for a guarantee to apply by default if the guarantee document itself was too vague. For example, if the guarantee failed to mention its duration, then the estimated life-span of the goods could be the default duration. In the proposed Consumer Rights Directive neither of these suggestions has been included. There is a degree of indirect control, however. This has come through EU legislation on the operation of its ecolabel scheme (Twigg-Flesner 2001). Regulation 1980/200041 creates a voluntary ecolabel designed to promote products which have a reduced environmental impact during their life-span. One of the many criteria for obtaining the ecolabel for certain products relates to ‘lifetime extension’; in these cases a guarantee of a minimum duration must be offered. For example, in the case of dishwashers, televisions, vacuum cleaners and washing machines, the minimum duration is two years. For personal computers and laptops, it is three years. Thus, Section 2 of the Annex to Decision 2001/686/EC states that a manufacturer of a personal computer ‘shall offer a commercial guarantee to ensure that the personal computer system unit will function for at least three years. This guarantee shall be valid from the date of delivery to the customer’. Moreover, there is an obligation to keep available replacement parts for several years after production of the goods in question has ceased.

38 Regulation 15(2) Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002. 39 Under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, unfair terms in guarantees can be removed. See Twigg-Flesner (2003: Chapter 8). 40 Green Paper on the Review of the Consumer Acquis (COM (2006) 744 final). 41 (2000) O.J. L. 237/1.

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The ecolabel is not mandatory, however, and unless a manufacturer is actively pursuing the possibility of attaching the ecolabel to its products, there is no need to adhere to these requirements. That said, a significant number of consumers are increasingly interested in information about the environmental impact of the goods they buy (Thøgersen 2000) and may take note of whether a particular item fulfils the criteria for an ecolabel. Consequently, whilst the overall scheme is voluntary, consumer preference may steer manufacturers towards implementing the ecolabel criteria for their goods. In summary, whilst guarantees may offer a further avenue by which consumers may seek to have faulty goods repaired, it is not at all certain that this will be made available in all circumstances. The decision as to whether to repair faulty goods is solely for the person giving the guarantee, and a consumer may be unsuccessful in requesting this. A consumer who wishes to have goods repaired would then be left with little choice but to seek and pay for the repair separately.

Repair as a Separate Purchase The third route by which consumers may be able to obtain the repair of faulty goods is by paying for repair work either (i) through the purchase of an insurance policy (extended warranty) or maintenance contract or (ii) on an ad hoc basis when product failure has actually occurred. In essence, an extended warranty is a form of insurance whereby a consumer pays a premium at or shortly after purchase, in return for which the warranty provider will repair or replace goods which break down during the warranty period. This complements, or sometimes duplicates, the rights of a consumer under the legislation on the sale of goods (in the UK, the SoGA) (Twigg-Flesner 2002). As far as the availability of repair is concerned, extended warranties are similar to guarantees in that it is for the provider to determine whether a product will be repaired, or replaced instead. Extended warranties have latterly become rather infamous as a result of a Competition Commission report into the market which brought about legislative intervention to change the way in which they are sold to consumers.42 Consumers must now be given detailed information about their legal rights and alternatives to extended warranties, and have 45 days after purchase of a warranty to cancel it without penalty and obtain a full refund. 42 Supply of Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/37).

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Instead of seeking the peace of mind which an extended warranty could offer, a consumer may simply opt to pay for a repair as and when the need arises. In such a situation, the consumer would have to identify an appropriately qualified person who could carry out this repair. The costs of this can be quite high; call-out and labour charges are frequently such as to make repair unattractive. Moreover, there may be a problem with obtaining suitable spare parts. As already noted, there is no legal obligation to stock spare parts, and the possibility of obtaining a repair service obviously depends on the availability, and also the cost, of such parts. Moreover, some manufacturers have put in place a fairly rigid distribution network for their spare parts. These restrict availability to authorized members of such networks, which makes it difficult for an independent repair person to obtain these quickly and at a reasonable price. This might reduce the opportunities for consumers to have faulty goods repaired easily. If a consumer opts to proceed with an ad hoc arrangement, the protection given under the relevant legislation, Part II of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, is rather basic.43 The key legal obligation on the person carrying out the repair is that the service (i.e. the repair) must be provided ‘with reasonable care and skill’.44 There would, therefore, be recourse for a consumer if a repair was not carried out with sufficient care, but if the person undertaking the repair did apply reasonable care and skill then a consumer would be unlikely to have grounds for complaint if the repair was ineffective. An exception to this would be a situation where the repair person had expressly promised to repair the item fully and effectively. Such a promise would be a term of the repair contract, and a subsequent failure to repair the item successfully could give the consumer the right to sue the repair person for breach of contract. The legislation also specifies that any parts used must be of satisfactory quality and fit for their purpose. Beyond this, however, there is no specific regulation of repair as a particular type of service, and matters such as spare parts or the cost of labour are not specifically addressed. The preceding analysis shows that there are many gaps and ambiguities in the legal framework regarding after-sales services generally and repair specifically. Current legislation addresses only some of the problems highlighted two decades ago in the European Consumer Law Group report (ECLG 1989). For example, any concerns about the pricing of repair work are now subject to the

43 It should also be noted that this part of the Act does not apply to Scotland; it only extends to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the general duty of care continues to apply. 44 Section 13 Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.

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general rules on transparent pricing, including the prohibition on misleading pricing information.45 However, to the extent that the problems arise from the actual economic cost of providing after-sales support, there is very little that can be done through legislative means.

Conclusion This chapter has considered the availability of repair as a legal right, under guarantees and as a separate purchase. Although repair is now enshrined in legislation as a legal right for consumers when goods are faulty, the legislation contains several restrictions that will reduce its practical availability. Moreover, it is not applicable to failures which are the result of normal wear and tear. Consumers are able to pay for such repairs separately, although the cost of doing so may be a potent deterrent. A cause for greater concern, however, is the fact that the availability of spare parts and the provision of, and the service provided by, repair facilities is not explicitly regulated in UK law at all at present. This is left to individual manufacturers and retailers to determine. It could be argued that goods should not be regarded as being of ‘satisfactory quality’ if spare parts are unavailable, or only available for a limited time; the legal position is uncertain. The legal framework on spare parts and the availability of after-sales services in other countries is more favourable and it would undoubtedly improve the current legal position if the UK Government (or even the EU) could be persuaded to amend the law to encourage, or possibly mandate, the availability of spare parts, and to regulate more effectively the work of independent repair providers.

References AGRAWAL, J., RICHARDSON, P.S. and GRIMM, P.E. (1996). The relationship between warranty and product reliability. Journal of Consumer Affairs 30, 421–43. BRADGATE, R. and TWIGG-FLESNER, C. (2003). Blackstone’s Guide to Consumer Sales and Associated Guarantees. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ECLG (EUROPEAN CONSUMER LAW GROUP) (1989). Servicing of cars and electrical goods. Journal of Consumer Policy 12, 485–517.

45 See Regulation 5(2) Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

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EDDY, J.A. (1977). Effects of the Magnuson-Moss Act upon consumer product warranties. North Carolina Law Review 55, 835–77. EMONS, W. (1989). On the limitation of warranty duration. Journal of Industrial Economics 37, 287–301. LAW COMMISSION (1979). Implied Terms in Contracts for the Supply of Goods (HC 142). London: HMSO. LAW COMMISSION (1987). Sale and Supply of Goods (Cm137). London: HMSO. LAW COMMISSION (2008). Consumer Remedies for Faulty Goods. Consultation Paper LCCP 188. London: The Stationery Office. PRIEST, G.L. (1981). A theory of the consumer product warranty. Yale Law Journal 90, 1297–352. SCHWARTZ, A. and WILDE, L.L. (1983). Imperfect information in markets for contract terms: The examples of warranties and security interests. Virginia Law Review 69, 1387–485. THØGERSEN, J. (2000). Psychological determinants of paying attention to ecolabels in purchase decisions: Model development and multinational validation. Journal of Consumer Policy 23, 285–313 TREITEL, G.H. (2003). The Law of Contract (11th edn). London: Sweet & Maxwell. TWIGG-FLESNER, C. (2001). E.C. law and manufacturers’ guarantees – Formal irrationality or mere carelessness? European Current Law, May, xi–xv. TWIGG-FLESNER, C. (2002). Dissatisfaction guaranteed? The legal issues of extended warranties explored [online]. Web Journal of Current Legal Issues. Accessed 19 February 2007 at: http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2002/issue4/twiggflesner4.html. TWIGG-FLESNER, C. (2003). Consumer Product Guarantees. Aldershot: Ashgate. TWIGG-FLESNER, C. (2009). Fit for purpose? The proposals on sales. In: HOWELLS, G. and SCHULZE, R. (eds). Modernising and Harmonising Consumer Contract Law. Munich: Sellier, pp. 147–76.



Policies for Longevity

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Tim Cooper

Abstract The throwaway culture that is prevalent across much of the industrialized world requires attention and yet the kind of radical policy measures necessary to transform it have rarely been studied in depth, let alone introduced by governments. Until now it has evidently been politically expedient for governments to succumb to the electorate’s apparent desire for more (and newer) consumer goods. As sustainable consumption rises up the political agenda, this chapter makes the case for public policy intervention to optimize product life-spans based on potential benefits to the economy, the environment and consumer satisfaction. A framework within which to assess specific measures to encourage longer lasting products is presented, structuring discussion around the stages at which policy might be most effective, the relative merits of using incentives or penalties, the different types of policy instruments and the option of generic, as distinct from product-specific, policies. Policies advocated by past and present critics of planned obsolescence are identified and a range of potential regulatory, market-based and voluntary measures to encourage longer lasting products are proposed.

Introduction Past discussion on product life-spans in industrialized countries has demonstrated their significant implications for the economy, the environment and consumer satisfaction (Packard 1963; OECD 1982; Stahel and Jackson 1993; Cooper 1994, 1999, 2004; Slade 2006). Although government policies affect product longevity indirectly as they shape the nation’s economic and sociocultural development, governments have not sought to influence product 

An example of an indirect influence upon product life-spans is government policy on technological innovation, such as the switch from analogue to digital television and radio.

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life-spans directly. Thus an OECD report on the subject, produced in 1982 in response to growing environmental concerns, opened: ‘In that few policies have been implemented to extend product life, the material presented in this report is anticipatory rather than being directed towards reviewing existing policies’ (OECD 1982: 7). Nonetheless, the report did not prompt any significant new public policy development, its immediate influence weakened by the fact that it was published as governments in several key industrial economies were focused on emerging from a major recession. Governments have since showed greater interest in the environmental impact of consumer products, in part because of climate change and everrising volumes of waste. There have been few signs of any government commitment to encouraging longer product life-spans, however, despite their potential benefits. In Britain, for example, Beyond Recycling, a report produced in 1994 by the New Economics Foundation, attracted the attention of senior Government officials following national media coverage. Among its main policy recommendations were:

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a shift in taxes from labour to energy and raw materials in order to encourage repair and reconditioning

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significantly longer guarantees, free at the point of sale, covering labour as well as parts, and lasting for at least 10 years for most household products

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mandatory labelling of products with their normal expected lifespan

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action by central and local Government to promote waste reduction and reuse, with clear policies and targets (Cooper 1994).

Subsequently, however, the gGovernment’s waste strategy largely ignored these recommendations and instead merely invited industry to ‘reduce the quantity of waste in society … by designing longer lasting products’ and proposed that householders should ‘consider the durability and efficiency of any product purchased’ (Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office 1995: 27, 117). Following a change in Government, from Conservative to   

Conn (1977) had previously reached a similar conclusion. See Chapter 1 (Cooper). See Preface.

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Labour, a new waste strategy was adopted but this, far from adopting a more interventionist approach to encourage longer product life-spans, only once addressed the issue and then took a contrary approach, suggesting that ‘where newer goods are significantly more energy efficient, it can be desirable to discard older models before the end of their life’ (DETR 2000a: 18). In subsequent years it maintained a similar profile, although one of the aims of the publicly funded Market Transformation Programme is ‘to promote products that result in less waste’ (Defra 2005: 50). Even individual politicians, while critical of the throwaway culture, have proven reluctant to question the economic model that underpins and perpetuates it by requiring a fast throughput of production and consumption. The ever-accelerating cycle of product acquisition and replacement allows for technological advance and fuels economic growth, but at considerable cost to the environment and, arguably, without increasing human happiness. An alternative, slower flow of production and consumption is possible but would demand radical, systemic change (Cooper 1999, 2004). Within the present system, governments appear wary of facing the political implications of addressing the prevalence of short-lived products. Their reluctance to act also reflects a trend in many Western democracies away from resolving problems by government intervention towards solutions based on partnerships and voluntary approaches, at least at the outset. Manufacturers of disposable products or lower quality consumer durables, for example, would doubtless complain vociferously and warn of the threat to jobs if their production was threatened by government intervention. Consumers, too, may object, especially if prices rise or they are prevented from purchasing the cheaper, short-lived products to which they are accustomed. Governments have been disinclined to challenge the principle of consumer sovereignty (Scherhorn 2005; Cooper 2008), although recent interest in ‘choice editing’ suggests that this may change. Government action is often influenced by external pressures. Environmental and consumer lobbyists have historically supported the case for longer lasting products, but without making ever it a high campaign priority. A major study by Friends of the Earth, for example, advocated greater product durability (McLaren et al. 1998), while Consumers International (1997: 13) has argued that  

See Chapter 6 (Fuad-Luke). Prospective beneficiaries of waste reduction, by contrast, are diffuse and less readily identifiable.

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governments should promote the development of and demand for ‘products that have a high performance, are durable, recyclable, repairable and reusable and are neither toxic nor unsafe’ and should ‘encourage the provision of facilities for the repair and recycling of used products.’ Criticism of the throwaway culture by such organizations has tended to focus on supermarket bags, disposable nappies and packaging, however, rather than the life-span of consumer durables.

Public Policy Interventions The case for public policy intervention to optimize product life-spans is based on potential benefits to the economy, the environment and consumer satisfaction. Government policies that influence trends in product life-spans, whether or not by intention, are liable to affect the output of the economy and thus the rate of economic growth. The relationship between the life-span of consumer durables and patterns of consumer expenditure is complex but, at least in the short term, a trend towards longer-lasting products could result in reduced consumer expenditure and a lower rate of growth. This may be unacceptable to governments, which use economic growth as their primary performance indicator. Many would not accept that the economic model which has underpinned ‘progress’ in the modern era is to be blame for today’s throwaway culture. Indeed, advocates of longer lasting products have been accused of threatening progress and creativity (Stewart 1959; Grathwohl 1978). For example, Fishman et al. (1993: 361) concluded: ‘If products are too durable, potential innovators may lack the incentives to invest in the development of a new technology and the economy may stagnate as a result.’ Others disagree. Weaver (2008), for example, has concluded that the way in which progress is currently measured in the system of national accounts is seriously flawed. He argues that the utilization rate, service value and capital value of the stock of consumer durables are too rapidly discounted and proposes that the accounting system be reformed ‘to distinguish better between the use of factor inputs in the  

See Chapter 1 (Cooper). For example, an increase in life-spans in a particular category of consumer durables may reduce the volume of goods consumed over a specific period. Depending on the extent to which prices rise in proportion to increased product longevity, consumers may gain financially and choose either to spend this money on other consumer goods or to save, which will affect trends in consumption and thus economic growth. The overall effect on the economy will also depend on other factors, such as any changes in manufacturing location or after-sales services.

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production processes and the useful value of the outputs from those processes’ (Weaver 2008: 327). How real is the threat of economic stagnation from increased product longevity? The OECD (1982: 73) noted concern that ‘a policy to encourage producers to manufacture longer-lived products would cause unemployment’ but identified research which concluded that product life extension would benefit employment levels because repair and maintenance work is labourintensive; recent Austrian research drew the same conclusion (cited in Cooper 2006). Consumers would gain a surplus from the reduced cost of owning and operating longer lasting products and, assuming that this was spent on other goods and services, there may be some labour displacement as different market sectors adapted but there would be no net decline in employment (Gabor and Colombo 1981; OECD 1982). Similarly, if consumers decided to save the surplus (rather than spend it) there might be short term job losses but the savings would provide added funds for investment, which would eventually feed back into employment. Another economic variable of interest to governments that may be affected by changes in product life-spans is the balance of payments. A trend towards longer lasting products is liable to improve the trade balance by reducing demand for imports of consumer durables and raw materials (used by domestic manufacturers), although a reduced supply of secondary materials (such as metal from discarded products) could lead to an increased requirement for imported raw materials (OECD 1982). The implications are uncertain and further research is required in order to draw a more definitive conclusion. Governments also have to take account of the political implications of affecting trade. For example, improved product standards, which could be used to promote increased product longevity, are often interpreted as a form of trade barrier and reducing imports from low income countries could be criticized as hindering their development. In summary, governments may support the economic case for increased product longevity on the grounds that it would benefit employment and overseas trade, although critics would warn that such a strategy might threaten the innovation needed to maximize economic growth and thereby create employment. Too little research on the economic impact of variations in product life-spans has been undertaken for definitive conclusions to be drawn. There is also considerable risk in generalization; the OECD (1982) rightly concluded that 

This would only apply if the work was undertaken professionally.

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the economic impacts need to be assessed on an industry-by-industry basis.10 The macro-economic impacts of longer lasting products relating to economic activity, employment and overseas trade require detailed examination through further research. Governments may also intervene to influence product life-spans on environmental grounds. In the context of public concern about climate change and peak oil, there is particular resonance to the proposition that increased product life-spans will lead to system-wide energy savings (OECD 1982): the logic being that, as a general principle, energy use rises as more products are produced and consumed. Impacts over the full product life cycle (from raw material sourcing to final disposal), for the whole supply chain, need to be taken into account. Recent advances in measuring the greenhouse gas emissions of products, arising from their embodied carbon, may make it easier to assess their overall environmental impact,11 although carbon accounts currently offer no incentive to increase product life-spans as countries only have to account for their final energy use. Other potential environmental benefits include a slower rate of raw material extraction and reduced waste (Conn 1977; Stahel and Jackson 1993; Cooper 1994). The former is attractive because ‘the total resource demand for the manufacture and use of durable goods is a major proportion of the total demand for natural resources in any industrialised country’ (OECD 1982: 52). Broadly speaking, doubling the life span of most consumer durables will halve their environmental impact, although there is a need for more data to substantiate the potential benefits and identify optimal product life-spans. The environmental implications are not unidirectional. Longer lasting products may require increased raw materials (e.g. for surface thickness), while repair work, particularly when undertaken in situ, will involve use of engineers’ vans. More controversially, there may also be circumstances in which the replacement of inefficient old household appliances and vehicles offers potential savings in energy consumption, the benefit of which governments may consider outweigh the additional resource use and waste arising from the disposal of functional items. Researchers have sought to identify an optimal life-span for appliances (Chalkley 2003; Rüdenauer and Gensch 2006; 10 The OECD concluded that by far the greatest impact on materials use would be in the automobile sector. 11 See, for example, the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) produced by BSI Standards Solutions (PAS 2050:2008 – Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services).

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Stamminger 2006) and vehicles (Nieuwenhuis and Wells 2003). Drawing firm conclusions concerning the optimum replacement point is problematic, however, because future technological advance cannot be readily predicted. Replacing an inefficient appliance or vehicle may offer immediate savings in energy consumption, but if the improvements continue then the replacement model itself becomes relatively inefficient. Moreover, the user’s financial savings may simply be re-spent on other energy-consuming products (Chalkley et al. 2001). There have latterly been signs of government support for longer lasting products, at least in principle. Thus a recent report from Britain concluded: ‘Given the evidence of the scale of product impacts, action to deliver a more sustainable future must include action on products’ (Defra 2008: 11). The report’s ‘vision for sustainable products’ addressed the life-span dimension as follows: ‘Products are designed so that they are modular, multi functional, repairable and upgradeable. They are more efficient and have fewer environmental impacts in use. Products have improved longevity and can be more easily reused or recycled when they do come to the end of their life’ (Defra 2008: 16). In the case of energy-using goods governments have historically promoted the replacement of functional items. In the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis Grathwohl (1978) argued that there were potential benefits from reducing the life-span of certain products. Since then governments have offered financial incentives to encourage owners to replace old vehicles and refrigerators. Several European countries have introduced scrappage schemes in order to encourage the use of less polluting and more energy efficient vehicles. Financial incentives for scrapping old cars, increasingly evident in the mid-1990s, became even more widespread during the recession of 2008–09, being offered in 11 EU countries. Although intended to improve environmental performance, the impetus, if not the motivation, was economic as much as environmental. The British Government was for many years unconvinced before introducing a scheme in 2009. It rejected the idea a decade previously (DETR 1998), as had the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (1997).12 Critics argued that older cars have often been replaced by models that are heavier (due to changing consumer preferences and safety requirements), which offsets the efficiency gain, and that some 90 per cent of cars over 10 years old are replaced by other used cars rather than new ones (World Bank 2002). 12 It did so again in its response to a report on climate change by the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee (DETR 2000b).

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There have been calls for a similar scheme to be offered to encourage the replacement of old boilers.13 Another precedent is a scheme for refrigerators, Fridgesavers, established in the UK by the Energy Saving Trust and 13 electricity companies.14 This ran from 1996 to 2002 and led to over 250,000 low-income households receiving a new fridge or fridge-freezer at a heavily discounted price in exchange for their old appliance.15 These are exceptional cases and, as a general principle, the environmental case for longer lasting products appears strong. Nonetheless, the inadequacy of the evidence base is such that further research is urgently needed to establish the extent of potential environmental benefits to be gained by optimizing product life-spans. This needs to be undertaken at a disaggregated, sectoral level in order to identify the product categories for which the reduced impact would be greatest and the case for government intervention strongest. Finally, a case for government action to influence product life-spans may be made on grounds of consumer interest. Legislation already exists to protect consumers against the supply of products that are not of satisfactory quality with regard to durability, although this does not appear to have been adequately tested.16 In the light of evidence that many consumers are dissatisfied with product life-spans (National Consumer Council 1989; Cooper and Mayers 2000), it could be argued that governments should take a stricter approach and prevent the supply of relatively short-lived products that do not offer reasonable value for money. There is a precedent in European Union legislation which prevents certain products that do not meet minimum energy efficiency requirements (boilers, refrigeration equipment and fluorescent lighting) from being supplied to the market, thereby protecting consumers against economically and environmentally wasteful products.17

13 The proposal came from plumbers merchants. A petition was launched on the Downing Street website in 2009. See http://www.heatingandventilating.net/news/news.asp?id=6542 14 The scheme originated through Billsavers, a European Commission research project undertaken in Scotland. This explored the effect on energy use of replacing inefficient appliances and found that replacement would be cost effective but did not necessarily take place because owners on low incomes could not afford the initial cost. The cost of disposing of appliances, however, does not appear to have been addressed. 15 Recipients paid £25 for a fridge or £50 for a fridge-freezer. 16 See Chapter 8 (Ervine). 17 Directive 2001/95/EC of 3 December 2001 on general product safety; Directive 92/42/EEC of 21 May 1992 on efficiency requirements for new hot-water boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fuels; Directive 96/57/EC of 3 September 1996 on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof; Directive 2000/55/EC of 18 September 2000 on energy efficiency requirements for ballasts for fluorescent lighting.

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Structuring the Options There is a need for a framework within which to consider the public policy options for influencing product life-spans. A strategy to increase product longevity would need to involve several government departments. The policies themselves could take many forms. They could address one or more stages in the product life cycle. They could be based on regulation, market intervention or information provision and take the form of incentives, penalties, or a combination of each. They could be directed towards producers or consumers (or both) and be generic or aimed at particular types of product. Given the current state of knowledge, it is not possible to evaluate all of the different policy options in detail. The following section addresses some of these underlying strategic considerations before some policy options are outlined. The case for longer lasting products is strongest in the context of environmental benefits (rather than, say, consumer protection), which suggests that policy developments should be led by environment departments and integrated into sustainable development strategies. A section in Britain’s latest sustainable development strategy proposes measures to reduce the environmental impact of products across their life cycle but there was no suggestion that product life-spans should be lengthened, except in a brief reference to reuse (Defra 2005). Indeed, the strategy produced a decade earlier was more explicit: ‘Effective waste minimisation is not just a question of reducing unwanted outputs from the manufacturing process. It also involves ... producing longer lasting products’ (UK Government 1994: 151).18 Policies to influence product longevity may be directed at different stages in the product life cycle and, in this way, be mutually reinforcing. As it is estimated that 80 per cent of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage (Defra 2005), one approach would be to use minimum performance standards (either through legislation or a voluntary approach) in order to encourage design aimed at longer lasting products. Governments may also intervene at the acquisition stage, influencing product prices through fiscal policies (e.g. industry grants, levels of employers’ National Insurance and VAT) and requiring improved environmental labelling. Finally, at the disposal stage, governments could use the producer responsibility policies and make the cost of waste disposal transparent to households through ‘pay as you

18 This proposition was not, however, followed through into any noteworthy policy.

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throw’ taxation19 in order to encourage product longevity, repair, upgrading and reuse.20 Creating public policy on product life-spans requires a judgement to be made concerning the extent to which they are determined by producers or consumers. For example, little purpose would be served by requiring producers to meet higher durability standards if most products were being discarded while still functional (DeBell and Dardis 1979; Cooper 2004). Governments could perhaps consider promoting alternative business models such as leasing, rather than selling, which could give manufacturers a greater incentive to supply durable and repairable goods (Durgee and O’Connor 1995; Oosterhuis et al. 1996; Heiskanen and Jalas 2003; Stahel 2006), although there is a risk that users might treat rented products less carefully than those that they own and seek to replace them more frequently. A consumer-focused strategy is liable to be most effective if account is taken of variations in replacement behaviour by different types of owner and households targeted accordingly. A survey by Dahl (1980) concluded that older people, single-person households and people in lower income groups keep products for relatively long periods, while Antonides (1990) similarly found variations according to household size and income group and concluded that people with expectations of rising incomes would heavily discount future costs and consequently invest less in durable items in the short term. More recent research by Evans and Cooper (2003), however, found considerable inconsistency in consumer behaviour, suggesting a need for further research.21 Governments also need to decide whether to adopt a generic or productspecific approach. Increased taxation on waste may act as a general disincentive to short-lived products, but a product-specific approach may be preferable if the environmental impacts of particular types of product are especially problematic or cause a high level of consumer dissatisfaction. The OECD (1982) concluded that the longevity of cars should be the primary target for attention because of substantial potential savings in primary materials, while in the early 1990s the European Commission identified vehicles and electrical and electronic equipment as priority waste streams, resulting in a series of Directives based on the producer responsibility principle that, while primarily 19 ‘Pay as you throw’ taxation is when local authorities charge householders directly for waste collection according to weight or volume. 20 Sources for these proposals include Cooper (1994, 1999), Heiskanen (1996), Kostecki (1998) and Green Alliance (2005). 21 See also Chapter 14 (Evans and Cooper).

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aimed at increasing recycling, have potential to promote longevity. Another product-specific approach would be to incorporate expected product life-spans within environmental labelling requirements, either on a statutory or voluntary basis.22 Finally, governments need to choose between voluntary, market-based and regulatory approaches. A voluntary approach may suffice when there is a broad social consensus that a particular course of action is appropriate, such as a requirement to provide essential information about guarantees to consumers or stock spare parts for a certain period after manufacture. When such consensus does not exist or is unlikely to motivate behavioural change, governments may need to use fiscal measures to provide an economic incentive. Even these may not suffice in certain circumstances. For example, reduced or zero-rated VAT on repair work might provide a signal to households that the government favours an increase in the amount of repair work undertaken but is unlikely of itself to lead to a substantial change because the disincentives to repair extend beyond cost; they include feasibility (often through poor product design), inconvenience (identifying a reliable repairer and the time without the product), negative past experiences with repairers, and the attractions of new, replacement products. Moreover, the market-based approach assumes that consumers have adequate knowledge and power, whereas their ability to affect change may be more limited than is sometimes claimed (Scherhorn 2005). Choice editing may be used in this situation, either through a voluntary decision by a company not to sell products considered ethically inappropriate or government regulation forbidding the supply of certain products.23 The ability and willingness of industry and consumers to take the actions considered necessary by governments will influence decisions concerning which instruments to use. In the case of repair, for example, discussed above, the European Consumer Law Group (1988) concluded that problems concerning the servicing of cars and electrical appliances required a regulatory approach. In making public policy, governments face issues that are complex and over which they may have little control. For example, as a result of globalization, much manufacturing that was once undertaken in industrialized countries has relocated to low wage nations and this has made new products more affordable but repair and maintenance relatively expensive. In addition, in a throwaway 22 The Scottish Executive has initiated measures to encourage improved life-span information. See Chapter 12 (Cooper and Christer). 23 EU legislation preventing certain products that do not meet minimum energy efficiency requirements from being supplied to the market may be considered an example of choice editing. See Footnote 15 above.

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culture products quickly depreciate in value and this results in a global surplus of relatively cheap but often unwanted second-hand items. Such political and economic problems, which are common across industrialized nations, will be hard to tackle. Moreover, attempts to change deeply embedded values, beliefs and behavioural norms are liable to face powerful forces of resistance within the present system.

Policies to Increase Life-Spans The main focus of this chapter is on policies to increase product life-spans, although the counterargument, as in the case of energy efficiency, has been noted. A range of potential policies is identified in the remainder of the chapter, some of which would require international agreement.24 They are classified below by the stakeholder group most directly affected and type of instrument (Table 10.1). Each needs to be evaluated for their effectiveness, power to motivate, administrative cost, efficiency, political acceptability and distributional impact (Connelly and Smith 1999).

Manufacturers One of the strongest policies that governments might adopt would be to introduce performance standards, a requirement that certain products be designed and manufactured for a specified minimum life-span. A recent report on waste reduction commissioned by the British Government advocated the adoption throughout the European Union of minimum durability criteria as a ‘legally binding pre-requisite’ for certain types of product (Eunomia et al. 2007: 339). Priority products would be those that individually have a major environmental impact, such as cars,25 or smaller products that collectively result in substantial volumes of waste.26 In another report funded by the British Government Jackson (2005a: 129) argues that ‘product standards could make vital differences between durability and obsolescence, between efficiency and waste, between recyclability and landfill.’27

24 Changes to VAT by individual countries are problematic, for example, because the European Union aims to harmonize VAT rates within its boundaries. 25 As noted above, the OECD (1982) proposed that cars should be a priority for attention. 26 Governments could also target products on the basis of consumer dissatisfaction with lifespans (which may not arise out of environmental concern). 27 Achievement of the minimum standard would need to be verified by appropriate product testing. See also a report for the Market Transformation Programme by Jackson (2005b).

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Table 10.1

Potential policy measures Regulatory instruments

Market-based instruments

Voluntary instruments

Manufacturers

Minimum durability performance for specified products. Minimum length of product guarantee. Eco-design requirements (use of standard components, ease of disassembly, life-span, availability of spare parts, modularity, upgradeability and reparability). Application of competition law. Increasingly strict producer responsibility ‘take-back’ and reuse targets.

Ecological tax reform to increase energy and raw material costs and reduce labour costs. Tax on disposable products. Differentiate level of VAT according to length of guarantee.

Design for durability/ repair/upgrading. Improved product testing and communication to retailers/consumers. Longer product guarantees. Inclusion of life-span data in marketing material and sustainability reports.

Retailers

Mandatory life-span labels. Full life cost labelling based on anticipated life span and operational costs. Planning regulations and business rates to favour companies offering aftersales services.

Zero-rated VAT or lower rates for longer lasting products and repair or upgrading work. Zero or lower employers’ NI for repair technicians and for employees in second hand stores.

Voluntary life-span labels. Life-span requirement in environmental labelling schemes. Graduated product guarantees. Longer product guarantees. Better value extended warranties.

After-sales service providers

Requirement to complete repair work at quoted price. Guaranteed life-span with service provision for specified period.

Lower or zero-rated VAT on repair, maintenance, upgrading and reuse. Abolition or reduction of employers’ NI contributions in repair and reuse sectors. Grants or tax breaks for repair workshops. Grants for re-use projects.

Display of prices for spare parts and repair work.

Users

Requirement to separate discarded consumer durables for reuse and recycling.

Fiscal reforms to reduce relative cost of longer lasting products and repair or upgrading work. ‘Pay as you throw’ waste tax.

Consumer education.

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A different, but related, approach would be to require manufacturers of specified categories of product to offer longer guarantees. This would not make product standards mandatory but would act as an incentive to increase long term reliability, as the manufacturer would be liable for remedying any faults during the guarantee period. Such a policy was proposed by the OECD (1982: 78–79), which noted the potential benefits of ‘significantly longer and more stringent warranties’ and called for further investigation into ‘the justification for limiting the extent of the company’s liability’. More recently it has been advocated by Friends of the Earth (2006) and in the aforementioned Government report on waste (Eunomia et al. 2007). Such proposals are subject to criticism. For example, it may be hard to specify universal performance standards if there is a wide variety of products within the same category or to be certain that products will continue to conform to the required standard over a prolonged period. There may also be economic issues to address: for example, a product may become faulty when close to its designated minimum life-span and require repair work that would be disproportionately costly in relation to its residual life. Performance standards are also sometimes criticized as not the most effective approach to raising product quality, because what is intended to serve as a minimum specification is instead regarded as a maximum, a final target. In the light of such criticisms, a voluntary approach to raising standards may be preferred. In Britain there is already protection for consumers in the form of a 1994 amendment to the 1979 Sale of Goods Act, which resulted in explicit reference to durability being among the criteria that determine ‘satisfactory quality’ in products, although this provision does not appear to have been widely tested in law.28 Another means by which regulatory authorities could address product life-spans is to use legislation aimed at promoting the design of products with reduced environmental impacts, such as the EcoDesign Directive.29 This provides the European Commission with the authority to enact ‘implementing measures’ to improve environmental aspects of product design such as ‘ease for reuse’ and ‘extension of lifetime’.30 Examples of ease of use include the ‘use of standard components’ and ‘time necessary for disassembly’ while those for extension of lifetime are ‘minimum guaranteed lifetime, minimum time for availability of spare parts, modularity, upgradeability and reparability.’

28 See Chapter 8 (Ervine). 29 Directive 2005/32/EC on the eco-design of energy-using products (EuP). 30 The Directive distinguishes ‘implementing measures’ from ‘binding requirements’.

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Regulatory authorities could alternatively focus on the final stage in the product life cycle, disposal, and seek to influence product longevity through producer responsibility legislation (Heiskanen 1996; Kostecki 1998; Runkel 2003; Green Alliance 2005). The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directives primarily focus on improved waste management through increased recycling, but could be strengthened to focus on waste reduction, rather than waste management, and address product durability and product life extension explicitly.31 A further option for governments is to seek to increase competition in consumer durables markets in which there are limited number of suppliers, as some economists argue that monopolistic markets are liable to result in shorter lived goods.32 This suggests that government action to regulate markets in order to promote competition could have a significant role, complementing more direct measures to increase product life-spans. Economic instruments are often used as a means of creating incentives for changes in behaviour. British economist James Meade argued that governments should ‘give incentives to manufacturers to produce more durable products rather than objects expressly designed to need rapid replacement’, proposing that ‘if cars were taxed much more heavily when they are new, and less when they are older, consumers would demand more durable and solid cars. And, in general, similar measures could be taken as an incentive to go for durability for every kind of good’ (cited in Ravaioli 1995: 116). Ecological tax reform, switching the incidence of taxation from labour to energy and raw materials, has long been advocated as a means of realigning the economy to meet the demands of sustainable development. Increased taxation on raw materials would provide an incentive for their more efficient use; increased product longevity is one means to achieve this as it reduces the material input for each ‘service unit’ provided by the product.33 Likewise, reduced taxation on labour such as employers’ National Insurance contributions should encourage after-sales services such as repair and maintenance and upgrading, again encouraging longer product life-spans. There is also a 31 Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE); Directive 2000/53/ EC on end-of life vehicles (ELV). 32 An alternative view is that firms in monopolistic markets would exploit the situation by raising prices rather than shortening life-spans. The debate is summarized in OECD (1982), Heiskanen (1996) and Waldman (2003). 33 Material intensity per service unit (MIPS) is a resource productivity concept developed by the Wuppertal Institute. See von Weizsäcker et al. (1997).

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risk that higher raw material costs would encourage miniaturization which might reduce reparability. On balance, however, ecological tax reform should encourage longer product life-spans (Cooper 1994; Heiskanen 1996). Another fiscal option, proposed in the report A Blueprint for Survival,34 would be to introduce an ‘amortization tax’ on products in relation to their life-span: This would be proportionate to the estimated life of the product, e.g. it would be 100 percent for products designed to last no more than a year, and would then be progressively reduced to zero percent for those designed to last 100+ years. Obviously this would penalise shortlived products, especially disposable ones, thereby reducing resource utilisation and pollution, particularly the solid-waste problem. Plastics, for example, which are so remarkable for their durability, would be used only in products where this quality is valued, and not for single trip purposes. This tax would also encourage craftsmanship and employment-intensive industry. (Goldsmith 1972: 10) A variation on this idea, made in a Club of Rome report on waste, was a proposal for taxation ‘inversely proportional to the duration of the guarantee for a given product’ (Gabor and Colombo 1981: 137). The level of VAT levied on consumer durables, for example, could differ according to the length of consumer guarantee provided. A further option, proposed more recently, is a new product tax on consumer durables with less than a five year guarantee (Green Alliance 2005). Taxing disposable products has also been advocated. A product levy on items such as throwaway cameras, disposable razors, disposable nappies and non-rechargeable batteries was proposed in Britain by the Institute for Public Policy Research and Green Alliance (2006) and in the Ggovernment report on waste cited above (Eunomia et al. 2007). In several other European countries, notably Belgium, taxes on disposable products (notably tableware and cameras) have already been introduced.

34 A Blueprint for Survival was produced in advance of the world’s first Environment Summit: the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. The text took up the entire issue of The Ecologist (Vol. 2, No. 1, January 1972) and was later published as a book. It is available online at http://www.theecologist.info/key27.html

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Lastly, manufacturers might be encouraged by governments to take voluntary action to promote longer lasting products initially, with the threat of regulation if this proves unsuccessful. For example, they could be asked to develop industry codes of practice with stricter standards for durability, reparability and upgradeability for their products (and components). Companies could agree to increase the industry norm for the length of manufacturers’ guarantees within specific product sectors35 and establish a principle that extended warranties will be renewable over a long period36 and spare parts will be available at reasonable prices. Manufacturers could also choose to provide more information to consumers concerning product life-spans in marketing material and annual sustainability or environmental reports, perhaps including data on past life-spans. Such voluntary actions would fit within the corporate social responsibility agenda.

Retailers Retailers have a major influence on people’s choices as purchasers and users. In order for people to be able to select a product designed and manufactured for a relatively long life-span, such products must not only be available but readily identifiable in shops, on websites and in other forms of marketing communication. At present, many consumers lack knowledge about the design life of products, a problem accentuated by the fact that price does not necessarily provide a good indication of quality (Hanf and von Wersebe 1994; Waldman 2003; Rao 2005). One prominent critic of planned obsolescence, Vance Packard (1963: 249), proposed ‘grade labelling’ to enable the consumer ‘to choose on the basis of assured quality rather than on brand image.’ Consumers evidently have a desire for improved access to product lifespan information (Box 1983; European Consumer Law Group 1988; National Consumer Council 1989; Cooper 1994; Cooper and Mayers 2000). One option for governments would be to require retailers to display life-span labels on certain categories of product.37 Past attempts have been made in the USA and Britain, unsuccessfully, to this end. Two Bills which would have required ‘durable consumer products’ to be labelled as to their expected product life were introduced in 1975 to the U.S. House of Representatives (Conn 1977) and an attempt was made in Britain’s House of Lords in 1994 to introduce a similar 35 Consumer guarantees are typically short, perhaps 1–2 years, and consumers are, in any case, protected through the 1979 Sale of Goods Act. See Chapter 9 (Twigg-Flesner). 36 Extended warranties are distinguished from guarantees by being purchased. Specifying a prolonged period will signal to consumers the expected life-span of the product. 37 See Chapter 12 (Cooper and Christer).

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requirement. The latter proposal was rejected, primarily on the grounds that it ‘could lay significant new burdens upon business.’38 Critics expressed concern that, as product life-spans vary around an average, competitive forces might lead sellers to specify a figure above this average and require them to provide an after-sales service for an unduly long period. Conversely, some sellers might specify a relatively short life-span, in order to minimize such a liability, and then cut their prices to reflect the potential savings in costs, resulting, perversely, in a trend towards lower product quality. More generally, critics argued that such legislation would be unfair because a consumer’s contract is with the seller, and sellers are dependent on manufacturers for any after-sales service provision. Such labels need not be mandatory; they could be promoted on a voluntary basis. For example, life-span information could be incorporated within environmental labelling initiatives such as the European Union Ecolabel scheme, in which the criteria for several product groups already include certain requirements relating to product life.39 Market research suggests that consumers’ decisions are strongly influenced by the pricing structures used by retailers, including price points, discounts and special offers: these can make it hard for consumers to judge intrinsic durability in the absence of clear life-span information. In the case of electrical and electronic items consumers would benefit from the provision of labels indicating the full life cycle costs (calculated by estimating the product’s life-span and operational costs), presented on an annualized cost basis. Retailers could be encouraged to provide such information by consumer organizations such as Which? (whose own product tests do not always include durability). Like manufacturers, retailers could offer longer consumer guarantees, perhaps raised over time on a graduated basis (Eunomia et al. 2007).40 In the case of products such as electrical and electronic goods, the cost of providing such a service would have to be incorporated into the price of products and an unwanted side effect for retailers might be a reduction in the sale of extended warranties. A substantial lengthening of guarantees would constitute a form of

38 HL Deb (1994–95). 12 October 1994. Vol. 557, cc 960–67. A summary of the debate appears in ENDS Report 237, October 1994 (‘Minister puts deregulation before product durability’). Accessed online at http://www.endsreport.com 39 These are detailed in Chapter 12 (Cooper and Christer). 40 The report by Eunomia et al. proposed that the baseline for guarantees could reflect a minimum requirement for durability (i.e. a required standard) or an average durability level of that product group. For example, guarantee periods could start with a minimum guarantee of one year and increase through further stages (e.g. two, four, six, etc. years) up to, say, 20 years. See also Chapter 9 (Twigg-Flesner).

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product-service system in which consumers effectively purchased the service provided by the product, akin to rental (Cooper and Evans 2000). Another point of sale approach would be to use market-based instruments to increase consumer demand for longer lasting products by making them more financially attractive. For example, a lower or zero-rate of VAT could be applied to certain products (based on, say, the anticipated life-span as declared on the label or, as a proxy, the length of guarantee) and to repair or upgrading work. The system of graduated vehicle excise duty applied to new cars based on CO2 emissions provides a precedent for such an approach. Even if such a change made only a marginal difference to consumer demand, it would have symbolic significance and might thereby have a wider societal impact. A further fiscal approach would be to encourage retailers to develop their after-sales provision by abolishing or reducing employers’ National Insurance contributions for repair technicians, which would cut the relative cost of providing a repair service compared with selling new, replacement items. Lastly, concentrations of power and structural divisions within the retail sector may affect product life-spans. For example, concern in Britain about overpricing in the extended warranties market for household appliances arising from inadequate competition has led to investigations by the Office of Fair Trading (2002) and Competition Commission (2003). Another example is the footwear sector, in which most retail outlets only sell new items and repair work tends to be undertaken by separate, independent businesses; as a consequence retailers lack sufficient commercial incentive to sell repairable footwear. More generally, government intervention may be needed to change planning regulations and business rates in order to support repairers and other retailers offering aftersales services who would otherwise be forced into unattractive locations away from modern shopping centres and high street locations.

After-Sales Service Providers Alongside measures to improve the intrinsic durability of products, governments could promote product life extension by addressing the historic decline in repair and maintenance work. Although in the case of certain types of product (notably televisions) this decline may be the result of improved reliability, more generally it can be traced to economic factors such as the cost of repair in relation to replacement, poor design, the loss of repair skills (professionally and in the home) and the inconvenience and uncertainty often involved.

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After-sales services are provided in a range of contexts, from highly skilled craft workers undertaking repair and renovation work in long-established family businesses to shops selling second-hand goods of which some have dubious origins. Much repair and reuse activity is economically marginal and the latter, in particular, often takes place through charities and social businesses.41 If product life extension is to become a more profitable (and ultimately mainstream) business activity, governments may need to provide grants to encourage repair and reuse companies or tax advantages to companies wholly engaged in repair and reuse (Box 1983). As after-sales services are generally labour-intensive, if employers’ National Insurance contributions were abolished or reduced for companies whose primary activities are repair, maintenance, upgrading or reuse, their costs would be significantly reduced. Such companies would also benefit if a lower or zero-rate of VAT were applied to their products and services.42 Action is also needed to address a risk perceived by consumers that repair work will not be completed within a satisfactory time period and at reasonable cost. The use of authorized repairers can offer quality assurances, although according to Kostecki (1998: 124) governments need to challenge ‘cartel-like arrangements in distribution of spare parts and repair services’.43 A European study into the servicing of vehicles and electrical appliances concluded that greater certainty in the relationship between consumers and repairers was needed to remove doubts about what is to be done under repair contracts and at what cost (European Consumer Law Group 1988).44 Although the study was undertaken two decades ago, many of its findings remain relevant. The report proposed legislation imposing an obligation de resultat45 on repairers, a requirement that customers be provided with written estimates, a limit of 15 per cent for any extra costs, and compensation in the event of failure to meet a completion date. It also proposed that spare parts be available for the lifetime of a product (and of appropriate quality). Another potential measure that would improve market transparency is to require providers of after-sales services to display prices of spare parts and repair work.

41 42 43 44

See Chapter 17 (Curran). The sale of donated goods in charity shops already qualifies for zero-rated VAT. Such practices in the after-sales market in the USA are discussed in Waldman (2003). The European Consumer Law Group ceased to exist after 2004 and has been superseded by the Consumer Law Enforcement Forum. 45 An obligation de resultat is an obligation to achieve a specific result, as distinct from an obligation relating to the repairer’s effort.

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Finally, although there have been many advances in waste management across the European Union in recent years, more could be done to transform civic amenity sites from places where waste is ‘dumped’ to hives of community activity where repair services are offered; people buy, sell and exchange unwanted goods; and only residual items have to be ‘managed’ for recycling (or, as a last resort, sent to energy from waste facilities).

Users Consumers’ choices concerning which specific products to purchase and their decisions between maintaining products (perhaps with repair or upgrading) and replacing them will be affected by a range of factors, including the relative cost of different options. Many of these factors will be influenced indirectly by the government policies outlined above. Governments may also use policies aimed directly at consumers, such as social marketing campaigns designed to increase public awareness of the environmental benefits of reducing waste by purchasing longer lasting products and taking good care of them. Evidence suggests that people currently tend to associate the intrinsic durability of products with quality rather than environmental sustainability (Evans and Cooper 2003). Such campaigns could provide information to improve their understanding of the links between product longevity and environmental sustainability. Once products have been acquired, owners influence their life-spans through the amount and quality of care and maintenance given to them, the point at which they are discarded and the choice of disposal route; the latter is significant because some discarded products will be functional, while others will be worn or broken but potentially subject to reconditioning or repair. Again, governments could introduce policies designed to influence consumer behaviour. For example, there could be a legal requirement for householders to dispose of consumer durables such as vehicles, furniture and electrical and electronic equipment in a separate waste stream in order to facilitate increased reuse and recycling. More generally, governments could use an economic instrument such as ‘pay as you throw’ taxation on waste which, in principle, should make people less inclined to purchase products intended only for short life-spans.

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Conclusion Governments throughout the industrialized world have failed to address inadequate product life-spans despite longstanding awareness of threats to environmental sustainability posed by rising volumes of waste. It is unreasonable, however, simply to blame governments for the prevailing throwaway culture; inadequate pressure has been put on them to act. The fact that there has been so little detailed exploration of the most suitable measures for transforming this throwaway culture is a serious concern. Over a quarter of a century has passed since the seminal, but largely neglected, OECD report. Inadequate progress has been made in research and few public policy measures designed to increase product life-spans have been introduced, or even researched in sufficient depth. Sustainable consumption demands that policies to optimize product life-spans be accorded higher priority by governments. This chapter has presented some of the main policy options and established a framework within which to begin a discussion on specific measures. Further research is needed to investigate the stage in the product life cycle at which policy would be most effective, the relative merits of using incentives or penalties to encourage change, the optimal balance between regulation, market intervention and information provision, and the extent to which policy should be generic or aimed at particular types of product. As landfill sites fill up and fears of future resource scarcity resurface, it is inevitable that governments will face mounting pressure to address the throwaway culture by reducing the prevalence of short-lived consumer durables. The range of policy options presented in this chapter need to be assessed by governments and debated in public in order that appropriate measures may be introduced.

References ANTONIDES, G. (1990). The Lifetime of a Durable Good. Dordrecht: Kluwer. BOX, J.M.F. (1983). Extending product lifetime: prospects and opportunities. European Journal of Marketing 17 (4), 34–49. CHALKLEY, A.M. (2003). Theory and calculation of environmentally optimum product lifespan. PhD thesis, Brunel University. CHALKLEY, A.M., BILLETT, E. and HARRISON, D. (2001). An investigation of the possible extent of the re-spending rebound effect in the sphere of consumer products. Journal of Sustainable Product Design 1, 162–70.

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DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS) (2008). Progress Report on Sustainable Products and Materials. London: Defra. DETR (DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS) (1998). Government Response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution’s Twentieth Report: Transport and the Environment – Developments since 1994. Cm. 4066. Norwich: The Stationery Office. DETR (DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS) (2000a). Waste Strategy 2000. Cm. 4693-I. Norwich: The Stationery Office. DETR (DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS) (2000b). Government Response to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee’s Report: UK Climate Change Programme. Cm. 4748. Norwich: The Stationery Office. DURGEE, J.F. and O’CONNOR, G.C. (1995). An exploration into renting as a form of consumption behavior. Psychology and Marketing 12 (2), 89–104. EUNOMIA RESEARCH AND CONSULTING, THE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL, ÖKO INSTITUT, TNO and ATLANTIC CONSULTING (2007). Household Waste Prevention – Policy Side Research Programme. Final report for Defra. A National Resource and Waste Forum collaborative project. Bristol: Eunomia Research and Consulting Ltd. EUROPEAN CONSUMER LAW GROUP (1988). Servicing of Cars and Electrical Appliances. In: EUROPEAN CONSUMER LAW GROUP (1997). Reports and Opinions 1986–97. Louvain-la-Neuve: Centre de Droit de la Consommation, pp. 105–36. EVANS, S. and COOPER, T. (2003). Waste not, want not? An exploration of the effect of consumer behaviour on the service life of three categories of household product. Chartered Institute of Wastes Management Annual Conference, 10–13 June, Paignton. FISHMAN, A., GANDAL, N. and SHY, O. (1993). Planned obsolescence as an engine of technological progress. Journal of Industrial Economics XLI, 361–70. FRIENDS OF THE EARTH (2006). Consultation on the Review of Waste Strategy 2000 [online]. Response from Friends of the Earth (to Defra), May 2006. Accessed 8 June 2010 at http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/consultation_ responses/waste_strategy.pdf GABOR, D. and COLOMBO, U. (1981). Beyond the Age of Waste: A report to the Club of Rome (2nd edn). Oxford: Pergamon. GOLDSMITH, E. (ed.) (1972). A blueprint for survival. The Ecologist. 2 (1), 1–22. GRATHWOHL, H. (1978). Planned obsolescence and resource allocation. In: AAKER, D.A. and DAY, G.S. (eds). Consumerism (3rd edn). London: Collier Macmillan, pp. 336–46.

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ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (1997). Transport and the Environment – Developments since 1994. 20th report, Cm 3752. London: The Stationery Office. RÜDENAUER, I. and GENSCH, C.-O. (2006). Accelerated replacement of refrigerators and freezers – does it make sense? Fourth International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL), 21–23 June, London. RUNKEL, M. (2003). Product durability and extended producer responsibility in solid waste management. Environmental and Resource Economics 24 (2), 161–82. SCHERHORN, G. (2005). Sustainability, consumer sovereignty and the concept of the market. In: GRUNERT, K.G. and THØGERSEN, J. (eds). Consumers, Policy and the Environment: A tribute to Folke Ölander. New York: Springer, pp. 301–10. SLADE, G. (2006). Made to Break: Technology and obsolescence in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. STAHEL, W.R. (2006). The Performance Economy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. STAHEL, W.R. and JACKSON, T. (1993). Optimal utilisation and durability. In: JACKSON, T. (ed.). Clean Production Strategies. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis, pp. 261–91. STAMMINGER, R. (2006). Old washing machines wash less efficient and consume more resources. Fourth International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL), 21–23 June, London. STEWART, J.B. (1959). Planned obsolescence. Harvard Business Review 37 (5), 14–174 passim. UK GOVERNMENT (1994). Sustainable Development: The UK Strategy. Cm. 2426. London: HMSO. VON WEIZSÄCKER, E., LOVINS, A.B. and LOVINS, L.H. (1997). Factor Four. London: Earthscan. WALDMAN, M. (2003). Durable goods theory for real world markets. Journal of Economic Perspectives 17 (1), 131–54. WEAVER, P.M. (2008). Incentives and frameworks for increasing the capital value, service value and use rates of durable goods. International Journal of Product Development 6 (3–4), 310–33. WORLD BANK (2002). Can Vehicle Scrappage Programmes be Successful? [online]. South Asia Urban Quality Management Briefing Note No. 8, World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme. Accessed 8 June 2010 at http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/articles-35253_recurso_1.pdf

Part 4

Marketing Longer Lasting Products

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Rethinking Marketing

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Ken Peattie

Abstract The challenge of moving towards more sustainable economies, and the provision of longer lasting solutions to our needs within them, is considerable. It will require many innovations in our technologies, our infrastructure and amongst the key actors within our systems of consumption and production. Although there will be many technical and practical barriers to overcome, perhaps the most difficult change that will be required is to change our minds, our patterns of thinking, about the way in which we produce and consume. Much of the ‘software’ that drives our systems of consumption and production resides in the management discipline of marketing. Marketing has been under pressure to change, to become more environmentally orientated, materially efficient and sustainable, for most of the last 20 years. In general, however, the conventional marketing paradigm has proven remarkably resilient. Instead of changing to create pathways to sustainability, it has largely endured and often acted as a barrier to change. This chapter explores how the quest to develop technologies and products that are more durable will depend on changing how we think both about marketing and within marketing, creating a new sustainable marketing paradigm.

Introduction The need to move towards more sustainable societies and economies at global, national and regional levels has become ever-clearer since the publication of the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987). The scale of the challenge of progressing towards sustainability in a world in which the population continues to expand and material expectations continue to increase is difficult to overstate. Progress is also made difficult by a variety of barriers, some technical or financial, but

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others rooted in politics and in a fundamental tendency to resist change even when it involves incurring only short term costs in order to accrue longer-term benefits. Governments throughout the world have tended to place their faith in progress through a combination of technical innovations and the harnessing of markets and price signals to change the behaviours of companies, institutions and individuals. Each of these can make an important contribution to creating more sustainable societies but they represent evolutionary and non-disruptive approaches to change. This makes them relatively politically attractive but also relatively ineffective in securing substantive change to the way in which societies and economies are structured, to the way we produce and consume, and to the way we live our lives. To create more sustainable societies and economies, we will need to change much more than technology, our ‘hardware’, and the prices we attach to things. It requires a change to our ‘software’: our values, perceptions, habits and the way that we think. It will also involve changes to the way we approach education and the way that we frame and develop our approach to scholarship in many fields, including many management disciplines (Shrivastava 1994). This chapter seeks to explore how the search to develop more sustainable markets, in which fewer unnecessarily short-lived products are made, will require an evolution in our thought processes as well as in new product development processes. The relationship between the field of marketing and the sustainability and resource consumption agendas has evolved through a number of stages. During the development of the marketing discipline throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the physical environment was viewed as largely irrelevant to the majority of people working within marketing. For certain industries, such as oil, chemicals and cars, the environmental concerns that arose at the end of the 1960s and early 1970s were relevant, but largely framed as operations management issues concerning pollution control or resource efficiency. When marketers did seek to respond to environmental concerns through changes to products, there seemed to be greater opportunity for strategic failure (or at least disruption) than success. For example, when US manufacturers downsized car models in response to the oil shocks of the 1970s, their new products reached the market just in time to find demand moving away from fuel economy (as oil prices stabilized) and to face strong competition in the small car segment from new competitor models from Japan (Muralidharan 1997). Many companies have long organizational memories about the risks involved in strategies to develop environmentally orientated new products.

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During the 1980s, there was a ‘euphoric discovery’ of the impact of environmental and other sustainability issues on marketing, particularly following publication of the Brundtland Report. The business press carried many predictions that the 1990s would be the ‘Green Decade’ and this seemed to be confirmed by mounting market research evidence highlighting growing environmental concern amongst consumers (e.g. Roper Organization 1990; Mintel 1991; Scherhorn 1993). The notion that good environmental performance offered a potential ‘win-win’ opportunity gained ground. In 1995 Porter and van der Linde’s seminal article ‘Green and Competitive’ was published in the Harvard Business Review, bringing evidence forward to challenge the conventional notion that environmental regulation and expenditure on environmental performance improvements undermined corporate competitiveness. Instead, the article proposed, competitive advantage could be generated through efficient use of resources, avoidance of the costs and inefficiencies associated with pollution, meeting customer needs for greener products, and innovative thinking encouraged by a search for greener solutions. Meanwhile, other commentators were challenging the ‘win-win’ notion, arguing that competitive advantage through good environmental performance was difficult to achieve and to sustain (Shelton 1994; Walley and Whitehead 1994). However, the notion that the two could go together gradually became accepted wisdom and has since become entwined with a wider debate about corporate social responsibility and the protection of brand reputation. What has been notable throughout this evolutionary response to the sustainability challenge is that the marketing discipline, from both a practical and an academic perspective, has remained largely unchanged in terms of its underlying theories, models and mindset. Occasional radical challenges (e.g. Fisk 1973; Kostecki 1998) have done little to change the mainstream marketing paradigm. The lack of ‘leverage’ achieved by sustainability-orientated marketing concepts is somewhat surprising given the regular discussions about the shortcomings of this paradigm that have surfaced in recent years. As Wilson and Gilligan (1997: 24) noted: ‘There has been an increasing recognition over the past few years that marketing is, or may be, facing what is loosely referred to as a mid life crisis … due to the widespread concern that something is amiss.’ Despite widespread acknowledgement that the paradigm is both flawed and unsustainable, it has proved remarkably resilient and has survived a series of announcements about the arrival of a ‘new’ marketing (with newness taking the form of an emphasis on ideas such as postmodernism, relationship management, one-to-one communication or virtual markets). As Gummesson 

See Palmer and Ponsonby 2002.

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(2002: 325) expresses it (even without reference to the sustainability agenda): ‘marketing management has become stereotyped on a derelict foundation in commodity-like textbooks.’ Environmental issues have largely been absorbed within the existing structure of the discipline to represent an important component of the strategic marketing environment, a potential source of competitive advantage, and one of several significant strategic issues about which the modern marketer is encouraged to be mindful. This process has been mirrored by the absorption of the pioneering and iconic green businesses into the brand families of multinationals (which were originally their antithesis). Thus the Body Shop has become an arm of L’Oréal, Green & Black’s has been swallowed by Cadburys, Ben & Jerry’s has melted into Unilever and the water brand ‘Ethos’ has refreshed Starbucks’ product portfolio. Twenty years on from Brundtland, the ‘business as usual’ response within marketing – and within management generally – is alive and well. The reality of the sustainability challenge, however, is that it is not simply another issue to be incorporated within marketing models and strategies but represents an alternative way of looking at the world that provides an opportunity to rethink the entire discipline of marketing and its models and strategies. Sustainability requires us to think differently both about marketing and within marketing. Evidence that such a rethink has been emerging was provided by a review of the literature of marketing and the environment by Kilbourne and Beckmann (1998). They concluded that although much of the early work had been dominated by a very managerialist approach (i.e. with a focus on identifying potential green market segments and developing new products to meet their needs), there was an emerging trend towards research at a more macro level that questioned the relationship between marketing and sustainable development and the prevailing role of marketing in constructing and maintaining society. If marketing is to become part of the process of developing more sustainable markets it needs to be rethought in such a way that it challenges rather than perpetuates the dominant social paradigm (Kilbourne 2004) and existing patterns of production and consumption that marketers accept as ‘normal’. This chapter aims to contribute some suggestions and impetus for this rethinking process.

Thinking Anew: What Do We Mean by ‘Marketing’? The word ‘marketing’ has roots that stretch back over centuries and reflect a largely physical process of taking goods or produce to a physical marketplace in order

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to sell them. Its modern meaning has become largely metaphorical; the original activity it defined has expanded to encompass a management function and a management process within businesses, a business orientation and philosophy, and an academic discipline within the field of management. Marketing today incorporates all aspects of the interface between the customer (including their characteristics, wants and needs) and the company (including its objectives, strategies, capabilities and resources). However, the perspective of marketing has remained strongly economic, with a focus on how to meet, simultaneously, the material wants of consumers and the financial objectives of a company. In order to move towards a more sustainable vision of marketing and to find more materially efficient ways to meet consumer wants and needs, a much more eclectic form of marketing is required; one which recognizes the wider physical and social processes that marketing both embodies and is subject to.

Rethinking the Market Within Marketing Although we increasingly see marketing being employed in areas where there is no conventional ‘market’, such as politics, health or the charity sector, the concept of a market is, not surprisingly, fundamental to marketing. Market demand, the aggregation of demands from prospective customers, is what drives marketing strategies and decisions. Although markets have imperfections, only in the case of serious market failure will policy-makers step in to remedy the situation. There is a general acceptance within industrialized countries that markets represent a superior solution for determining the allocation of scarce resources within society and should be employed wherever practicable. However, while there are many who argue that market mechanisms are also the most effective way to protect environmental resources (e.g. Cairncross 1991), there are some serious limitations to the ability of markets to value, allocate, protect or accommodate environmental resources. As Bromley (1997: 1383) noted, ‘the market cannot be relied upon to decide how clean our air or water should be. Nor can the market reveal how much biodiversity must be preserved for future generations’. It might be marketers’ natural instinct to respect and respond to the market but, as Goldsmith (1993) summed it up, the market mechanism ‘is totally blind to all biological, social, ecological, aesthetic and moral considerations of any sort, and [it] only responds to the shortestterm economic considerations.’ Although market imperfections are relatively widely acknowledged, the role that markets, and the consumer decisions that shape them, play within

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society is less well understood. It is often suggested that the market is one way through which citizens can exert power and guide the making of social choices (the other being through casting political votes). The idea that consumers ‘vote’ through their purchasing decisions is widely promoted within literature on marketing and the environment, but is misplaced: ‘Markets, which are socially constructed means whereby the ownership of future value changes hands, simply reflect many individual choices that, once aggregated, hold social implications. But that is very different from the idea that markets are a means for making social choices’ (Bromley 1997: 1383). In other words, the collective implications of individual choices may create very different social outcomes to those which individuals foresee, intend or pursue. Consumers buying new cars are not voting in favour of more crowded roads, and those replacing working mobile phones are not voting in favour of more electronic waste, even if this is what their behaviour contributes to. Many environmentally significant forms of consumption behaviour, such as domestic energy use, reflect ongoing lifestyles and habits rather than conscious acts of purchasing.

Rethinking Markets as Linear Structures In economics, markets are rather abstract constructs that are populated with a cast of actors (including suppliers of materials and components, manufacturers, distributors and customers) with various roles and a variety of relationships. As well as demanding reassessment of the nature and effectiveness of markets, a sustainability perspective should prompt a review of market structures and how these roles and relationships operate. The conventional view of a market is a rather linear structure of linkages between a number of distinct actors through which value, information and (typically) material flows. Laughlin and Varangu (1991) highlight the puzzlement that a visitor from space might experience when viewing our industrial economies which consist of:

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digging ‘stuff’ out from a hole in the ground, creating greater or lesser environmental damage

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refining and using the stuff to make products

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using these products for a time ranging from a few minutes for some packaging products to a few decades for some domestic appliances and durable goods, and

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putting discarded stuff back into another hole in the ground with greater or lesser environmental damage.

This conventional view of markets as highly linear structures is one of the factors that differentiate such manmade systems from natural systems. Nature’s economy tends to be better at developing balanced and materially efficient circular flows of resources in which waste from one process becomes an input into another. An important consequence of European Union regulation to promote extended producer responsibility and product stewardship within markets such as vehicles and electronics is that it forces thinking away from the linear market structures represented by supply chains towards more cyclical structures represented by supply loops. The requirement to reclaim discarded products from customers in order to reuse them or dispose of them responsibly also changes the nature of end-of-life (or end-of-use) products and the dynamics of the relationship between producers and consumers, and also between companies and their suppliers (Bowen et al. 2001). Old product becomes a source of potential value in the manufacture of new product and, if that value is not sought, product disposal costs are liable to make a business uncompetitive. Within supply loops, the consumer becomes a potential supplier of the value embedded in old product to the original producer. This subtly recasts the role of the consumer and thereby changes the nature of the relationship between producers and consumers. The consumer, instead of simply being the endpoint for the delivery of value, whose needs provide the inspiration at the start of the value creation process, becomes a partner in the process of creating and maintaining value within the market. It is also worth noting that the nature of the consumer within the conventional marketing paradigm tends to be relatively individualistic. Although it is recognized that a purchase may involve more than one person (with perhaps one choosing a product for another to use), most marketing literature tends to focus on one consumer at a time, seeking to satisfy one particular need at a time. The role of social fashions or reference groups on purchase behaviour is acknowledged, but often presented as a relatively abstract influence on the individual consumer. The reality is that we are not just individuals but members  

Both concepts imply a transfer of responsibility for end-of-life products from government to manufacturers, while product stewardship extends this to other parties involved in the product life cycle such as retailers and consumers. Through the End-of-Life Vehicles and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directives respectively.

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of family groups, households, communities, organizations and cultures. We are therefore left permanently trying to balance a wide portfolio of wants and needs (some of which may conflict) relating to our individual values and desires, our sense of identity and belonging, our lifestyle and circumstances, and our perceived ‘place in the world’ and how we relate to those around us. The emphasis within the consumer behaviour branch of the marketing discipline has always been on individual behaviour and on individual decisions based around an abstracted subset of needs and wants. A fuller understanding of consumption behaviour, and its potential to aid sustainability, will only be achieved if marketing takes a more sociological view of consumption that better understands issues such as the dynamics of purchasing within households and the social meanings behind many purchasing activities.

Recasting the Role of the Consumer The process of moving towards more sustainable markets will require the role of the consumer to be reconsidered beyond their potential new role as ‘supplier of used product’. The marketing philosophy is founded on the principle of consumer sovereignty, a principle so deeply held that it is rarely subject to criticism or even discussion. The reason why it is necessary to reconsider the concept of consumer sovereignty becomes clearer if we remove it from an abstract economic context and, instead, consider it within a world of finite resources in which around three billion people exist on less that $2 per day, and pause to consider the meaning and evolution of ‘sovereignty’, which Black’s Law Dictionary defines as: ‘The power to do everything in a state without accountability … By “sovereignty” in its largest sense is meant supreme, absolute, uncontrollable power, the absolute right to govern.’ For marketers, the concept remains powerful and seductive, but also somewhat dangerous. The danger is that its expression in terms of ‘the customer is king’ means that it is understood and practised as a modern embodiment of the divine right of kings and the power of absolute monarchy, a system long outmoded in most countries throughout the world due to its tendency to lead to injustice, instability and conflict. Consequently, the notion that consumers have the right to buy, consume and dispose of any legally available product that they 

Jackson (2004) has undertaken a comprehensive review of research in this area.

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have the economic power to afford, largely irrespective of the environmental and social consequences, remains unchallenged in the mainstream of politics, economics and business. There is similarly a temptation for marketers to absolve themselves of responsibility for these consequences by viewing themselves as simply fulfilling their role in life, obeying the implacable will of the consumer. In the face of the collective power of consumers through their spending, there is a need to develop concepts of consumer responsibility and accountability to prevent their power from being thoughtlessly and destructively wielded. The notion of consumer sovereignty may be simple and rather comforting, but it contains several flaws. One is that it assumes that marketers and businesses are simply the passive servants of their customers when the reality is that businesses seek to influence their customers through marketing communications, and their environment through activities such as public relations and lobbying. Although purists might argue that marketers cannot create wants and can only help customers to recognize (and companies to meet) latent wants that they were not aware of, this sits uncomfortably with many marketing campaigns (for example, those that encourage customers to replace fully functional products by helping them to avoid such ‘embarrassments’ as using an unfashionable mobile phone). It also assumes that consumers have sufficient information and an appropriate range of available choices to enable them to fulfil their desires. In practice, the choices facing an individual will be constructed and constrained. For example, their access to retail outlets will be shaped by urban planning policies and the range of available product choices by the ‘gatekeeper’ role of the retail buyers and the influence of organizational politics on company new product development processes. Moreover, many consumers are not well informed about a wide range of social and environmental issues within the sustainability agenda. This is partially symptomatic of the fact that mainstream education continues to educate children with an emphasis on preparing them for the roles of consumer, worker and manager within existing and unsustainable economic systems rather than for a transition to a more sustainable society (Lawson 2006). In these circumstances, it is unrealistic and unfair to regard the consumer as the primary actor whose decisions must move the economy towards sustainability. As noted earlier, the concept of extended producer responsibility changes the relationship between producers and consumers, placing responsibility for the fate of post-use products back into the hands of the producer. It needs to

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be accompanied by a concept of extended marketing responsibility, in which the marketer takes some responsibility for the welfare of consumers (as well as for meeting their wants) and helps them to make decisions which balance the pursuit of satisfaction with minimising the potential for negative social and environmental impacts. It is a form of relationship marketing beyond the relatively passive ‘master–servant’ relationship that conventional marketing theory promotes. Such a concept of ‘customer stewardship’ might seem patronizing or not true ‘marketing’ to many, yet in a range of fields it is already practised, as when technical complexities prompt customers to rely on the advice of manufacturers and retailers. It is especially commonplace in industrial markets and markets relating to health care or technologies such as computers, hi-fi or cars. In such markets the marketer will take some responsibility for understanding consumers in order to ensure that they get the ‘right’ solution to meet their needs. A move away from blind obedience in fulfilling customer wants to a view of marketing as working with customers to help them to solve their problems could create a marketing system that is both effective and materially efficient. In the context of our throwaway culture this could involve the development of repair services to maintain durable products, or leasing services to continue the producer/consumer linkage throughout a durable product’s life-span in order to ensure good product maintenance and performance and effective end-of-life solutions. Ultimately, developing an economy in which marketing can promote more sustainable consumption patterns will require a very different relationship between companies and customers. Instead of existing as separate entities within a highly linear supply chain, they need to become partners in the coproduction and maintenance of value within a production and consumption system which, from a physical perspective, is materially efficient and largely a closed loop. Instead of the view of the company as the passive servant of the sovereign customer, a vision of marketing is needed in which companies and their customers share responsibility for the socio-environmental impacts of their consumption and production activities and work together to manage and minimize those impacts. In many ways this could provide a new focus for the concept of ‘customer relationship management’, a marketing management approach that, though heralded as the salvation of marketing in recent years (Palmer and Ponsonby 2002), has in practice often struggled to contribute more than improved customer database management.

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Rediscovering the Marketing Philosophy Central to the marketing discipline is the ‘marketing philosophy’, which orientates a company around the principle of meeting the needs of customers (Borch 1957). In essence, the value of the marketing philosophy lies in moving companies away from the product and production orientation that held sway for many years of post-war industrial growth while demand outstripped production. It shifts their primary focus away from the products they create, and the way in which they produce them, to understanding and satisfying customers’ needs by providing them with benefits and value. One of the great strengths of the philosophy is that it unhooks the product itself from customer satisfaction and, instead, focuses on the benefits (or ‘service’) that the product provides as the source of satisfaction. Thus a perennial favourite example is that a customer buying a drill is not really buying a drill but is instead purchasing holes (or, at least, the means to create them). Such an approach potentially decouples the delivery of benefits and satisfaction from the purchase and ownership of physical products and instead places the focus on the use of products (or, perhaps, services as an alternative) to deliver these benefits and satisfaction. This creates opportunities for, say, the development of markets based around the use of leased products designed for durability in sectors previously associated with the purchase and use of relatively lowprice, low-specification products. Whether such a relatively ‘pure’ marketing philosophy, with its focus on the delivery of benefits to consumers, currently underpins the marketing strategy of companies is debatable. In the 50 years since Levitt (1960) alerted marketers to the dangers of defining their business in terms of what they produce, instead of the needs that they meet, companies have generally continued to define themselves in terms of what they produce or sell. Thus companies are described as drill manufacturers, car producers, food retailers and football teams rather than being in the holes, personal mobility, lifestyle/nutrition and entertainment businesses. When judging marketing success or failure, the marketing philosophy can also help to move the focus beyond the moment of purchase and the achievement of a sale to considering the product in use. Excellent sales figures for a product do not guarantee customer satisfaction; they only indicate that the product appeared the best solution available to consumers. However, although the marketing philosophy should encourage consumption to be considered as a social and physical process through which customers derive satisfaction, marketers still tend to view consumption very narrowly as the

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economic activity of purchase. As Kotler and Armstrong (2004) note, although consumption is a complex and multi-stage process, it is the purchase stage that continues to be the focus of attention even though it is in the post-purchase use and disposal phases that many of the sources of customer satisfaction and social and environmental impact are located. The holistic nature of the consumption process has been reflected in some life cycle models of consumer behaviour (Peattie 1995; Antonides and van Raaij 1998). Nonetheless, the space within standard marketing texts dedicated to purchase (or pre-purchase) behaviour compared with post-purchase behaviour demonstrates the continuing fixation on purchasing as an activity within the marketing academy. The marketing philosophy is usually seen as moving a company’s focus away from the product and its production and onto customers and their needs. This may not be entirely beneficial: Bennett and Cooper (1981) blame the marketing philosophy for companies abandoning genuine innovation and, instead, concentrating on evolutionary changes that respond to consumers’ expressed desire for minor improvements to the products and services that they already enjoy. Certainly a cursory look at key products such as cars, homes or electrical goods demonstrates little radical change in the past 20 years. Cars and homes may be more energy efficient, mobile phones far smaller and computers more powerful, but they reflect evolution rather than revolution. Indeed, we have arguably witnessed a slowing of innovation and change from the previous 20 years: a personal computer or mobile phone from 2009 will be much more advanced than a 1989 model, but in 1969 such products did not even exist. Meanwhile, improvements in the energy efficiency of products like cars have been outweighed by increases in their number and the amount they are used, resulting in greater overall consumption. Sustainable innovation that allows for the development of new, substantially improved longer lasting products and services will not help to transform our economies unless we also tackle our consumption-driven culture and its emphasis on growth, novelty and disposability. More sustainable marketing will require marketers to balance and integrate the customer-oriented aspects of the marketing philosophy with a renewed emphasis on issues related to the product and production process, so that they

• 

seek to understand customers and their needs

These products form the majority of the environmental impact of consumers. See Tukker (2005).

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•

develop innovative and more sustainable solutions to customer needs, even if it means ‘bringing’ the customer towards a new production and consumption system rather than responding to their explicit ‘wants’, and

•

help to improve the quality of production, in terms of resource efficiency and pollution, so that an otherwise satisfactory product is not compromised by concerns about the means of production.

Rethinking Within the Marketing Management Process The management process through which marketing strategies are devised and implemented follows a common model within the majority of marketing texts. It includes a number of discrete steps such as objective setting, the auditing of the marketing environment, strategic analysis and choice, the formulation and implementation of a marketing ‘mix’ (the marketing variables often referred to as the ‘four Ps’: product, price, place and promotion) and, finally, monitoring and adjustment as appropriate. These steps are discussed in turn below in the context of sustainable consumption and production systems (and, implicitly, the need for longer lasting products), as many aspects of the thinking that goes on within this process need to be changed.

Resetting Marketing Objectives The objectives that underpin companies’ marketing efforts are typically a mixture of the financial and the strategic, and may include both long term, open-ended goals (such as delighting the customer) and much shorter-term specific targets linked to levels of sales, profit or market share, or activities such as product development or market entry. Amongst these objectives the most important is typically that of sales volume in terms of either the number or value of products sold (or services delivered). The emphasis on sales volume (and, specifically, the use of sales targets in reward systems) can have a range of unintended consequences. As well as the adoption of unethical sales practices and accepting business at below-target profit margins in order to acquire volume, these can include the 

The activities involved in reality may rarely be as neat, discrete and sequential as the steps described within the textbooks, but the general shape of the process is widely accepted and understood.

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practice of building obsolescence into product design and seeking customer ‘churn’ in which customers are persuaded to replace serviceable products with the latest models. A move towards a more sustainable economy will require greater importance to be attached to alternative types of marketing objective. Where product-toservice market transformation of the kind noted above is accomplished, for example, product sales will become less meaningful and other metrics will be used, such as product usage, service revenue, customer satisfaction and retention, and the resource efficiency with which consumer needs are met.

Reviewing the Marketing Environment The context within which marketers and their markets operate is the marketing environment. The relationship between them is often expressed in terms of companies having a micro environment, comprised of their market and the actors within it (with whom they interact directly and constantly), and a macro environment consisting of forces that exist beyond the market (which influence companies, either directly or indirectly, by affecting the fortunes and behaviours of customers, competitors, channels or suppliers). This traditional view of the marketing environment is curiously abstracted from the physical world. It is usual to break the macro environment into more manageable thematic chunks, PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technical) analysis being a simple but enduring favourite. For many years the physical environment simply did not appear as a heading within marketing scholarship but instead might appear as a ‘Social’ issue reflecting consumers’ environmental concern or as a ‘Political’ issue concerning developments in environmental regulations. The physical environment was otherwise mainly considered in terms of either geographical distances between producers and consumers (often in the context of distribution logistics) or the influence that climate and topography have on consumer lifestyles and product needs. The idea that the physical environment underpins all of the social and economic systems on which humankind depends was generally ignored. Capra (1983) has described how the mechanistic economic models which have 



‘Churn’ is commonly used in financial services when customers are induced to buy and sell investments to little personal benefit in a way that generates commission for intermediaries. It is now being applied to other markets, such as mobile phones, where customers are encouraged to replace serviceable equipment. Also referred to as the task, or proximate, environment.

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dominated policy and practice during the last century of unprecedented human development ignore the ecological contexts in which economic activity occurs. In such an abstract world, without apparent limits on environmental resources or on the ability of the planet to absorb pollution and waste, it is not surprising that marketers were never taught to consider consumption, production or, indeed, marketing from a physical systems perspective.

Revising Marketing Strategies There are a number of elements of marketing strategy that need to be reconsidered from a sustainability perspective, notably segmentation and targeting. Conventionally, markets are broken down into segments whose members share some commonality, whether in terms of demographics, geography, attitudes or lifestyle, which makes them distinct in some way from other market segments. The logic within this is that each segment may need particular types of product or service, or may respond to particular variations of the marketing mix in terms of pricing levels, approaches to promotion or channels through which to access products. During the early phases of sustainability-orientated marketing, much effort went into trying to identify ‘green’ market segments comprised of people who have a specific demand for greener products and, preferably, are willing to pay a premium price for them. Such segmentation efforts were largely unsuccessful, particularly when using demographic bases which produced largely inconsistent and often conflicting results (Kilbourne and Beckmann 1998). It may be that people are unlikely to be ‘green consumers’ consistently because they are generally not equally well-informed about, or concerned about, all aspects of the sustainability agenda. Consumers vary considerably in the extent to which they connect particular product types to specific sustainability issues and yet market research has tended to use very broad measures of ‘general environmental concern’. For example, a consumer whose food-buying behaviour is strongly influenced by the issue of animal welfare may have no concerns about the use of genetic modification in food. Consumers’ purchasing behaviour is also influenced by variations in the levels of trust or scepticism they attach to companies’ attempts to market products from a green platform (Mohr et al. 1998). Segmentation is often used as the basis for targeting. One important aspect of the process of targeting within marketing is that it tends to discount the interests of people who are not part of the target market. This means that

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the needs of people who are not consumers of the product but who may be impacted by it are generally not considered when decisions about the marketing mix are taken. Thus during the 1970s and 1980s when an increasing range of products such as nappies, cameras and razors were marketed on the basis of the convenience of disposability, this consumer ‘benefit’ was never weighed against the impacts on communities living close to landfill sites. Similarly, mass communication campaigns that encourage consumers to desire a particular product will have an impact beyond those for whom the product is affordable as well as desirable. Such campaigns reach many consumers who are made to desire the product but cannot afford it, and the dissatisfaction that this creates is never set against the generation of satisfaction amongst customers that is seen as the raison d’être of marketing. In conventional marketing thinking, people who cannot afford a product are not a part of the market and therefore do not ‘matter’. Another key element of marketing strategy formulation is the development of a competitive advantage for companies or products. According to Porter’s classic model of competitive advantage, marketing strategy should either address the broad mass market or focus on particular market segments. In terms of generating competitive advantage, a company’s offering should either have a cost advantage or be differentiated in some other way in terms of quality, features, style, reliability or supporting service. According to the managerialist stream of research into marketing and the environment, good environmental performance can act as a source of differentiation and competitive advantage (Porter 1985; Peattie 1995; Porter and van der Linde 1995; Kilbourne and Beckman 1998). However, although such strategies are accepted as producing ‘wins’ for both the company and the environment, the possibility of only certain companies competing through environmental performance may be problematic. If other companies perceive that an existing green market leader has generated first-mover advantage and captured the loyalty of the greenest consumers within the market, there may be less pressure on the market as a whole to improve and other companies may be discouraged from improving environmental performance. Thus substantive progress towards sustainability will not be achieved because key markets contain green niche players (Belz and Peattie 2009). Such progress requires the greening of mass markets and will often entail companies working together to solve an environmental problem that confronts their entire industry rather than seeking to generate competitive advantage from individual effort.

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Remixing the Marketing Mix The marketing mix comprises the set of variables at the marketer’s command that can be manipulated in order to create an appropriate offering and achieve the right interaction with the customer to secure a purchase or purchases. The ‘Four P’ model of the marketing mix has endured despite frequent rounds of criticism, and its four elements – product, price, place and promotion – are now considered in turn. The changing nature of the concept of a product is discussed elsewhere in this volume.10 There are, however, several other points worth noting here. One is the need for marketers to move from the relatively abstract view of the product derived from economics towards the more ‘physical’ view of products informed by industrial ecology.11 The difference in perspective is neatly demonstrated by the concept of the ‘product life cycle’ (PLC). Conventionally, this was expressed in purely economic terms, the cycle referring to sales levels over time as the product matured within the market. Products are assumed to pass through market stages of introduction, growth, maturity and decline, with sales levels following an idealized ‘S’ curve before a decline that prefaces the technology being superseded. Although an enduring mainstay of marketing textbooks, the concept has regularly been criticized from a number of perspectives, particularly in terms of its predictive value (Day 1981). There is a danger in managers expecting products to conform to the standard curve and therefore seeking to drive up sales during the perceived ‘growth’ phase irrespective of the sustainability of this growth, or withdrawing support and effectively ‘killing off’ a product or technology once sales growth is seen to falter (thus creating a self-fulfilling prophesy). In practice, there can be a variety of shapes to a PLC curve and there is often the potential for the life of mature technologies to be revitalized or continued through new market applications or new marketing strategies (Kotler and Armstrong 2004). An existing product could be relaunched as a ‘classic’, complete with advertising using a nostalgia based appeal, or it could be ‘redeveloped’ as an improved version to overcome disadvantages compared to market newcomers.

 See, for example, Gummesson (2002) and Grönroos (2007). 10 See Chapter 1 (Cooper). 11 Industrial ecology seeks to apply an holistic, physical systems and open systems approach to consumption and production by addressing issues such as energy and material efficiency and interactions with the biosphere and human health.

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By contrast, from a perspective informed by industrial ecology the PLC refers to the ‘cradle to grave’ evolution of individual products as physical entities. As marketers begin to manage products from a physical perspective, and in terms of their potential future value (as opposed to potential future sales), practices such as the reclamation and reuse of end-of-life or end-of-use product are encouraged. This subverts the conventional PLC model since it allows a product to continue acting as a source of value once sales have ceased and introduces the concept of product ‘life after death’ (Tibben-Lembke 2002). A modular approach to design can both improve the longevity of a product model, as particular weaknesses can be removed by upgrading modules, and also improve the longevity of individual products, since parts that fail can be replaced individually. A further point worth noting is the slightly paradoxical nature of the product’s role in the search to develop more sustainable consumption patterns. From one perspective the physical product itself becomes less central as markets become reconfigured in terms of product-service systems12 and as product-service substitutions allow customer needs to be met in more materially efficient ways. From another perspective the product becomes crucially important as efforts are made to place greater emphasis on product quality, including longevity, and to develop products that facilitate upgrading processes, repairs or the reclamation of material value when discarded. The second element within the marketing mix is price. Many of the socioenvironmental costs of production, use and disposal have conventionally been excluded from the prices that consumers pay. These costs are treated as ‘externalities’ and, in theory, should be met by governments through taxation (Pigou 1920) or accommodated through voluntary action following negotiations amongst stakeholders (Coase 1960). The reality is generally very different and the growing evidence of environmental degradation demonstrates that many externalities of our economic activities are not addressed. One significant aspect of this, in terms of marketing thinking, is the extent to which this situation is considered ‘normal’ and attempts to meet these external costs result in relatively green products being assigned a premium price. This apparent normality is underlined by the continuing trend within both commercial market research and academic research to explore the extent 12 A product-service system involves considering a firm’s offering holistically as a mixture of products and services which achieves a particular result for consumers, usually with the aim of making them more efficient in use of materials and energy.

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to which the consumer is willing to pay a premium price for more sustainable products (e.g. Reinhardt 1998). From a sustainability perspective the prices of most products remain unrealistically low because so many of their socioenvironmental costs remain unmet. The research questions would be more appropriately couched in terms of whether consumers are comfortable continuing to buy products that are artificially affordable because they are subsidized by environmental damage or the impoverishment of people living in other countries. Another key shift in marketing thinking that needs to be achieved is a move away from an emphasis on purchase price to an emphasis on the costs associated with product use, ownership and accessing the benefits that a product offers. Our habitual tendency to judge value in terms of price explains the difficulty that products such as low energy light bulbs or energy efficient homes have had in achieving market penetration despite proven long term economic advantages. This could be addressed by the increased use of an economics concept somewhat neglected within marketing: transaction costs. This involves expenditure not reflected in the purchase price of a product (e.g. the insurance costs of a car) and non-monetary ‘costs’ being factored into purchase decisions. The latter could include psychological costs linked to issues of guilt, convenience or social acceptance and costs of time and space linked to ownership. For example, the guide to buying used cars provided annually by Which? includes the average running costs, fuel efficiency and depreciation costs as well as the typical purchase price for different models, along with qualitative data about reliability, handling and other pros and cons of ownership. This allows the purchaser to develop a more fully informed view of the net costs and benefits of a purchase. The ‘place’ element of the marketing mix generally refers to the distribution and retailing of products, which can have a strong influence on their environmental impacts. The further a product has travelled within its supply chain, the greater will be the level of embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions linked to distribution. This is not to say that more localized production and consumption is always possible, or always superior, in terms of either climate impacts or overall sustainability impacts. However, as climate change concerns deepen, pressure for products to travel shorter distances will grow. The creation of a more sustainable economy may require a move away from centralized production facilities supported by globalized distribution systems, back towards more distributed economies involving more decentralized networks of production and consumption. Information technology and the

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use of ‘smart’ machine tools may provide opportunities for companies to develop networks of smaller scale production units that are cost competitive in comparison to the global scale factories that are dominant in many markets today. The real challenge, in terms of distribution issues, may be to open up channels that currently are highly geared towards the unidirectional supply of product to the consumer and create more interactive channels that allow producers to reclaim the value in old products through reverse logistics and customers to access the services they need to maintain, repair and upgrade products. The role of promotion (or, more correctly, communication) in the development of more sustainable consumption and production systems is intriguing. Promotional activity, particularly when involving media such as advertising, junk mail and promotional offers of the ‘buy-one-get-onefree’ variety, is often demonized for its perceived role in expanding levels of demand and consumption to unsustainable levels. However, there is more to communication than promotion such as when companies seek to encourage consumers to use products responsibly, maintain them carefully and ultimately recycle them. Communication is an integral part of any marketing campaign and will be important to achieve the necessary changes in consumers’ perceptions and behaviour. The way that communication is portrayed in most marketing textbooks relies very strongly on physical models of communication (typified by a ‘sender’ transmitting a coded message to a receiver, who decodes it more or less accurately depending on the presence of any interference). Such models are essentially unidirectional and better suited to the concept of a marketer promoting a product to a customer than to more socially orientated and interactive models in which the marketer engages in two-way communication with the consumer, the foundation of the concept of relationship marketing. To develop more sustainable markets, in which traditional roles between producer and consumer are blurred and there may be a requirement to bring products back up supply chains for repairs, upgrades or recycling, the need for strong and interactive communication between companies and their customers is clear. As McDonagh (1998) and Kilbourne (2004) argue, substantive progress towards sustainability will require a move away from existing models of marketing communication largely founded on advertising13 towards 13 Including the ‘green advertising’ of the early 1990s. See Fukuda et al. (1996).

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new models of ‘sustainable communication’. These visions of sustainable communication go far beyond conventional concepts of marketing communication that seek to connect customers with the commercial offerings of companies. They challenge the existing dominant social paradigm and seek to change the fundamental values and structures that underpin marketing communications in order to help consumers to accept and accommodate new ways of living and new ways of consuming. As Kilbourne (2004: 195) explains, progress towards sustainability will depend upon effective sustainable communications that challenge the accepted nature of society, and our economy, because ‘its adherents must first be convinced that the old solutions are not valid and that the crisis is not simply an anomaly framed as a crisis.’ This, he adds, ‘does not appear to have happened yet.’ Ultimately a transition towards more sustainable markets and marketing will require the mix to be re-engineered to incorporate a sustainability perspective and to increase the time horizons of marketers and the life-spans of the products that we consume. Belz and Peattie (2009) propose a new sustainability orientated ‘Four Cs’ marketing mix comprised of: ‘customer solutions’, reflecting an emphasis on benefits instead of products; ‘cost’ instead of price to encompass economic and non-economic full-life ownership costs linked to purchasing solutions; ‘convenience’ as an alternative to a focus on physical distribution with an emphasis on making solutions available and accessible in relation to time, place and different channels; ‘communication’, with an emphasis on developing long term relationships with customers to deliver value to them.

Changing the Paradigm The Brundtland Report (WCED 1987) and the discussion that followed its publication highlighted six key principles, or perspectives, that are the foundation of sustainability and need to be incorporated into our economies and societies if they are to become sustainable. Marketing, as both an academic discipline and a practical management function, is unfortunately still rooted in a mindset based on very different (and therefore unsustainable) principles and perspectives (Table 11.1). Despite periodic crises of confidence in the existing marketing paradigm (Palmer and Ponsonby 2002) and a growing recognition that it does not seem well suited to the pursuit of sustainable development, it has remained little altered by the past 20 years. It is still widely accepted as ‘normal’ that

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Table 11.1

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Contrasting the sustainability and conventional marketing mindsets

Perspective

Existing marketing thinking provides:

Sustainability thinking will require:

Timeframe

Here, now, short termism

Multi-generational futurity

Key objective

Gratification

Promotion of welfare

Guiding principle

Consumer sovereignty

Equity

Focus on addressing

Wants (particularly of the rich)

Needs (particularly of the poor)

Worldview emphasising

Global consumption and production systems

Global environmentalism

Setting

Economic hyperspace

Environmental limits

if people want products and can afford them, then they should be entitled to buy them even if they are liable to harm the user (as in the case of cigarettes) or the environment on which we all depend. Many people conclude that the marketing process creates satisfaction because it meets (or is supposed to meet) the needs of customers, without considering whether satisfying one person’s needs is counterbalanced by dissatisfaction created amongst those who are not consumers. Although as citizens we may express concern about the environment, most consumers expect a continuing downward spiral of prices and a rapid technological evolution of many products. If moving towards new and more sustainable marketing thought and practice is as important as is widely agreed (Wilson and Gilligan 1997), why is ‘old marketing’ proving so resilient? It is not for a lack of vision about the type of more materially efficient, environmentally orientated economies we need (Cooper 1999; Tukker 2005), or a lack of criticism of existing marketing theory and practices from a sustainability perspective (Peattie 1995; Van Dam and Apeldoorn 1996; Kilbourne 2004). Nor is it due to a lack of alternative and more sustainable templates for marketing: Belz and Peattie’s (2009) vision of ‘transformational sustainability marketing’ outlines an approach to marketing that could tackle many of the structural and institutional barriers to sustainability, whilst Fuller (1999) provides a detailed prescription for transforming the marketing management process from an industrial ecology perspective. Addressing the enduring nature of the marketing paradigm, Palmer and Ponsonby (2002: 185) conclude: ‘Marketing academics and practitioners have

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written of many “big new ideas” which have created considerable interest but eventually faded into oblivion when it was realised that the ideas were basically old ideas presented in new language and still subject to the weaknesses that had caused failure in the past.’ This helps to explain why many of the visions of green (or, at least, greener) marketing that emerged during the 1990s failed to change marketing theory or practice more widely. Additionally, when more radical change is proposed it is liable to be resisted by existing institutions because it runs contrary to existing ideas, working routines, structures and competencies (Tukker 2005) and so will encounter resistance from vested interests who benefit from current, unsustainable practices. Ultimately, marketing will struggle to change and to embrace sustainability principles whilst it operates within a consumer society that is based on the pursuit of ever higher levels of economic growth through consumption. Ironically, society will also struggle to change and to embrace sustainability principles whilst consumer marketing remains such a powerful and seductive force within it. The way out of this apparent paradox lies in the need for significant socio-economic change to occur before the marketing paradigm can be remade and technological and structural innovations capitalized on (which in many cases only await an opportunity in the marketplace). Such change may ultimately be forced upon society through disruptions caused by climate change, rising energy prices or dwindling landfill capacity. Alternatively, it may occur because the fundamental assumptions about our economic system, and the marketing that occurs within it, are challenged and found to be flawed. Either way, a new and more sustainable form of marketing is needed as part of a transition to a more sustainable society.

Making the Change The justification for current marketing activities assumes that they contribute to customer satisfaction and generating the wealth required to improve our quality of life. These assumed linkages are increasingly being challenged. Scholarship founded on psychology and sociology demonstrates that the relationship between our material consumption and satisfaction is complex, non-linear and dependent on a wide range of psychological and social factors (Jackson 2009). One of the key factors that Jackson identifies as driving unsustainable consumption is the pursuit of ‘novelty’ by consumers who demand novel products and experiences to signal their social status and give their lives meaning. This restless and relentless pursuit of novelty helps to

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drive the economy, but works against a transition to longer lasting solutions. Products that are excellent in terms of durability, eco-efficiency and meeting the customer’s functional needs, will be unable to transform markets which continue to place a social premium on newness and novelty. There is also growing concern that societal pressures to maintain levels of material consumption actually keep people away from more intrinsically satisfying activities such as spending time with friends and family (Lane 2000). Through the phenomena of ‘downshifting’ and ‘voluntary simplicity’ many people in industrialized economies are rejecting the conventional lifestyle and values of ‘the consumer’ and searching for alternative ways to live, produce and consume. Bekin et al. (2005) view such developments as consumers seeking to empower themselves by finding sources of satisfaction and ways of meeting their needs outside of the conventional commercial market. An alternative interpretation is that it represents the abdication of sovereignty amongst people who do not wish to wield power as consumers, or who see that power as more illusory than real. Either way, such a dramatic social shift, if an indication of things to come, strikes at the root of the existing marketing paradigm and may create opportunities for new thinking. As Bekin et al. (2005: 425) conclude: The implications for marketing practitioners and policy makers engaged in the pursuit of sustainable development are many. If marketing is to connect in a truly two-way relationship with consumers and assist sustainable development it must consider such lifestyles and view them as opportunities and places from which to learn rather than a threat, or merely the behaviour of a few deviant consumers. Ultimately what the sustainable marketing agenda awaits is ‘normalization’, the point at which environmentally orientated lifestyles, products, consumers and marketers are no longer viewed as ‘alternative’. Once the sustainability agenda has been embraced to the point where the pursuit of more sustainable lifestyles is considered ‘normal’, opportunities to rethink the principles and practice of marketing will open up. This will create the most challenging and interesting period in the field of marketing since its inception because, as described earlier, many of its fundamental concepts, tools and models need to be considered differently from a sustainability perspective. Sustainability will require marketers and consumers (and other stakeholders such as investors) to think differently about

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issues that determine how people choose products and use them, how long they use them for, and how they dispose of them. The open-ended nature of sustainability, for example, will require a different perspective on time in terms of the marketing planning timeframe, the expected life-span of products and the time investment people are willing to make in their consumption (since many sustainable consumption behaviours, such as product maintenance, require time and effort). Progress towards sustainability will also require a different perspective on money, with consumers moving away from the traditional emphasis on purchase price towards concepts of lifetime ownership costs or total transaction costs. Instead of a concept of ‘value’ that emphasises the affordability of a product, consumers will need to consider its lifetime value. This should encourage a new understanding of products as a store of future value for consumers (and also for manufacturers through the recovery and reuse of discarded products). Purchasing will concern access to that store of value for the consumer rather than ‘ownership’ of objects. Meanwhile as extended producer responsibility becomes more prevalent, the advantages to the producer of business models in which ownership is transferred from seller to buyer are likely to diminish in favour of ones based on the provision of benefits to customers through a product-service mix in which the company, rather than customer, retains ownership (and therefore control) of the tangible product. Grönroos (2007) describes marketing as ‘a discipline in crisis’ and provides a detailed critique of the shortcomings of mainstream marketing thinking. Although his critique is inspired by concerns about the commercial effectiveness of current marketing practice rather than its environmental or social sustainability, the ‘new logic of marketing’ that he proposes fits remarkably well with the requirements for more sustainable marketing as it includes:

•

greater orientation around the creation of value for customers

•

an emphasis on interactions, dialogue and relationships with customers instead of on the process of economic exchange

•

an extended and more holistic consumption concept

•

a move away from conventional product marketing being the ‘norm’ and a greater emphasis on the provision of services and on services marketing wisdom, and

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•

an emphasis on expectations management to deliver satisfaction.

These are all elements which are also central to proposals to develop sustainable marketing (Peattie 1995; Van Dam and Apeldoorn 1996; Belz and Peattie 2009). If critiques of the marketing mainstream are emerging both from a sustainability perspective and a contemporary commercial perspective and each reaches similar conclusions, the prospects for achieving a substantial rethink within the discipline are perhaps better than ever before. The role of expectations is important. The start of the new millennium was marked by expectations within rich nations of rising material living standards, rapid developments in products and technologies, and declining real prices of products, whether basic foodstuffs or high-tech electronics. Amongst poorer countries it was marked by the expectation that, by taking advantage of technology transfer, their natural resources and comparatively low labour costs, they could follow development patterns roughly similar to those of richer nations. In the face of a growing global population and mounting environmental degradation, it is difficult to envisage how such expectations can be maintained. Progress towards more sustainable societies and economies seems unattainable unless poorer countries find a different development path of their own and richer countries achieve a reduction in material consumption and accept more realistic prices for many goods (Tukker 2005). How to manage expectations to allow progress in this direction will be a key challenge in the coming years. However, marketing may well be able to make an important contribution through the application of social marketing techniques to the promotion of the sustainable development concept and sustainable lifestyles (Peattie and Peattie 2004).

Conclusion In the 20 years since publication of the Brundtland Report, the conventional paradigms that dominate thinking relating to development, business and marketing have all evolved, but without delivering substantive progress towards a more sustainable society. Unless this situation changes significantly during the next 20 years, the consequences will be profound and potentially disastrous. Technological innovations may alleviate some specific problems that companies, governments and consumers will face. Such innovations will only

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yield significant progress, however, if they form part of a broader pattern of changes to society, to the economy and to the thought processes that underpin our lifestyles and systems of consumption and production. The economic and political fall-out from the 2008/2009 credit crunch has revealed that an economy based on unsustainable levels of debt and consumption is unstable from an economic, as well as a socio-environmental, perspective. Although the accompanying economic recession has been viewed as a threat to environmental concerns (as restoring economic growth becomes the overwhelming political priority), it is also being promoted as an opportunity for social, technical and marketing innovations and investments which will deliver a transition to a more sustainable economy (Jackson 2009). If those promoting such a transition can win the argument, then perhaps our future visitors from space will marvel at our new economies for the extent to which we try to make our ‘stuff’, and the value that we get from it, last.

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TIBBEN-LEMBKE, R.A. (2002). Life after death: Reverse logistics and the product life cycle. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management 32 (3), 223–44. TUKKER, A. (2005). Leapfrogging into the future: Developing for sustainability. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development 1(1/2), 65–84. VAN DAM, Y.K. and APELDOORN, P.A.C. (1996). Sustainable marketing. Journal of Macromarketing 16, 45–56. VON WEIZSÄCKER, E., LOVINS, A.B. and LOVINS, L.H. (1997). Factor Four: Doubling wealth, halving resource use. London: Earthscan. WALLEY, N. and WHITEHEAD, B. (1994). It’s not easy being green. Harvard Business Review 72 (3), 46–52. WCED (WORLD COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT) (1987). Our Common Future: The Brundtland report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press. WILSON, R. and GILLIGAN, C. (1997). Strategic Marketing Management. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.



Marketing Durability

12

Tim Cooper and Kirsty Christer

Abstract In order to select products with life-spans that are environmentally optimal and appropriate for their requirements, shoppers need to be adequately informed about the design life of their prospective purchases. This chapter assesses the quality of information about product life-spans currently available in retail environments, based on the findings of an exploratory research study. It draws upon data from observational visits to retail outlets and telephone interviews with trade associations and manufacturers. The fieldwork revealed few specific examples of life-span labelling but uncovered a variety of means by which consumers might predict the durability of products: life-span labels and other environmental claims, guarantees and warranties, quality marks, and labels concerning installation and care. A review of consumer access to information on the design life of products for 10 types of product was undertaken and an assessment made of the potential value of life-span labels. The study concluded that the quality of information on product life-spans currently accessible to consumers is inadequate and proposed an increase in life-span labelling.

Introduction Changing patterns of consumption are essential if societies are to progress towards sustainable development (Defra 2003). Achieving such change has, however, proven problematic. For example, the amount of household waste generated annually has grown steadily over many decades despite government publicity campaigns, the work of campaign organizations and environmental education in schools (Defra 2007).



Recent data suggests that this growth may have levelled off.

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There is growing appreciation of the multitude of factors that shape consumer behaviour and recognition of the limitations to the ‘rational choice’ model in explaining consumer behaviour. Even so, scholars accept the importance of ‘providing accessible and appropriate information to facilitate pro-environmental choice’ (Jackson 2005: 128), the theme that underpins this chapter. Despite the media attention given to environmental issues in recent years, many consumers remain confused and want more and clearer information (Krarup and Russell 2005). In the absence of appropriate information consumers may pay excessive prices for products (Rao and Bergen 1992). The case has been summarized well by Leire and Thidell (2005), who distinguish information that draws attention to certain products (‘positive information’) and information that enables purchasers to make an appropriate choice (‘neutral information’): Positive information guides consumers by pointing out the environmentally preferable products among otherwise equal ones, while neutral information gives the consumer an opportunity to judge the products’ environmental performance according to their individual priorities. The assumption is that product-related environmental information, in combination with pre-conditions such as environmental awareness, knowledge and attitudes, will lead consumers to make informed choices when purchasing products. By promoting the demand for environmentally superior goods and gradually increasing the stringency of the requirements, environmental information should give incentives for the improvement of the performance of the products. (Leire and Thidell 2005: 1061–62) Interest in waste reduction policy has hitherto focused on the considerable proportion of household waste accounted for by packaging, and on prolific items such as disposable nappies and plastic carrier bags. While these undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the excessive volume of waste, the inadequate life-span of many consumer durables also needs to be addressed. Longer lasting consumer durables offer potential environmental benefits by reducing the consumption of finite resources and the amount of waste generated and, as such, are an essential component in the quest for sustainable consumption (Cooper 2005). However, unless consumer awareness of these benefits increases and information on the design life of such products is made more accessible, there is little likelihood of a trend towards such products.  

See Chapter 1 (Cooper). A product’s design life is the length of time that designers intend it to remain functional.

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The prevailing political consensus in Western liberal democracies on the importance of consumer choice could be exploited to this end. It is generally accepted that consumers should be able to choose products designed for the least possible environmental impact. Economists, for example, argue that access to product information is a prerequisite for markets to operate effectively, while most politicians regard market-based strategies as generally preferable to government intervention.Such consumer choice, however, requires the provision of environmental product information that extends beyond energy consumption and recyclability to incorporate the design life of products and their components (Consumers International 1998; Defra 2005). Over the past two decades there has been a growth of interest in the design and marketing of products and services aimed at consumers who want to minimise their environmental impacts. Industry has responded with environmental (or ‘green’) marketing aimed at promoting products that are energy efficient, use recycled materials (or are recyclable) and avoid toxic materials such as lead and ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFCs (Peattie 1995; Grant 2007). Few companies, however, have highlighted the design life of their products in such marketing, although some participate in the European Union’s voluntary Ecolabel scheme, in which criteria for certain products relate to life-spans. Light bulbs, for example, must last 10–20,000 hours (depending on type) to be awarded an Ecolabel. Criteria for other products relate to life-spans only indirectly. They include acceptable levels of ‘wear and tear’ (settlement after 30,000 cycles for mattresses, and qualities such as sole adhesion and resistance to tear and abrasion for footwear), and minimum periods for commercial guarantees (two years for televisions and dishwashers) and the availability of spare parts (seven years for televisions, 12 years for dishwashers and refrigerators). Increased provision of information on anticipated product life-spans will only be worthwhile if consumers are motivated to utilize it. Market research studies have tended to suggest that many consumers do not currently give durability high priority when choosing products, with factors such as price and,





This is implicit in the Government’s sustainable development strategy: ‘Policies on sustainable consumption and production require a variety of evidence – for example, on the life cycle impacts of goods and services’ (Defra 2005: 65). The case for improved product information could equally be made on the grounds of market efficiency, consumer rights and effective household budgeting. Council Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 on a Community Ecolabel award scheme, revised by Regulation (EC) No. 1980/2000.

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‘quality’ given precedence. A government report on labelling concluded that environmental factors generally do not play an important role in product selection (Department of Trade and Industry 2002). Nonetheless there are consumers who want to be able to identify longer lasting products and their needs are evidently not being met. Cooper and Mayers (2000) found that 54 per cent of consumers were dissatisfied with the information available on appliance life-spans, while an earlier study by the National Consumer Council (1989) found that 40 per cent of consumers judged information on the reliability and durability of products such as washing machines and furniture to be ‘fairly poor’ or ‘very poor’. Both studies found that around three-quarters of consumers regarded product lifespan information as ‘very important.’ In principle, companies might benefit by identifying whether such consumers fit within distinctive market segments and, if so, targeting them with appropriate marketing messages.

Searching for Information A product’s durability is one among many attributes about which consumers may seek knowledge when considering making a purchase, during what is known in consumer behaviour theory as the ‘information search’ stage of the decision-making process. It may also be considered at the subsequent stage of evaluating alternative products. Consumers may utilize a range of sources for such knowledge: personal sources (such as family and friends), public sources (referring to the mass media or consumer organizations), commercial sources (using advertising, retail assistants, packaging and display material) (Figures 12.1–12.5) and experiential sources (handling, examining and using the product) (Kotler et al. 2001). In the absence of information specifying the design life of a product, consumers may use intrinsic and extrinsic cues (Schiffman and Kanuk 2001) to make an assessment of its potential life-span. Intrinsic cues are given by the physical characteristics of a product. Thus when choosing between products, shoppers may be invited by retail assistants to feel, press, flick switches or test other parts. In addition to using touch, they may listen to noises. Degrees of firmness or thickness, particular sounds and the use of specific materials (notably, steel) are associated with durability. Fisher and Shipton (2003) found that in certain circumstances people place 

The categorization of data in such studies is not always helpful, as consumers are sometimes invited to rank ‘quality’ in addition to ‘durability’ even though the two categories overlap.

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Figure 12.1

Advertisement promoting longevity, with specific reference to expected life-span – Miele

Figure 12.2

Slogan used in marketing campaign to highlight product durability – Marks and Spencer

higher value on items made from natural materials, such as wood and glass, than synthetic materials, such as plastic. Stainless steel, with its industrial and hygienic connotations, has become a proxy for quality for many kitchen appliances; for example, it is one factor that may explain the popularity of Dualit toasters.

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Figure 12.3

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Examples of long guarantees – (a) Magimix and (b) Siemens

marketing durability

Figure 12.4

Use of brand name to signify product durability – Tilley Endurables

Figure 12.5

279

Consumer leaflet with technical information and reference to quality standards – Westex Carpets

Extrinsic cues are external to the product and include price, packaging, brand or store image and country of origin. They are particularly important when products have reached a mature stage of development and differentiating between massproduced items is not easy. For example, the reliability of some electronic goods (such as televisions) is now so high that there is little tangible difference between brands; the main factor that limits their life-spans is technological advance rather than technical failure. The marketing of such products thus highlights certain intangible qualities, perhaps relating to fashion or lifestyle associations, which enable consumers to differentiate them. Extrinsic cues are also used when a technology is relatively new and a reliable brand presents a safe option. Consumers may regard price as a proxy indicator for quality (of which durability is one aspect). The relationship between price and quality is, however, uncertain (Zeithaml 1988; Alpert et al. 1993; Hanf and von Wersebe 1994; Rao 2005). For some products, higher prices bring increased functionality and complexity, rather than an improvement in material quality or some other 

See Chapter 13 (Mackenzie et al.).

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influence upon durability. Likewise, packaging is often used to signify quality but is not necessarily a reliable indicator of the product’s durability. Another option for consumers who want to purchase products intended for long lifespans is to choose brands and stores associated with good quality products and after-sales care. However, past evidence has shown that premium brands are not necessarily the most reliable and within a particular brand some types of products are better than others. Consumers may also favour products from countries with a reputation for high quality design and manufacturing, but again this may not provide certainty, especially if product manufacturing is outsourced. A consumer guide to finding longer lasting products was published in the USA in the early 1980s, but this was an exception (Yepsen 1982). There is, it would seem, a case for more definitive sources of life-span information.

Research Methodology The quality of information about product life-spans currently available in retail environments is assessed in this chapter with reference to the findings of an exploratory research study (Cooper and Christer 2006). The methodology for this study comprised non-participant observation of retail outlets and interviews with industry representatives to assess the extent and quality of lifespan information available, the feasibility of life-span labels and other means of improving the information accessible to consumers. The first stage began with a preliminary visit to a major department store in order to seek information that shoppers might use to predict the life-span of consumer durables. A record was made of the type and content of labelling and point-of-sale information available (such as brochures and posters) and advice provided by retail staff. Four categories were subsequently created to classify the data obtained: marketing and sales (references to durability or life-spans in promotional material), consumer protection (manufacturers’ guarantees and extended warranties), quality and testing (British and international standards, independent industry accreditation) and information on function and use (installation, care and use instructions). After this preliminary review, 10 product groups were chosen for more detailed investigation: luggage (suitcases and holdalls), shoes (men’s), mattresses, cookware (traditional cookware and bakeware), carpets, toasters, light bulbs, 

See, for example, the reports on product reliability in tests published by Which? at http://www. which.co.uk/

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dishwashers, TVs/DVD players/VCRs and refrigerators. They were selected to incorporate a range of potential variables relevant to life-span such as product type (i.e. electrical and non-electrical, with and without mechanical parts), size, materials, complexity in manufacture and use, and environmental impact. A series of visits were then made to retailers for the main observational phase of the research. The outlets observed included the original department store and, for comparative purposes, its main local competitors, including specialist retailers. Desk research was undertaken on the industry sector context for each of the product groups. Information was sought from reports by consumer and market research organizations on the main influences upon purchasing decisions and on issues relating to use and maintenance. Typical guarantees and warranties offered by manufacturers and retailers and any other types of labelling were identified through observation during store visits. Information on standards, testing and accreditation was sought from trade associations, manufacturers and government bodies. Finally, a structured telephone interview was conducted with an industry representative for each product group in order to explore issues relating to design and manufacture and obtain an industry view on product life-spans and environmental labelling. This phase of the data collection was structured around four themes: consumer behaviour, design and manufacture, marketing and retail issues, and public policy and legislation.

Accessing Life-Span Information Several specific types of tangible information, identified through the preliminary visit, were subject to further observation in the subsequent store visits. Each is addressed below in turn:



•

life-span labels and environmental claims

•

guarantees and warranties

•

quality marks

•

labels concerning installation and care.

The industry representative was either from the relevant trade association or a leading manufacturer.

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Life-Span Labels and Environmental Claims The fieldwork revealed that life-span labels are rare. Among the products investigated they were only found on light bulbs and cookware. The range of light bulbs available to consumers was extensive but only some had life-span information (Figure 12.6). The market has been undergoing a transformation, with mandatory energy labelling introduced in 2001 and incandescent bulbs currently being phased out.10 In the meantime, price comparisons for light bulbs are far from straightforward for consumers. After choosing the right fitting, consumers wishing to compare the value of a long life, low energy, compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb with a traditional incandescent bulb must consider the comparable wattage, number of hours or years it is labelled to last and, in the case of multiple packs, the cost per bulb.

Figure 12.6

Life-span label on long life bulb – Philips

Manufacturers of light bulbs have traditionally measured their life-spans in hours but are gradually changing the figures they display to the equivalent number of years based on an average daily use of around three to four hours. For example, a store visit found a Philips bulb designed to last 10,000 hours labelled as having a life-span of 10 years and an Osram bulb designed to last 15,000 hours, 12 years.11 This change has not been without problems: focus group research

10 Directive 98/11/EC of 27 January 1998 implementing Council Directive 92/75/EEC with regard to energy labelling of household lamps. European Union countries have agreed to phase out the sale of incandescent light bulbs by 2012. 11 Stated life-spans of long life, energy saving bulbs vary from six to 12 years. Long life, energy saving bulbs may be designed to last up to 15,000 hours, in contrast with the 1,000 hour norm of an incandescent bulb, while LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs under development are expected to last around 50,000 hours.

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suggesting that there is a threshold beyond which consumers no longer believe the label led one manufacturer to label its bulbs as lasting 12 years rather than the actual 15 years. Indeed, whereas energy labels have sometimes been criticized for overstating efficiency, research found that in the case of light bulbs a clear majority last longer than labels suggest (National Energy Foundation 2009). Several ranges of cookware at the premium end of the market carried lifespan labels in the form of ‘life time guarantees’, notably brands specializing in cast iron and high quality stainless steel cookware. This marketing technique communicates a message to consumers that such products are of superior quality and should never have to be replaced; some are also portrayed as suitable for professional users. It is only feasible for products that are not subject to wear and tear as it extends protection beyond a predetermined life-span: ‘life time’ implies the owner’s life rather than that of the product. No claims relating to durability based on environment-related benefits were found on products during the shop visits, reinforcing the findings of a previous study which found that durability claims were rarely made in environmental marketing (Consumers International 1999). There were, however, marketing claims made of products for which durability is important for reasons of health and safety; these drew attention to the fact that such products as outdoor equipment and clothing, pocket knives, torches and luggage were ‘fit for purpose’. Although six of the 10 product groups investigated are covered by the European Union (EU) Ecolabel scheme, in each case with criteria relating to life-spans, no products with Ecolabels were observed during store visits.

Guarantees and Warranties Most products in the groups investigated were found to carry a manufacturer’s guarantee.12 The length of guarantees was variable within some product groups, notably carpets, luggage and certain electrical goods: carpets, for example, attracted guarantees of up to 25 years. Most electrical goods were offered with a one-year guarantee even though consumers would expect them to last much longer. A few premium range electrical goods were supplied with guarantees 12 A guarantee is defined here as protection provided by manufacturers (or retailers) against faulty materials or workmanship during a specified period. It may cover the entire product or certain parts, and is in addition to consumers’ statutory rights. A warranty is protection against faulty materials or workmanship that is purchased by the consumer, most often from a retailer, to extend the period of cover.

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of five years which, being longer than the industry norm, may be interpreted as signalling enhanced product durability. Overall, however, the extent to which the length of a guarantee could be considered a proxy for the design life of a product was limited. While past research suggests that many buyers infer that products with a relatively long guarantees are more reliable and durable (Murphy and Djamaludin 2002), further research is needed to explore the practical implications of using long guarantees to signify durability to consumers,13 such as how frequently protection is utilized by consumers and the manufacturer’s policy if products are returned towards the end of the guarantee period. Manufacturers of mattresses, for example, were found to adopt different approaches: one company offered a five-year guaranteed replacement policy, whereas another carried a 10-year guarantee but the compensation offered made deductions for wear and tear. Many electrical goods were sold with relatively short manufacturers’ guarantees, as noted above, but with extended warranties on offer. Despite much criticism in the media and in a report by the Office for Fair Trading (2002), sales of extended warranties are substantial. Alongside a market for electrical goods amounting to £15–20 billion annually, they were estimated as amounting to around £900 million in 2001 (Competition Commission 2003). A comparison of warranty service plans offered by two high street retailers found that consumers can expect to pay from 1 per cent to nearly 10 per cent of the product’s purchase price for annual cover. The proportion varied between different types of product as well as between retailers. Some variations, however, were not easily explained.14 Nor was it always certain whether, or for how long, such plans could be extended beyond the initial period. Research is needed on the extent to which the pricing structure of warranties is based on returns of faulty products and thus properly reflects reliability.

Quality Marks A further source of potential information relating to durability that was investigated was the incidence of quality labels or ‘kite marks’, backed either by

13 See Chapter 10 (Cooper). 14 For example, the annual cost of a five-year warranty was cheaper than that of a three-year warranty at one retailer, but more expensive at another.

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standards organizations15 or trade associations, and other evidence of product testing. The most prominent example identified in the store visits was the Carpet Foundation’s ‘quality mark’, the Suitability Evaluation System, which rates carpets for different types of use, from light to extra heavy. The life-span of a carpet will be affected by whether it is the type most suitable for the area covered; for example, a carpet designed for light use in a bedroom will not wear well if used for a hall or stairway. Appropriate classification thus enables consumers to buy according to fitness for purpose. Mattresses made by one manufacturer displayed a Royal Warrant. Consumers might properly infer that products with a Royal Warrant are of high quality, although the specific basis for granting a Royal Warrant is supplying goods or services to members of the Royal Family for at least five years.16 For the other types of products, testing for quality might be applied to the materials used, manufacturing process employed, hygiene, health, safety and workmanship; in such cases durability may be implicit but unstated. Examples of such testing were, however, rarely in evidence in the store visits.

Labels concerning Installation and Care Information about installation and care was much in evidence. It took a variety of forms, including leaflets and brochures for luggage items and stickers on cookware. In some cases there was an implicit guarantee: certain synthetic carpets were labelled ‘stain resistant’, which is an important attribute since, according to an industry representative, such carpets rarely physically wear out and tend to be replaced when stained and thus unsightly.17 Consumers may infer from installation and care labels that a product will last for a longer period if used properly. Industry representatives pointed out that, although it was in their interest to provide advice on installation and care, they could not make users heed such guidance. Several argued that consumers 15 For example, the BSI (British Standards Institution), CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 16 Goods and services must be supplied to HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Prince of Wales. Suppliers to the Prince of Wales are required to have a ‘sustainable environmental policy and action plan’. 17 Wool carpets tend to be more stain resistant but more susceptible to abrasion than synthetic materials.

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did not read labels while admitting that they were not very well informed about how consumers used their products. During store visits very little unsolicited advice was offered by retail staff on how to install or maintain products, with the exception of mattresses and carpets, for which specialist knowledge was in evidence. Invitations to touch and feel products in order to make judgements on build and material quality were more likely than demonstrations on correct usage.

Enhancing Life-Span Information These findings from observational research and industry interviews suggest a case for improving life-span information in order to benefit consumers and increase market place efficiency. Consumers’ knowledge about product life-spans is liable to be based on their own past experience, anecdotes that they have heard from friends or seen in the media, and, occasionally, information gained from manufacturers and retailers. As noted earlier, they may also use experiential sources such as handling and examining products. Many of these sources of knowledge are subjective and most are clearly susceptible to error. A need to improve their provision of lifespan information has been recognized by consumer organizations (National Consumer Council 1989; Consumers International 1998) and, more recently, the Scottish Executive: the Scottish Waste Reduction Plan committed the Scottish Waste Awareness Group ‘to work with consumer protection bodies, retailers and others to provide better information to consumers on the expected lifespan of key household products, product guarantees and availability of spare parts’ (Scottish Executive/SEPA 2007). Access to appropriate life-span information would make it easier for consumers to select products according to their intrinsic build quality rather than their brand name, range of functions and style, other factors that may affect the product’s price. Such information would enable consumers to plan major purchases more carefully and, by establishing clearer expectations, might dissuade some from discarding products prematurely. There might also be less dissatisfaction when products failed, particularly if consumers were entitled to compensation in the event of failure being premature. However, whether the provision of life-span information would, by itself, make consumers more inclined to choose product designed for longer life-spans remains an open question. There may also be a need for measures to motivate consumers to favour such products.

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The Potential for Life-Span Labels The somewhat arbitrary and uncertain quality of life-span information for most of the product groups investigated suggests that there may be potential for improved labelling. Life-span labels signifying the design life of products have long been proposed as a means of giving consumers better information about how long products are expected to function (Cooper 1994; Heiskanen 1996; Kostecki 1998), although further policy development work is required. For example, debate is needed on whether voluntary industry schemes or statutory requirements would be more appropriate and, given the plethora of existing environment labels, the case for a further label needs to be considered against the case for integrated sustainability labels: as described above, requirements relating to product life-spans are already combined with other requirements on labels used for some products in the EU Ecolabel scheme. Further consideration also needs to be given to the most appropriate unit of measurement, which may vary depending on the type of product. Thus while anticipated product life-spans might normally designated in years, other units of measurement may be more appropriate for certain products: for example, operational cycles for appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers and hours of usage for light bulbs. The potential for life-span labels to enhance the quality of life-span information was reviewed for the 10 product groups investigated in this study (Table 12.1), each of which is considered in turn below. The labelling of mattresses and light bulbs was judged to be relatively satisfactory for consumers wishing to identify products according to their intended life-span. Mattress quality may reasonably effectively be judged by the number and type of springs and length of guarantee, which were clearly indicated. Many mattresses had relatively long guarantees, typically either five years or 10 years. That said, the subjective nature of judgements about mattress performance makes life-span labelling invidious and, in practice, consumers might not want a mattress to last beyond a certain period for reasons of hygiene: the Sleep Council has recommended replacing mattresses every 10 years for this reason. Consumers have access to a growing range of long life light bulbs and these were, generally, clearly labelled with life-span information. Specifying

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Table 12.1

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Recommended information on product life-spans

Product

Labels in use

Suggested labelling

Other measures

Dishwashers

No life span label, but some signals through energy/ ecolabels.

Life span labels based on number of wash cycles or long guarantees to reflect expected life span.

Raise expectations of durability. Guarantee availability of spare parts.

Light bulbs

Yes

Cookware

Lifetime guarantees on premium products.

Extend to mid-range products.

Carpets

Guarantees reflect product life on some products. Suitability Evaluation System labels.

Standardised labels and clear guarantees on all products.

Clearer guidelines on guarantees/warranties and selection/installation /care.

Refrigerators

No life span label, but some signals through energy/ ecolabels.

Life span labels based on longevity or long guarantees to reflect expected life span.

Raise expectations of durability. Encourage repair. Guarantee availability of spare parts.

TV, DVD and VCR

No life-span label.

Life span labels based on time in use or long guarantees to reflect expected life span.

Encourage repair. Guarantee availability of spare parts. Raise expectations of durability.

Toasters

No life-span labels.

Life-span labels based on cycles of use.

Encourage repair. Guarantee availability of spare parts. Raise expectations of durability.

Luggage

Guarantees reflect product life on some products. Some marketing material promotes durability.

Life-span labels based on longevity or long guarantees on all products.

Raise expectations of durability.

Mattresses

Current labelling practices appropriate.

Men’s shoes

Some marketing material promotes durability.

Repairable shoes to be labelled as such.

Encourage repair. Discourage ‘disposable fashion’ purchasing habits.

Enable simple comparisons e.g. include unit cost per year.

the design life was originally considered necessary in order to justify the higher unit price of energy efficient light bulbs compared to traditional bulbs. Some additional information to make comparisons easier, such as a figure for overall annual unit cost (taking account of the price, wattage and life-span), would enable consumers to judge value for money more easily. Life-span labelling on light bulbs could be promoted not only on environmental and economic grounds but as a means of making life simpler, the message being that, once fitted, the user is able to forget about the light bulb for 10 or more years.

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In the case of carpets, most carried the Suitability Evaluation System labels described above and were supported by guarantees that, it might reasonably be assumed, reflect the anticipated product life (although the actual design life may well be greater). The wording of some of the guarantees and guidelines on installation and care lacked clarity, however, and could be improved. Some of the marketing material and after-sales support for cookware, luggage and footwear signified durability. There were ‘lifetime’ guarantees for premium cookware products and luggage items were sold with relatively long guarantees. Consumers would benefit if life-span labels were made available on all such products to enable them to distinguish items according to their intrinsic durability more readily. The marketing of certain types of footwear used language clearly intended to convey strength and resilience. Life-span labels specifying an exact period are less feasible for footwear, the wear of which is heavily influenced by use, but minimum guarantee periods could be used, based on daily use, and footwear could be labelled as repairable when its design makes this feasible. Lastly, life-span labels were not in evidence for any of the four electrical appliance product groups, although they would be feasible in one form or other. In the case of refrigerators they could be based on functional longevity measured by years of service, whereas cycles of use might be more appropriate for dishwashers and toasters, and hours of use for TVs, DVD players and VCRs. Alternatively, longer guarantees reflecting anticipated life-spans could be offered; these were in evidence only for televisions (and generally only for five years). Another signal that producers could offer would be to guarantee the availability of spare parts for a prolonged period. Such guarantees are among the criteria used in the EU Ecolabel scheme, although no products with Ecolabels were observed during the shop visits.

Issues Concerning Life-Span Labels Improved life-span labelling appears desirable and feasible in several of the product sectors investigated. There are, however, a range of issues of potential concern to consumers, manufacturers and retailers that need to be addressed prior to the introduction of any such labelling. A labelling scheme relating to product life-spans would require careful planning and management and should be underpinned with supporting data.18 18 In Britain claims relating to the environmental impact of products are subject to a voluntary Green Claims Code produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

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Manufacturers interviewed warned that performance specifications often take a long time to be agreed and it would be important to avoid conflict with existing standards and regulations. Appropriate means of communication would then need to be identified. A government report concluded that the most successful labelling schemes used an easily understood symbol or icon that did not require large amounts of supporting text (Department of Trade and Industry 2002). It also found that shoppers tended to prefer a combined label, incorporating several issues, to a multiplicity of labels representing different schemes. Such an approach would prevent a need for consumers to make technical judgements about products and compare waste alongside other environmental impacts, although combined labels that are easily understood and trustworthy are not easy to develop. Another important decision concerns whether life-span labelling should be compulsory or voluntary. A risk with voluntary labels is that they might merely reinforce an environmental niche market, whereas compulsory labels could have a far wider impact. The potential of compulsory labelling to affect an entire market is apparent from the EU energy labelling scheme, which has driven improvements in energy efficiency as manufacturers have competed to produce higher rated products. In the refrigeration sector, for example, the benchmark for the highest rated products was increased following the initial introduction of energy labels and the sale of models formerly categorized in the lower ratings was banned.19 By contrast, it is widely agreed that the EU’s long established voluntary Ecolabel scheme has failed to make a significant impact (Rex and Baumann 2007). As companies are only likely to participate in a voluntary life-span labelling scheme if this would give them a competitive edge, it may be hard to entice manufacturers of lower quality products to participate in such a scheme. Reference was made above to the need for adequate information to underpin any labelling scheme. Manufacturers may specify a particular level of quality for a product to designers, but how this translates into years of service will be unknown, not least because a product’s actual life-span may be affected by how it is used and whether it is discarded before reaching the end of its design life. Little data on product life-spans is in the public domain and the industry interviews suggested that even within companies there is often a 19 The energy efficiency rating category of ‘A’ for household refrigerators and freezers was divided into three new categories (A, A+ and A++) from 1 July 2004. Household refrigerators and freezers with efficiencies of D or worse (F or worse for chest freezers) are no longer available as a result of EU Directive 96/57/EC on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof.

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variable level of knowledge. More data would have to be acquired in order for industry to label products with their anticipated life-spans and there may also be a need for additional product testing, with significant cost implications for manufacturers.20 Legal issues relating to life-span labels may prove challenging. Current legislation protects consumers against faults in products that are present at the time of sale21 but other faults may arise through normal wear and tear; mechanical or electronic products in particular can never be wholly reliable. If life-span labels covered only selected faults, these would need to be clearly defined and communicated. If such labels covered all faults, however, this would effectively transform the buyer-seller contract into a form of rental, because during the whole of the life-span the supplier of the product would be responsible for remedying any faults. Indeed, perhaps the most significant concern for manufacturers and retailers regarding the introduction of life-span labels is that product life-spans are often influenced to a significant degree by usage (Evans and Cooper 2003).22 The extent of this influence depends on the product. In the case of footwear and mattresses, product life-spans may vary according to the user’s body weight and movement. In other cases, notably carpets, regular maintenance is important, while others, such as household appliances, will be especially vulnerable to abuse or misuse (such as spillages or overloading). This means that there will inevitably be variations around a norm and thus a potential for disputes between producers and consumers. The industry interviews highlighted other potential challenges. Experience from the EU energy labelling scheme revealed the potential for trade-offs when certain design criteria have to be met; for example, one interviewee suggested that high levels of energy efficiency in washing machines had sometimes been achieved at the expense of wash performance. Similarly, increased durability might only be achievable at the expense of certain other aspects of performance, leading to, say, recyclability or energy efficiency being compromised in order for a product to meet the criteria for a life-span label. For example, linking components firmly together to enhance durability might make them difficult to disassemble for recycling. The use of combined labels is one response to this dilemma, but these require several types of criteria to be met and manufacturers

20 Moreover, standardized testing of technical life-spans is not without problems (OECD 1982). 21 See Chapter 8 (Ervine). 22 See Chapter 14 (Evans and Cooper).

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might find this equally problematic; it may be a contributory factor to the low take-up of the EU Ecolabel.23 Life-span labels are clearly most useful when people intend to keep a product to the end of its design life. Many functional products are discarded, however, for a variety of reasons, including the attraction of new products (Campbell 1992), changes in fashion or personal circumstances (such as moving house) and public policy (as when analogue signals are switched off and many televisions and radios become obsolete). The value of life-span labels would clearly increase if, in general, consumers kept products until broken beyond repair. Finally, life-span labels will only be an effective means of reducing waste and accelerating progress towards sustainability if they are accepted and utilized by consumers. As with other kinds of label, life-span labels may be ignored, misunderstood or not believed. Not all consumers are concerned about product life-spans: research on household appliances found consumers to be evenly divided between those who were generally satisfied with their lifespans and those who were not (Cooper and Mayers 2000). Moreover, although consumers often express a desire for more information, evidence suggests that information overload results in many not using that which is already provided (Keller and Staelin 1987). In addition, some scholars have argued that many consumers make relatively little use of pre-purchase information and that situational variables, group pressures and non-cognitive (i.e. emotional) factors play a more important role in their decisions (Foxall 1991). Any initiative to enhance life-span information should therefore be supported by other measures to educate consumers in the responsible selection, use and maintenance of products. Industry, government and consumer organizations all have a potential role to play. An example of a complementary measure to labels that would encourage greater awareness of product life-spans is the more widespread use of ‘date stamping’ products (or their components). Making the date of manufacture visible to consumers may, in due course, give them a sense of pride in having made a good choice or looked after the product carefully. It may also be in the producers’ interest, serving to reinforce brand loyalty and, in the event of repair work being required, enabling easier identification of the model and its 23 An alternative approach is to rate products through a weighted points system for product attributes, scoring durability alongside other environmental impacts (Nordic Council of Ministers 1997).

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component parts. Another, more sophisticated, approach is the development of electronic monitoring devices designed to provide feedback about a product’s use over time, enabling easier repair diagnosis and tracking its anticipated residual life-span.24 Whether or not life-span labels are introduced more widely, the research findings suggested that retailers should train their staff to be able them to offer better information on the care and maintenance of products, their likely lifespans and consumers’ rights and responsibilities. Retailers could also consider innovations such as the use of loyalty and reward schemes to encourage consumers to purchase longer lasting products and to undertake repair work rather than replacement. Similarly, price comparison websites with customer reviews and ratings could include durability alongside other indicators of product performance, although since they focus on products that are new to the market there may be little firm evidence of actual long term performance.25 This could perhaps be addressed through websites aimed at reuse, such as eBay and Freecycle, which offer the potential for information on the actual life-span of older products to be shared more widely, and even collected systematically. Lastly, government advice to consumers on ‘greener’ living could give greater priority to product life-spans26 and consumer organizations such as Which? and the Good Housekeeping Institute could include more information on lifespans in their product comparison reports.

Conclusion In order to select consumer durables with life-spans that are environmentally optimal and appropriate for their requirements, shoppers need to be adequately informed about the design life of their prospective purchases. The evidence presented in this chapter, based on the findings of an exploratory research study, suggests that the quality of information on product life-spans available to consumers is inadequate. The information currently accessible in retail environments was assessed and, while it revealed few examples of life-span labelling, various other means by which consumers might gain knowledge of the likely life-span of products were identified. 24 See Chapter 15 (Simon). 25 In addition, frequent changes in model numbers often make it difficult for consumers to draw exact comparisons between products. 26 For example, the government website at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreener living/index.htm

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These findings support past claims by academics and consumer organizations that there is a need for retailers to improve their provision of life-span information. A strong case may be made for an increase in life-span labelling, although any such scheme would have to be carefully planned and managed. It would also need to be supported by other measures in order to encourage consumers to become more aware of concerns relating to product longevity and thus motivated to make appropriate choices. Interviews with trade associations and manufacturers revealed some technical and commercial issues that need to be addressed, while the level of government involvement that may be required is also unresolved. There is little doubt, however, that opportunities exist to improve the information available to consumers on product life-spans and that utilizing them is necessary to accelerate progress towards the goal of sustainable consumption.

References ALPERT, F., WILSON, B. and ELLIOTT, M. (1993). Price signalling: Does it ever work? Journal of Consumer Marketing 10 (4), 4–14. CAMPBELL, C. (1992). The desire for the new. In: SILVERSTONE, R. and HIRSCH, E. (eds). Consuming Technologies. London: Routledge, pp. 48–64. COMPETITION COMMISSION (2003). Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods: A report on the supply of extended warranties on domestic electrical goods within the UK [online]. Cm 6089 (I-III). Accessed 9 June 2010 at http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2003/485x wars.htm#full CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL (1998). Green Guidance. London: Consumers International. CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL (1999). Green Labels: Consumer interests and transatlantic trade tensions in eco-labelling. London: Consumers International. COOPER, T. (1994). Beyond Recycling: The longer life option. London: New Economics Foundation. COOPER, T. (2005). Slower consumption: Reflections on product life cycles and the ‘throwaway society’. Journal of Industrial Ecology 9 (1–2), 51–67. COOPER, T. and CHRISTER, K. (2006). Marketing Durability. Working Paper 2, ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society, University of Cardiff/Centre for Sustainable Consumption, Sheffield Hallam University. COOPER, T. and MAYERS, K. (2000). Prospects for Household Appliances. Halifax: Urban Mines Ltd.

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DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS) (2003). Changing Patterns: UK Government framework for sustainable consumption and production [online]. Accessed 17 January 2007 at http://www. defra.gov.uk/environment/business/scp DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS) (2005). Securing the Future: The UK Government’s sustainable development strategy. Cm. 6467. Norwich: The Stationery Office. DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS) (2007). Municipal Waste Statistics 2005/6 [online]. Accessed 12 January 2007 at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wastats/bulletin.htm DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY (2002). The Impact of Labelling Schemes. Report 7071/2002 prepared by Metra Martech. London: HMSO. EVANS, S. and COOPER, T. (2003). Consuming to last: The contradictions and complexities of optimising product life in contemporary society. Social Futures: Desire, Excess and Waste. British Sociological Association Annual Conference, 11–13 April, York. FISHER, T. and SHIPTON, J. (2003). In and out of the twilight zone: Understanding packaging re-use. Seminar Proceedings: Product Life and the Throwaway Society, 21 May, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield. FOXALL, G. (1991). Consumer behaviour. In: BAKER, M. (ed.). The Marketing Book (2nd edn). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp. 128–50. GRANT, J. (2007). The Green Marketing Manifesto. Chichester: John Wiley. HANF, C.-H. and VON WERSEBE, B. (1994). Price, quality, and consumers’ behaviour. Journal of Consumer Behaviour 17, 335–48. HEISKANEN, E. (1996). Conditions for Product Life Extension. Working Paper 23. Helsinki: National Consumer Research Centre. JACKSON, T. (2005). Motivating Sustainable Consumption: A review of evidence on consumer behaviour and behavioural change. Report to the Sustainable Development Research Network. Centre for Environmental Strategy, Surrey University. KELLER, K.L. and STAELIN, R. (1987). Effects of quality and quantity of information on decision effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Research 14, 200–13. KOSTECKI, M. (ed.) (1998). The Durable Use of Consumer Products. Dordrecht: Kluwer. KOTLER, P., ARMSTRONG, G., SAUNDERS, J. and WONG, V. (2001). Principles of Marketing. (9th edn). Harlow: Pearson Education. KRARUP, S. and RUSSELL, C.S. (eds) (2005). Environment, Information and Consumer Behaviour. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. LEIRE, C. and THIDELL, Å. (2005). Product-related environmental information to guide consumer purchases: A review and analysis of research on

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perceptions, understanding and use among Nordic consumers. Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (10–11), 1061–70. MURPHY, D.N.P. and DJAMALUDIN, I. (2002). New product warranty: A literature review. Industrial Journal of Production Economics 79 (3), 231–60. NATIONAL CONSUMER COUNCIL (1989). The Consumer Guarantee. London: National Consumer Council. NATIONAL ENERGY FOUNDATION (2009). Low-Energy Lighting: How to save with CFLs [online]. Accessed 4 April 2009 at http://www.nef.org.uk/ energysaving/lowenergylighting.htm NORDIC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (1997). Environmental Impact of Consumer Goods. Copenhagen: TemaNord. OECD (ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT) (1982). Product Durability and Product Life Extension: Their contribution to solid waste management. Paris: OECD. OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING (2002). Report on the Consumer Survey about Extended Warranties. Report by FDS International (OFT387b). London: OFT. PEATTIE, K (1995). Environmental Marketing Management: Meeting the green challenge, London: FT Pitman. RAO, A.R. (2005). The quality of price as a quality cue. Journal of Marketing Research XLII, 401–405. RAO, A.R. and BERGEN, M. (1992). Price premium variations as a consequence of buyers’ lack of information. Journal of Consumer Research 19, 412–23. REX, E. and BAUMANN, H. (2007). Beyond ecolabels: What green marketing can learn from conventional marketing. Journal of Cleaner Production 15 (6), 567–76. SCHIFFMAN, L.G. and KANUK, L.L. (2001). Consumer Behaviour (2nd edn). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education. SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE/SEPA (SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY) (2007). Household Waste Prevention Action Plan (Scotland). [online] February. Accessed 10 June 2010 at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/ Doc/166848/0045564.pdf YEPSEN Jr, R.B. (ed.) (1982). The Durability Factor. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press. ZEITHAML, V.A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing 52 (3), 2–22.



13

Can Durability Provide a Strong Marketing Platform?

Dorothy Mackenzie, Tim Cooper and Kenisha Garnett

Abstract Marketing shapes consumption. This chapter considers some means by which the attribute of durability may be used in the marketing of consumer durables. As consumer societies have evolved, many products have less often been sold on the basis of their functional characteristics alone and more on the strength of an image, association or lifestyle preference. A shift towards longer lasting products would demand a reappraisal of this trend and require marketers to identify strategies by which to promote products on the basis of durability in ways that are attractive to consumers and add to brand strength. This chapter presents a range of marketing platforms through which the durability of products could be highlighted as a positive attribute and identifies some potential risks and opportunities in adopting such a strategy.

Introduction Marketing, historically, has drawn attention to products’ features, performance in use, style, aesthetics and price. During the second half of the twentieth century, however, as affluence grew, a more complex, sophisticated approach began to be adopted. Increased awareness of a symbolic dimension to much consumption led marketers to make associations between the product and prospective purchasers’ desire for self-expression or fun (Levy 1959; Hirschman and Holbrook 1982; Belk 1988). By the 1970s references to environmental and other ethical concerns such as energy efficiency, recyclability and avoiding exploitation in less developed countries were appearing in marketing

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communications. Increasingly, as consumer durables were marketed with these associations prioritized rather than functionality, durability became the poor relation among marketing platforms. Consequently, despite public concern at Britain’s ‘throwaway culture’, attempts to capture the ethical high ground have not focused on durability; other messages have been considered more compelling. Marketers are often under pressure to reduce product life cycles, the period during which products are developed, introduced into the market and eventually replaced by ‘new’ models, in order to gain a competitive edge (Bayus 1998). Such a trend implies shorter product life-spans because many consumers are keen to equip their homes with the latest, most advanced products, even if this means discarding functional items. They are increasingly able to do so, not least because the relocation of manufacturing to low wage nations such as China has led to price reductions and thus increased their purchasing power. This strategy of relocation is in line with economist Alfred Marshall’s observation that producers operating in competitive market conditions are powerless to influence the price of products and so attempt to minimize production costs. Relocation is only one means of reducing production costs, however. Other strategies may have serious drawbacks. Cheaply made products are more liable to suffer from poor design and use of inferior materials, resulting in quicker failure rates. In other words, consumer pressure for lower prices has implications for quality. This is not to suggest that there has been an overall decline in the quality of products but, rather, that many products are of a relatively low quality because of consumers’ price expectations. The consequently rapid turnover of products has resulted in an ever-increasing flow of materials and a larger ecological footprint (Barrett et al. 2000). Producers, as well as consumers, evidently play an important part in this process. Some companies continue to benefit from drawing attention to the durability of their products in marketing strategies. Durability is embedded in elite brands such as Rolls-Royce and Jaguar, while some manufacturers operating at the top end of the mass market, for example Miele and Dualit, have used marketing tools to develop a reputation for their products’ durability. Marketing communications in these cases typically highlight the benefits to users rather than any environmental benefits. In many sectors, however, these premium brands attract only a small share of the overall market.



Cited in Barker (1998).

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In future, this may change. It is possible that the prospective economic and environmental benefits of longer lasting products, combined with a growing public interest in responsible consumption, may be such that ‘owning a product which is several years old may become a desirable self-statement, not something to be ashamed of because it indicates that the owner cannot afford to replace it’ (Mackenzie 1997: 73). In the event of such a cultural transformation marketers will need increasingly to create brand strength on the basis of product durability.

The Power of Brands Branding in the form of a name, symbol or collection of images and ideas has become an important and highly visible aspect of consumer culture. Most large companies want brand recognition to reach a critical mass of consumers such that even those who have never bought a product from their brand are aware of it. For example, Rolls-Royce cars are only affordable to a small elite, but the brand is known across society. Originating as identification marks for establishing ownership rights, the rise of mass communication during the twentieth century gave brands more meaning and gradually their role as product differentiators grew. Whereas in earlier stages of industrialism the primary attraction of branded products was that they tended to be more reliable, branding today is often intended to create associations, expectations and status among consumers by highlighting attractive qualities or characteristics, and is concerned with creating confidence in a broad sense, not just in the product but in the individual. Marketers distinguish psychological and experiential aspects of brands. The psychological aspect or ‘brand image’ is a symbolic construct created within the minds of consumers that consists of information and expectations associated with a product. It is developed by attributing a ‘personality’ or ascribing a particular image to the product that enters into the consciousness of consumers, depicting its most valuable aspects. The experiential aspect is when people connect with brands through emotional and sensory triggers, such as visual imagery, providing them with a direct personal encounter, the ‘brand experience’ (Olins 2003).



Branding began, in a literal sense, as a method for ranchers to identify cattle. The word originates from brandr, the word used in Norway in reference to branding cattle.

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The concrete, explicit characteristics of brands represent implicit ideas and values (Schmidt and Ludlow 2002). Brands today have been described as ‘cultural accessories’ (Klein 2000), presenting forms of identification for producers and consumers alike (Sanders 2002). Companies portray their products as representative of certain personalities and lifestyles. Consumers, in turn, use brands as a way to distinguish themselves from other people or, alternatively, to express a bond with others in a ‘brand community’ (Muniz and O’Guinn 2001; McAlexander et al. 2002). They seek out brands that give them a feeling that they are doing something positive related to their sense of self (Frost 2005). In short, ‘brands are often not about physical attributes but a set of values, a philosophy that can be matched with the consumer’s own values and philosophy’ (Brassington and Pettitt 2006: 301).

Marketing Durability How feasible is it to market durability, one of the attributes through which consumer durables may be identified and differentiated? Does marketing’s shift away from a focus on functionality make it unrealistic to seek to create brand value around length product life spans (whether achieved by intrinsic durability or quality of after-sales services)? One approach would be to create a brand that is attractive to ethical consumers by creating an association between long lasting consumer durables and ‘green’ (or ‘sustainable’) products. Thus certain brands aim to penetrate markets or increase market share by appealing to the desire of many consumers to purchase with a sense of environmental and social responsibility: ‘There are 1.5 million conscience-consumers in the UK who make decisions about brands based on social and ethical values – it is an audience with increased affluence who can choose where and how they spend their money’ (Davis 2006). A survey by the Co-operative Bank (2006) calculated that the ‘ethical’ market for home and personal products was worth £5.5 billion in 2005. Significantly, in the context of durability, around of third of this (£1.8 billion) was categorized as ‘buying for re-use’. If producers of long lasting consumer durables were to target these ethical consumers, marketers would need to consider how explicit to make the connection with green or sustainable products. Opinions differ as to whether there is a strong case for creating new ‘green’ brands and designing overtly ‘green’ products. Some brand specialists have argued that green design



A product’s attributes are its features, functions, benefits and uses.

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should not be regarded as an optional extra, or a subset of the mainstream, but as part of core design capability (Mackenzie 1997). Creating brand reputation takes time, and the fast pace of technological change in some sectors may force manufacturers to build brands around a company image rather than around specific products. Peattie (1995) concluded that it may be easier for a trusted brand to realign itself as green than for a green brand to gain consumer trust. Indeed, mainstream brands are increasingly seeking to demonstrate their social responsibility or to convey ethical messages that appeal to consumers seeking to ‘do their bit’ for sustainable development. For example, it was a study revealing that around 80 per cent of its customers wanted to know more about the source of its products that prompted Marks and Spencer to develop its Look Behind the Label campaign, as a means of informing consumers about its ethical policies. One of its campaign slogans was ‘We wear out our clothes before you buy them’, with promotional material that claimed: We believe in selling clothes that will last and we want our customers to be sure that the products they buy from us really survive the test of time, keeping their colour, shape and softness no matter how many times they are worn and washed. We put all our clothes through stringent tests ... That means stretching, tearing, soaking and washing them again and again. It’s because of this approach that we believe we have one of the highest durability standards of any retailer in the world. (Marks and Spencer 2005) The potential limitations of marketing brands on environmental grounds were, however, made apparent in a recent study of the role that environmental attributes play in forming brand attitudes (Rios et al. 2006). This analysed effects on attitudes and purchase intention of exposing people to different levels of environmental information and, although it found a positive correlation between beliefs regarding environmental performance and attitudes towards the brand, concluded that environmental attributes were unlikely ever to overshadow other brand elements such as quality, function and performance. Durability represents a special type of environmental attribute, however, as increased life-spans not only offer an environmental benefit, in the form of waste reduction, but also provide other potential gains to consumers such 

The study also concluded that environmental labels help to strengthen beliefs regarding the environmental performance of brands and increase confidence.

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as value for money and reduced transaction costs. Indeed, there is evidence that consumers do not currently associate durability with environmental performance (Evans and Cooper 2003), perhaps because the link has not been adequately established in public debate. This suggests that there may be scope to reframe public understanding of durability through effective social marketing. It also highlights the need to explore marketing platforms for longer lasting products that are not simply based on environmental or ethical appeal.

Marketing Platforms for Longer Lasting Products In order for the attribute of durability to be used to attract consumers, companies need to find ways of communicating the potential benefits that it provides as effectively as possible, thereby creating a strong brand image and positive brand experience. This will require them to develop an appropriate marketing platform, the means by which they make an appeal to consumers. As part of this process they will have to determine the best position in the market for longer lasting products, as this will underpin the marketing communication strategy (as well as driving product design and distribution strategies). Various marketing platforms are possible, reflecting different ways of presenting the benefits that a brand (or specific attribute) offers in a competitive market situation. Eight potential marketing platforms for longer lasting products are identified and described in this chapter, based on a review of past and present practice in which advertising and promotional material designed to market the benefits of longer lasting products was examined. While they are based on examples from current practice, ethnographic research to understand the relevant market segments (Doole and Lowe 2008) would help to ensure that longer lasting products are marketed effectively. The proposed platforms are grouped below, according to their focus, into three dimensions: the temporal (value over time), relational (products with prestige) and technical (flexibility in design). Each reveals something about the different ways in which durability may be embodied within brands (Table 13.1).

Value over Time One of the potential benefits of longer lasting products to consumers is that they may represent good value over time. Noting that sustainable design generally

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DIMENSION

MARKETING PLATFORM Heirloom

Temporal Value over time

Investment Resale value Aspiration

Relational Products with prestige

Status Performance

Technical Flexibility in design

Adaptable Upgradeable

leads to products that are more durable or efficient, marketing consultant John Grant (2007: 126) advises: ‘Forget selling “green virtue” (a nice extra); the products are often just better value for money!’ Some types of products never wear out if properly maintained and have virtually indefinite life-spans, often being passed on between generations. Others represent relatively good value for money if measured by the period of service provided in relation to the financial outlay. In some cases, brand reputation is such that the product retains its value for a lengthy period and resale is easy if the owner ever decides that the product is no longer required. These form the basis of heirloom, investment and resale value platforms.

Heirloom, investment and resale value platforms Furniture, jewellery and items of clothing such as wedding dresses and christening gowns are examples of products that, traditionally, have been passed down between generations. Such products, when designed for durability, may accordingly be branded as having an ‘heirloom’ appeal. For example, one exclusive brand of wrist watches, Patek Philippe, has been promoted in advertisements as intended to be passed between generations: ‘You never actually own a Patek Philippe; you merely look after it for the next generation.’

 

In practice, however, it is not always easy to identify the cost of one attribute, such as durability, as distinct from another. Heirloom appeal may be accidental rather than as the result of intrinsic quality: product meaning is often created through ownership. Thus nostalgic everyday objects and even old

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Consumers attracted to such a platform are likely to value heritage highly. Many are likely to be relatively affluent, and less influenced by price, their motive is more likely to be that, by purchasing the product they are acquiring something with intrinsic and aesthetic quality from which they will gain treasured memories, which they will eventually pass on to the next generation. Symbolic value is of particular significance: the heirloom platform communicates values such as stability, order and family tradition: ‘the brand’s status is elevated as it becomes an extension of whatever it is linked to. Positioning the brand as an ideal gift or potential heirloom ... establishes a cherished link between the item and the gift-giver or ancestor’ (Martin 1998: 21). A key strength of an heirloom brand is that products are often immediately recognizable as having been made by a renowned designer (an example being the Lloyd Loom chair). In such cases the brand is thus rooted in the name of the designer (or creator) rather than qualities of beauty or functionality in the product itself, although as heirloom branded products are intended to be passed on through generations they have to be well made and ‘age with dignity’. Contemporary consumers who can readily afford to replace consumer durables are less inclined to regard them as long term investments and, indeed, research has confirmed that many such products, notably furniture and appliances, are discarded when still functional (Anderson 1999; Cooper and Mayers 2000). Nonetheless, the idea of a product that is a good financial investment, whether due to intrinsic design quality or because the strength of the brand sustains their value, retains appeal as a marketing platform. Classic styles of products are especially likely to offer investment value because, though they may be relatively expensive, users enjoy using them over a prolonged period. Fashion writer Bronwyn Cosgrave (2006) proposed short black dresses and cashmere coats as examples of designs that have stood the test of time and has described the Chanel collarless jacket with braided trim and patch pockets, first pioneered in the 1920s, as ‘the ultimate investment piece’. Designer names attached to clothing, footwear and accessories (such as Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Armani, Jimmy Choo and Paul Smith) have proven long term investment value; the same is true of long established brands such as Axminster carpets, Louis Vuitton luggage, Aga range cookers and Claude Butler bicycles. Although such products are relatively expensive, packaging may have heirloom appeal. The appeal of the past is also seen in products designed in a ‘retro’ style.

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regular and sustained use provides owners with good value for money from their investment, while the wide appeal of such products means that they tend to maintain their value over time. Over recent decades there have been significant changes in the market for the resale of unwanted goods. Once largely limited to motor vehicle showrooms, antiques shops, jumble sales and local newspaper ads, new forms of secondhand markets have emerged, notably car boot sales, charity shops and internetbased auction sites (Gregson and Crewe 2003). The latter, most notably eBay, have changed people’s perceptions of ‘second-hand’ (or ‘pre-owned’) markets. In the light of these developments, resale value may become an increasingly significant marketing platform for products designed for longevity. Many new products depreciate in value rapidly and consequently have to be heavily discounted for resale in second-hand markets. In future, however, there may be increased demand for second-hand items, prompted perhaps by the maturing eBay market, or by economic necessity or environmental concern, which could lead to higher resale values. Thus Daniel Nissanoff, co-founder of an internet-based luxury auction site, Portero, has argued that as secondary markets begin to achieve higher prices for items that are resold, consumers will routinely factor a product’s resale value into their initial buying decisions. This has long been the case for housing and motor vehicles, but not for less expensive products (Nissanoff 2006). If these forecasts became a reality, there would be significant implications for the marketing of consumer durables, with new opportunities for promoting brands on the basis of resale value. Consumers might become more willing to purchase higher quality, longer lasting products if they could foresee the possibility of recovering much of the original cost upon resale. For similar reasons, people in need of certain products for short term purposes might become more inclined to buy them, rather than rent. It is also possible that producers would find that they have a greater incentive to manufacture higher quality, longer lasting products in order to maintain a competitive advantage over suppliers of second-hand products (Waldmeir and Bain 2005).

Products with Prestige Durability is more often associated with quality than sustainability, as noted earlier. As many consumers are attracted to prestige brands in the expectation that they will have relatively long life-spans, an analysis of prestige-seeking

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behaviour may enable more effective marketing for durability. Prestige brands have been distinguished on the basis of five perceived values (Vigneron and Johnson 1999). They have a ‘conspicuous’ value, as being able to buy high quality products is viewed as a sign of status and wealth. They have a ‘unique’ or ‘rarity’ value in that when most people own products from a particular brand it can no longer be considered prestigious. Role-playing aspects to owning such brands give them a ‘social’ value. They have a ‘hedonic’ value, as intangible qualities such as aesthetic appeal satisfy an emotional desire. Finally, the technical superiority and care that takes place during production provides a ‘quality’ value, although whether this is reflected in contemporary luxury brand products is increasingly disputed. Three potential marketing platforms for longer lasting products draw upon these perceived values: aspiration, status and performance.

Aspiration, status and performance platforms One way in which prestige brands penetrate markets is by appealing to people’s aspirations to own products that are of high quality and meet their desire for an ‘ideal’ lifestyle. They believe that owning prestige brands will give them pleasure and confirm their personal success in life. Marketing by appealing to people’s aspirations is especially evident in feature articles in glossy lifestyle magazines on products such as high performance cars, Aga cookers, top of the range household items and the latest gadgets. Such aspirations cross continents and pass down within nations according to the founder of an international branding advisory company: ‘For a long time, most of Asia was still a developing continent, with low per capita income … the elite few purchased western and branded goods as a symbol of prestige and social class. This led the mass to aspire to purchase those brands’ (Frost 2005). Appeals to consumers’ aspirations may also be made at a more mundane level, offering associations rather than the ‘real thing’. In the case of carpets, for example, advertising by the British Wool Marketing Board points to the use of wool ‘to carpet royal palaces, the finest hotels, prestigious stores and offices, airports, international airlines and luxury liners’ and, significantly in the present   

People’s interpretations of ‘prestige’ may differ depending on their socio-economic background, aspirations and how they interpret ‘quality’ and ‘beauty’. Studies of the luxury products market in the USA include Silverstein and Fiske (2003) and Danziger (2008). These prestige values are recognized by market researchers. See, for example, Datamonitor (2002). Thomas (2007), for example, concluded that in order to extend sales into the mass market, the quality of luxury brand products is often compromised.

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context, highlights its ‘longer lasting appearance retention’. Durability is not always regarded as essential by consumers who aspire to own prestige brands, however; some are attracted instead by aesthetic qualities or other aspects of style, and may well replace products when new models appear on the market. Consumers also purchase products of prestige brands because their relative rarity confers status upon the owner (O’Cass and Frost 2002; Chevalier and Mazzalovo 2008). Such ‘must have’ products need to be of high quality and are often designed for durability (although deliberate fragility, as in the case of ceramics, may also be attractive). Products marketed on the basis of status are particularly evident in the world of high fashion, where designer labels, limited editions and time-specific products10 are used for social differentiation, and often classically designed: examples include the MaxMara 101801 coat, Chanel suit and Yves Saint Laurent silk shirt. The status acquired by possessing such items conveys a signal to other people that the owner can afford the time and money necessary to make such purchases. The relative rarity of such products, combined with intrinsic quality, makes it likely that they will maintain their value over time and become ‘collectable’. Prestige brands may also be marketed on the basis of the functionality or performance of products. A marketing platform to draw attention to a product’s intrinsic durability may highlight its sturdy and robust characteristics and promise resilience in performance, particularly if it has to cope with heavy usage. Certain brands have built up a reputation for hardwearing products; in the case of kitchen appliances, for example, they include manufacturers such as Miele, Dualit, Magimix and KitchenAid. Any such platform should take account of evidence that the relationship between a product’s performance and consumer satisfaction is sometimes complex: the determinants of satisfaction are not simply the converse of those of dissatisfaction. Swan and Combs (1976) concluded that a certain level of durability has to be achieved before consumers will express satisfaction, but an absence of product failure does not guarantee satisfaction. Moreover, unless this minimum durability is achieved consumers become dissatisfied. In other words, a life-span considered to be reasonable by consumers is a prerequisite for satisfaction, but does not ensure it. In their study (which compared ‘instrumental’ outcomes such as durability with ‘expressive’ outcomes such as style) consumers mentioned appearance ahead of durability as a cause of satisfaction. This suggests that a lack of durability is viewed negatively, but the 10 For example, products associated with particular events.

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presence of durability is not necessarily viewed positively, reinforcing the need for any marketing platform based on performance in the form of durability to be very carefully nuanced. The formation of performance expectations is crucial. If the durability of a product is to be promoted as a brand attribute, it is especially important that the life-span anticipated by consumers is realized in practice. Consumers who have positive feelings when purchasing a product but are later disappointed suffer from psychological discomfort known as cognitive dissonance; in such an eventuality the failure to achieve an anticipated life-span would have negative implications for the entire brand.

Flexibility in Design In the context of a fast-changing world, particularly in the field of consumer electronics, flexibility in product design may improve the likelihood of prolonged use. Although many products are discarded due to physical deterioration from ageing or wear and tear, others are unwanted due to factors such as technological advance, fashion or changes in personal circumstances. In some of these cases disposal might not be necessary if it were possible to alter the size, shape or functionality of the products (or their components) more easily. At present this is rarely feasible because of inflexibility embedded in the product at the design stage. Manufacturers faced with the demands of cost, quality, performance, product manufacturability and tight delivery times tend to use mass production systems that are unsuited to flexible products; at best, malfunctioning modules can be exchanged in the event of faults arising. Such inflexibility limits the service life of products: owners become increasingly dissatisfied with products as constraints on functionality, safety concerns (as parts wear out), poor environmental performance, excessive operational costs or aesthetic deterioration gradually take effect. Most are wary of modifying products; this, in any case, is actively discouraged by manufacturers. As owners become less satisfied, the likelihood of discard increases (Willems et al. 2003). There is nothing inevitable, however, about this state of affairs: it is possible to design and market products on the basis of adaptability or upgradeability.

The adaptable and upgradable platforms One option would be to design and market products on the basis of the ease with which they are adaptable, enabling physical changes such as enlargement, reduction, re-arrangement, downgrading or repair. This could be achieved

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through modularity in design (Van Nes 2003; Arnheiter and Harren 2005).11 A decision to market products on the basis of adaptability would need to be taken early in the design process, when the most important decisions are made. Adaptability may work in particular for products made of a material suited to change, such as wooden furniture, or products with an iconic design which consequently become household ‘fixtures’ that owners never want to discard. An example is the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair, the adjustability of which enables extended use over time as children grow in size. Another is AdapTable, a garden bench that converts into a picnic table.12 To date, however, few producers have been bold enough to introduce adaptability. Consumer electronics and other appliances are often considered ‘out of date’ after a relatively short period as a result of technological progress. Their owners are encouraged to ‘trade up’ such products to take advantage of improved quality. Mobile network operators, for example, invite customers on long term contracts to ‘trade in’ their phones by offering free upgrades on some models and discounted prices on others. Household appliances are sometimes marketed with a ‘trade in’ offer of credit against a new purchase. An alternative marketing strategy (again, rarely used at present) would be to promote the upgradability of products. Upgradeability is made possible by, for example, enabling improved electronic systems to be incorporated within the product shell through the use of modular design (Lewis and Gertsakis 2001). Computers are the most obvious example. Desktop computers have several components (such as the memory, hard drive, optical disk drive, connectivity and graphics card) that can be readily upgraded.13 Some computer hardware companies already seek to make it easy to upgrade components, although many consumers lack the necessary confidence or skills. Upgrades for Apple computers tend to be relatively easy to undertake because they are all made by a single company. By contrast, a large retailer such as PC World uses many manufacturers and component suppliers, which makes it rather more difficult to provide such a service. As advances in technology continue, upgradeability could become a more important marketing platform, although relatively small and cheap products, 11 See Chapter 5 (Van Nes). 12 See http://www.stokke-highchair.com/en-global/tripp-trapp-highchair.aspx and http:// www.internetgardener.co.uk/ProductDetail/1834/Adaptable-Folding-Picnic-Table--Bench--Hardwood-Bench.aspx 13 Upgrading the processor, however, is often less easy. Laptops tend to have fewer upgradable components than desktops, in part because of space constraints.

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such as mobile phones, consumers may not consider upgrades to be worth the effort involved, apart from easy changes such as replacing mobile phone covers. Product replacement may not be motivated simply by a desire to have a product that functions better, but by the attraction of ‘newness’: having a model in pristine condition. In such cases a new outer shell, panel or frame may be required, demanding adaptability alongside upgradeability.

Risks and Opportunities There are evident risks and opportunities to marketing products on the basis of longer life-spans. One important threat already mentioned is that of cognitive dissonance, dissatisfaction caused by a sense of inconsistency if a product’s anticipated life-span is not realized, which would undermine attempts to develop brand strength and customer loyalty. It would be important to undertake product testing before launching any marketing campaign focused on longevity (or, more specifically, durability), to minimise the likelihood of perceived underperformance. Another concern is the possibility that extending the length of time between purchases will fail to engender brand loyalty, which is strengthened by regular, positive contact between manufacturer and consumer. If there are very long gaps between purchases, perhaps well over a decade, users may forget the motivation that originally drew them towards the brand. Thus in order to keep the brand name in their minds (‘top of mind’ awareness), brand owners may need to plan for greater ongoing communication with customers who purchase long lasting products. Manufacturing costs are liable to increase if products are designed to a higher performance specification (i.e. more durable, adaptable or upgradeable) and be passed on to consumers: ‘long service life products generally require a higher initial entry price because a large quantity of future benefits are bought at one time on the front end’ (Fuller 1999: 93). This may demand distinctive price communication strategies alongside the marketing platform. For example, if information on anticipated product life-spans was provided to consumers, a label could be attached to a product with its price per year of anticipated

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service.14 In addition, if a trend towards longer product life-spans indeed led to higher prices, marketing strategies may have to be adapted for less affluent social groups in particular (Cooper 1998). A further concern is that increased sales of prestige brand products with long life-spans would reduce the ‘rarity’ value of such brands, which is essentially derived from limited market penetration.15 In other words, the marketing potential of the prestige platforms is essentially self-limiting. Lastly, there are implications for innovation in a ‘culture of permanence’ (Durning 1992) in which products tend to last longer. As product life cycles slow down, there are fewer opportunities to introduce new products into the market and this increases the risk element in research and development. On the positive side, a marketing platform based on durability offers opportunities for producers to increase market penetration, improve profitability and create a wider and deeper ‘brand community’ (Cooper 1994, 1997; Kostecki 1998). Increased market penetration may result from consumers trading up to higher quality products that have been designed and manufactured for greater durability (Silverstein and Fiske 2003). The higher prices chargeable for such products will reflect greater ‘added value’ (the result of greater intrinsic quality other forms of value associated with prestige brands and future resale value), and offer the prospect of increased profitability. The extended gap between customers’ purchases might drive company strategies towards deepening relationships with customers beyond the present norm of web-based services and occasional mail shots (Grönroos 1997). They could, for example, provide additional (or enhanced) product maintenance, restoration and upgrade services, or seek more direct and extended contact with customers by offering skills development courses (or workshops) to enhance the customers’ own ability to undertake such work. In the case of cars, one of the main ways in which manufacturers deepen relationships with their customers is by providing regular servicing through their branded, authorized dealers. This practice could, perhaps, be extended to other products. Manufacturers of household furniture, appliances and floor coverings could offer a comparable 14 See Chapter 12 (Cooper and Christer). This would be an extension of the practice of some retailers to indicate the annual running cost of refrigeration appliances based on energy consumption. 15 Rarity can ultimately only be secured by production quotas (as with artists’ prints) or charging prices that are prohibitively expensive for all but the most affluent consumers.

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‘home makeover’ service, while manufacturers of footwear could encourage retailers and repairers to work together to offer a ‘footwear maintenance’ service more sophisticated than the current ‘heel bars’. Eventually, the logic of trying to maintain products in good condition over a prolonged period could drive business-customer relationships towards rental or leasing rather than sales (Cooper and Evans 2000).

Conclusions Increasing pressure to reduce waste and less tolerance of technological obsolescence and cheap but poor quality goods may in future require the development of new marketing platforms in order to promote products on the basis of durability in ways that will attract consumers and add to brand strength. Most consumer durables are no longer marketed primarily on the basis of functional characteristics; the symbolic dimension to consumption has long been recognized in marketing campaigns, which often associate products with a desirable image or appeal to prospective purchasers’ aspirations or lifestyle preferences. While this more sophisticated approach to marketing will doubtlessly continue, marketers will need to rethink their hitherto uncritical approach to mass consumption if the throwaway culture is to make way for a ‘culture of permanence’.16 In order to explore the feasibility of creating brand value around durability (or longevity), a review was undertaken of advertising and promotional material of brands that already make such an association. This revealed a variety of marketing platforms through which product durability is highlighted as a positive attribute. Eight marketing platforms were identified and these were grouped around three themes: the temporal (heirloom, investment and resale value), relational (performance, aspiration and status) and technical (adaptable and upgradeable). At present, such platforms are carefully tailored to particular products and contexts and reflect prevailing values and aspirations in society. Consumers do not necessarily associate durability with environmental performance but with a range of other benefits (and the case for explicitly ‘green’ brands is, in any case, 16 See ‘Product Durability and Marketing Strategies’, Chapter 3 in Kostecki (1998), for a comprehensive summary of questions faced by marketers in this context.

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disputed). Nonetheless, these existing platforms provide a useful starting point for assessing potential marketing and branding options in anticipation of rising demand for longer lasting products. Some potential risks and opportunities in adopting such a strategy were identified. Product durability has important implication for brand value. Consumer satisfaction with products that have achieved or exceeded their anticipated lifespan should result in an emotional attachment to the brand. As pressure grows for consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and choose products designed for longer life-spans, the manufacturers who market them appropriately are most likely to be rewarded.

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Part 5

Product Use and Reuse

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14

Consumer Influences on Product Life-Spans Siân Evans and Tim Cooper

Abstract Progress towards sustainable consumption requires a better understanding of the influence of consumer behaviour on product life-spans. Attempts to increase the life-span of household products through eco-design will be ineffectual if consumers are not making full use of the utility provided by them. The study of consumer influences on product longevity is, however, in its infancy. Disposal behaviour has received some attention in the context of waste management, but the impact on product life-spans of acquisition preferences and use-related behaviour has not been addressed systematically in academic research. This chapter presents key results from research on three categories of household product: everyday footwear, large household appliances and upholstered chairs. The findings demonstrate that consumers exert considerable influence upon product life-spans and reveal substantial differences in behaviour between the three categories of product and across the different stages of consumption. A range of factors that affect consumer influences upon product life-spans are classified and used to construct a theoretical framework within which to explore these influences. This is used to identify the most significant barriers to optimizing product life-spans from a consumer perspective and propose possible solutions.

Introduction Consumerism has resulted in a substantial increase in product ownership, with alarming implications for sustainability and, specifically, waste management. In recent years growing attention has been given in public policy to the threats

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posed by household waste, but the focus of the debate has been at the lower end of the waste hierarchy, recycling and incineration, rather than waste reduction. Moreover, policy initiatives have tended to address packaging rather than consumer durables. The spotlight is usually pointed towards managing the end product, ‘waste’, rather than the processes by which it is generated, notably the behaviour of consumers through the life cycle of products from acquisition to final disposal. Lack of knowledge about these processes is one of the obstacles to waste reduction within households, as decisions made at each stage will influence the speed at which discarded products enter the waste stream. A strategy of product life-span optimization is an approach to waste reduction that has gained increased academic interest in recent years (Cooper 1994a, 2005; Van Hinte 1997; Kostecki 1998; Chalkley et al. 2003; Van Nes and Cramer 2003, 2006), although it has received negligible political attention. Debate on product life-spans can be traced back over almost 100 years (Slade 2006). It gained a high media profile in the late 1950s and early 1960s, catalysed by an apparent growth in planned obsolescence (Mayer 1959; Stewart 1959; Packard 1960), and was briefly renewed during the 1980s (OECD 1982; Papanek 1985; Giarini and Stahel 1989). Much of the debate and subsequent research has, however, focused on production aspects, implying that responsibility for obsolescence should be attributed to producers. An example has been the growth of interest in the potential for product design to reduce environmental impacts (Mackenzie 1991; Fiksel 1996; Lewis and Gertsakis 2001). This supplyside focus is reflected in current regulatory practices: environmental policy has inclined towards product-centred solutions that address the whole life cycle but, primarily, through interventions in design and manufacture (Oosterhuis et al. 1996). The responsibilities of the consumer during a product’s life cycle (i.e. the phases of acquisition, use and disposal) have received much less attention. Consumers have generally been portrayed as victims, restricted by the choices that manufacturers make available to them and by systemic constraints (Packard 1960; Kollman 1992; Heiskanen 1996). Past literature has drawn attention to the problems faced by consumers at the point of purchase such as the lack of data on product life-spans (Cooper and Mayers, 2000), the use of unreliable 



An optimal life-span may be defined as the maximum technical life-span that does not unduly compromise other environmental concerns, such as energy efficiency. There is a longstanding debate concerning whether it is environmentally beneficial to curtail the life-spans of old vehicles or appliances that are relatively inefficient in energy use. See Chapter 1 (Cooper). Planned obsolescence is a deliberate reduction in the technical life of products made during the design process in order to sustain or increase sales.

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indicators such as price to judge product quality (Rao 2005) and difficulties in calculating and comparing transaction costs during acquisition (Kollman 1992). The processes and reasoning underlying decisions by consumers that influence product life-spans, however, have not previously been researched directly and systematically. If consumers are not making full use of products’ life-spans, the barriers to behaviour that would optimize product life-spans need to be identified and addressed. In other words, demand-side solutions are needed; supply-side solutions alone such as eco-design are liable to prove ineffective. Evidence from research concerning relative obsolescence suggests that many factors influence consumers’ decisions to discard products and that this influence is complex. A synthesis of findings from these predominantly smallscale, exploratory studies, mostly concerning electrical appliances, suggests that consumers often behave in such a way during the life cycle phases as to reduce a product’s life-span (Wilkie and Dickson 1985; Stahel 1986; Uusitalo 1986; Hunkin 1988; Harrell and McConocha 1992; Mann 1992; Cooper 1994b, 2004; Cooper and Mayers 2000). This empirical evidence, although limited, seems to indicate that consumers are liable to replace functional products in response to fashion and new technology, are price sensitive (even at the expense of quality) and have lowered their expectations of product life-spans. Other influences include the relatively low cost of replacement products in comparison to repair (Consumers International 1998; Cooper 2006), harried lifestyles and time famine that result in reduced maintenance (Schor 1992; Kostecki 1998) and a desire for periodical change in their possessions (Campbell 1992; Van Hinte 1997). Many people evidently fail to undertake regular maintenance of products, disregard repair options or ignore opportunities for reuse that would exploit the remaining utility and residual value of products prior to final disposal. Although exploration of consumer influences upon product life-spans is in its infancy, there is a plethora of literature on consumption from various social science disciplines. Much consumer behaviour research has been driven by marketing interests and has focused on the acquisition of products, addressing search, choice and brand evaluation. In recent times the focus of consumer research has broadened to incorporate more of the consumption process in increasingly   

Transaction costs are costs (whether economic or time and effort) incurred when acquiring a product, such as searching for information and the process of shopping. Relative obsolescence is the discarding of products prior to technical failure on the basis of, for example, dissatisfaction or changing needs. These include economics, marketing, psychology, geography, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.

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complex integrative models (Ölander and Thøgersen 1995; Stern 2000; Bagozzi et al. 2002). The more mundane aspects of consumption, specifically routines of everyday product use such as care, maintenance, repair and disposal, have, by contrast, received only sporadic consideration (Nicosia and Mayer 1976; Jacoby et al. 1977; Hanson 1980; Harrell and McConocha 1992; Warde 1997; Roster 2001). Understanding consumer behaviour beyond the acquisition phase is recognized as a critical requirement in the quest for sustainable development (Jacobs and Røpke 1999; Jackson 2004) and necessitates engaging environmentally oriented research and theory more fully with the broader literature on consumption (Spaargaren and Van Vilet 2000; Stern 2000; Dolan 2002; Jackson 2005). For example, recent research has highlighted the significance of ordinary and inconspicuous consumption, revealing that consumers are often locked into prevailing patterns of consumption through convenience, habit, social norms and the institutional context (Sanne 2002; Shove 2003). In addition, the need for more integrative analysis of the consumption life cycle, incorporating acquisition, use and disposal, has been raised (Boyd and McConocha 1996; Heiskanen and Pantzar 1997; Antonides and Van Raaij 1998; Bagozzi et al. 2002). Incomplete knowledge of the consumption process as a whole inhibits understanding of underlying meanings and motives of consumer behaviour. If strategies for life-span optimization are to be pursued as a means to achieve sustainable consumption and thereby reduce waste, a fuller understanding of consumer influences on product life-spans is vital. In this chapter the key results from an explorative study (Evans 2005) are presented, a theoretical framework for addressing consumer influences upon product life-spans is proposed, and data from the study are used to identify the most significant barriers to achieving optimal life-spans and discuss implications for waste policy.

Framework for Exploring Consumer Influences Consumers have a critical role in determining product longevity. Knowledge of the determinants of consumer behaviour that influence product life-spans is a prerequisite if coherent strategies for life-span optimization are to be developed. In the absence of any comprehensive classification of activities undertaken by consumers that might influence product life-spans, the first phase of the research involved identifying and categorizing factors affecting this behaviour (i.e. creating a taxonomy) and assimilating them into a new conceptual framework.

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This provided a basis for effective data collection and analysis and exploration of the factors affecting different consumption patterns. The first stage of formulating a taxonomy and creating a framework involved reviewing past literature and identifying relevant consumer activities. This drew particularly on waste research, as this had resulted in taxonomies of disposal behaviour (Hanson 1980; Box 1983), together with resource-based strategies for product life extension (Conn 1977; DeBell and Dardis 1979; Granzin and Olsen 1991; Pickett et al. 1993; Cooper 1994a; Heiskanen 1996) and marketing literature (Kostecki 1998). The marketing literature consulted included research on the replacement decision (e.g. Bayus 1988), although the primary driver behind most research in this field is to understand influences upon repeat sales rather than product life-spans. It was concluded that the consumption process during successive life cycle phases would be an appropriate basis for a framework within which to structure a taxonomy of consumer influences on product life-spans (Table 14.1). Such a framework enabled consumption to be explored from an individual consumer’s perspective by following the life cycle of a product from its acquisition, through its use to, ultimately, its disposal. Several models for studying the consumption process were influential to the development of the framework, most notably the Inventory Ownership Cycle developed by Boyd and McConocha (1996). Other research examining specific aspects of the consumption process supplemented this, such as theories relating to product evaluation during the use phase (Granberg 1997; Roster 2001). The next stage of the research entailed using the various studies identified to elaborate the possible influence on product life-spans of each component in the consumption process and making further enhancements on the basis of data from a series of individual and group interviews with consumer and environmental research specialists. A taxonomy of consumer influences on product life-spans was thus created. Preparation of the conceptual framework entailed the identification and categorization of factors affecting consumer influences on product life-spans. As this provisional list of factors was incomplete and fragmented, the review was broadened to include literature that identified factors affecting other types of consumer behaviour with an environmental impact and various related systems of classification and theoretical frameworks (Ajzen 1988; Dembkowski and Hamner-Lloyd 1994; Ölander and Thøgersen 1995). The provisional list

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Table 14.1

Taxonomy of consumer influences on product life-spans

Consumption process

Components of acquisition phase

Components of use phase

Components of disposal phase

Influences on product life, by phase

Desire

Timing of acquisition (i.e. prompt)

Search

Nature of search process (e.g. impulse/ researched) Source of acquisition (e.g. new/used)

Criteria formation

Requirements prioritised (e.g. desired quality)

Moment of acquisition

Anticipated life-span of product

Usage

Commitment to product care

Storage

Modes of storage

Consultation of manual

Adherence to guidelines/instructions

Maintenance

Regularity of maintenance

Product evaluation

Anticipated future life-span/satisfaction

Product obsolescence

Commitment to repairs/alternative uses

Problem recognition

Timing of disposal (i.e. prompt)

Product assessment

Condition of discarded product

Moment of disposal

Disposal option selected

of factors thus created was then classified into three categories: personal characteristics, social/situational characteristics and product characteristics. The two elements (i.e. the components of the consumption process and the categories of factors affecting consumption) were then combined into a single framework, a simplified outline of which is presented in Figure 14.1.

Methodology The research comprised two phases: a quantitative study to provide data on current consumer influences on product life-spans and qualitative research to explore different explanations for consumption choices. Undertaken in Sheffield, the city location was considered appropriate to the exploratory nature of the study as it ensured consistency across certain key variables such as respondents’ access to markets (e.g. retailers and repairers) and disposal services. 

It was also convenient for accessing respondents in the second phase of the study.

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Factors affecting consumption Personal characteristics e.g. age, gender, attitudes, values, skills

Consumption process

Social/situational characteristics e.g. norms, financial situation

Choices/Actions during phases of • Acquisition • Use • Disposal

Product characteristics e.g. appearance, origin

Figure 14.1

Outcome Product's potential life-span

Simplified conceptual framework

An earlier study indicated that consumer behaviour relating to product life-spans may be product sensitive (Box 1983) and, as most published data on product life-spans related to a single category of products, electrical appliances (OECD 1982; Cooper and Mayers 2000), this implied limited understanding of trends and influences for other product categories. A study of a broader range of products was thus considered appropriate and three product categories were selected for investigation: large kitchen appliances, upholstered chairs and everyday footwear. The rationale for these choices included suitability to product life extension activities, environmental impact (resources, waste, toxicity), and the likelihood that most adults would have had at least some experience of acquiring, using and disposing of them. In the first stage of the investigation a postal questionnaire was sent to 3,000 households randomly selected from the city’s electoral register. This survey method gave time for recollection of past behaviour and was cost effective; it also provided anonymity, reducing the likelihood of a biased response to socially sensitive issues. The questionnaire was divided into four main sections. The first three explored buying and receiving, using and caring, and disposing of selected possessions, distinguishing each of the three product categories. Respondents’ intentions towards the life-span of each product were also addressed, as were timings of events such as purchase and disposal. This method of questioning encouraged respondents to describe real actions and intentions, while the information on timing provided a signal of 

A response rate of 24 per cent was achieved, which was considered satisfactory considering the length of the questionnaire and research topic.

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data reliability (increasing time since an event implying less reliability). The fourth section covered demographics, socio-economic status and participation in environmental activities. Appropriate statistical techniques were applied to establish whether consumers sharing similar patterns of consumption (optimizing/non-optimizing) or intentions (optimizing/non-optimizing) were influenced by particular demographic, socio-economic or environmental factors. The second stage involved 18 semi-structured interviews with respondents to the questionnaire who had agreed to participate in further research. As these sought explanations for differences in patterns of consumption and consequent variations in product life-spans, interviewees were selected who had demonstrated incongruous patterns of consumption (in terms of behaviour towards product life) in the original survey. The structure of the interviews replicated the sequencing used in the questionnaire, leading interviewees through the phases of acquisition, use and disposal with specific reference to the three product categories. The interviews were analysed using techniques that included thematic identification and mapping (Marshall and Rossman 1999).10

Key Findings The questionnaires provided new data on consumer influences on product life-spans disaggregated by different stages in the consumption process and product categories (Tables 14.2 and 14.3). This confirmed that consumers exert considerable influence upon life-spans at each stage of the consumption process. 

The data set was compiled, verified and analysed with reference to Babbie (1990) and de Vaus (1996).  The sample was characterized by a broad occupational status and even gender split (nine females and nine males). The age range of respondents was varied; however most were from middle to older age groups. 10 The research objectives were not explicitly stated on the questionnaire or at the outset of the interview. The rationale for the research was said to be interest in the household management of products. Any reference to the environment may have created a strong bias in responses, while use of technical terminology such as ‘life-span optimization’ was liable to cause confusion. While it is sometimes unethical to have a covert agenda, it is acceptable to be ‘truthful but vague’ when discussing the purpose of research with participants (Taylor and Bogdan 1984). The problem of data reliability posed by memory recall in both phases was mitigated by allowing different products within the same product category to be discussed at successive stages of consumption. Nonetheless it is acknowledged that the retrospective nature of this research may lead to results being indicative of perceived rather than actual behaviour.

consumer influences on product life-spans

Table 14.2

Acquisition

Consumer influences on product life-spans, by product Everyday footwear

Large kitchen appliances

Upholstered chairs

Majority of acquisitions (60%) prompted by factors other than product failure.

Majority of acquisitions (57%) prompted by product failure.

Majority of acquisitions (77%) prompted by factors other than product failure.

Very few items acquired second-hand (3%).

Few acquisitions secondhand (8%).

48% of acquisitions found by chance (i.e. impulse purchases).

Most purchases are purposive and involve comparison shopping (86%); a quarter (25%) involve prior research.

Product most likely to be acquired second-hand (16%).

Fashion prioritised more than quality; few prioritise long life as a ‘top three’ requirement (8%).

Use

Aesthetic requirements less important than for other products; 19% prioritise long life as a ‘top three’ requirement.

18% of acquisitions found by chance (i.e. impulse purchases). Price less important than for other products; 26% prioritise long life as a ‘top three’ requirement.

More routine cleaning than other products, but still done by minority (42%).

Product with greatest care in use; 30% try to maintain original condition.

Product most likely to be repaired by specialist (28%).

50% take measures to protect products.

19% do not follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Product least likely to be repaired by a specialist (15%).

50% of discarded products are functioning well (15%) or looking worn (35%). A further 18% are damaged, but repairable. The remaining 32% are broken beyond repair.

33% of discarded products are functioning well (14%) or looking worn (19%). A further 24% are damaged, but repairable. The remaining 43% are broken beyond repair.

80% of discarded products are functioning well (24%) or looking worn (56%). A further 8% are damaged, but repairable. The remaining 12% are broken beyond repair.

45% of owners never intended to retain shoes beyond the point they had become worn.

Majority of products discarded because no longer considered fit for use (65%).

Product most frequently discarded because it has become outdated (47%).

42% of discarded products that are still functioning go directly into the waste stream.

Product most likely to be passed on for reuse if discarded whilst still functioning (94%).

Majority indifferent to product care during use (58%); few routine cleaners (15%). Least likely product to be repaired by owners (10%). Very few had reused product for a different task (3%).

Disposal

327

Product most likely to be donated to a charity shop (25%).

Consumption patterns across each of the phases (acquisition, use and disposal) varied by product category. Large kitchen appliances appeared to be treated with greatest care across the consumption process: greatest attention was paid to their acquisition and they were more frequently maintained and rejuvenated and more likely to be kept until failure than other products.

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Table 14.3

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Summary of consumer influences, by phase of consumption

Acquisition phase •

Acquisitions of everyday footwear and upholstered chairs are often prompted by relative obsolescence rather than product failure. • Many acquisitions occur without people evaluating their existing possessions, due to impulse purchases and special offers, which leads to products being accumulated or discarded prior to failure. • Few people pro-actively seek independent product reviews or consult other sources of information prior to making acquisitions. • Most people do not consider long life expectancy (or associated attributes such as reliability and ease of maintenance) a high priority in acquisition.

Use phase • Product negligence is commonplace, especially with everyday footwear. • Most people take a haphazard approach to maintaining product quality. • Repair and other activities that rejuvenate products are rarely undertaken. • Some people who carefully maintain products do not take measures to extend their life-spans when worn or broken, while others who seek to extend life-spans at the disposal stage do not treat products with care in use.

Disposal phase • Many people discard upholstered chairs in ways that enable their continued use, but few acquire second-hand products. • Many people discard products on the grounds that they are worn, but few mitigate the process of deterioration during use.

Everyday footwear was acquired with the least attention to the anticipated lifespan and least carefully maintained. The results were used to classify people according to the influence of their consumption patterns on product life-spans (Table 14.4). The basis of classification was a scoring system which allocated points according to the extent to which people’s actions were likely to optimize the life-span of products.11 Scores were used to build consumer profiles based on classifying individual actions according to whether respondents optimized product lifespans across the three stages of the consumption process and in each of the product categories. The scoring system segmented respondents on the basis of their behaviour into three ordinal categories: ‘non-optimizing’, ‘moderately optimizing’ and ‘highly optimizing’ behaviour. These data were used to 11 The scoring system was complex. Scores were not based on a simple cumulative sum of actions, as interactions across sequences of behaviour are important. The prompt to discard (i.e. timing), the product’s condition and the chosen route combine into several permutations, some of which would optimize product life whilst others would not. The system is detailed in Evans (2005: 120–33).

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examine how consistent consumers were in their patterns of consumption between different phases (whether those who behaved in a way that optimized life-spans in one phase did so in other phases) and between different product categories (whether those who behaved in a way that optimized life-spans in one product category did so for other products). Table 14.4

Examples of behaviour, by different types of consumer Non-optimising

Moderately optimising

Highly optimising

Acquisition

Buys impulsively without prioritising characteristics associated with longevity. Susceptible to relative obsolescence.

Carries out comparative shopping and prioritises some characteristics associated with longevity. Replaces products prematurely due to changes of circumstance.

Carries out full research and prioritises longevity. Buys products following failure.

Use

Fails to clean, maintain or extend product life by repair or reuse.

Takes care; cleans reactively. Minimal activities to extend product life.

Takes great care and carries out preventive maintenance. Acts to extend product life.

Disposal

Prompted by relative obsolescence: discards functional products in good condition as rubbish.

Discards worn products as rubbish. Passes functional products on for re-use by others in response to relative obsolescence.

Not prompted by relative obsolescence: only discards products when broken or not needed. Products no longer needed are always passed on for reuse.

The results revealed considerable inconsistency in patterns of life-span optimizing behaviour between product categories and across the acquisition, use and disposal stages of consumption. Inconsistency in sustainable consumption practices has been revealed in other studies (e.g. McDonald et al. 2009). Appliances were the most optimized category, with the greatest proportion of highly optimizing respondents across acquisition, use and disposal.12 Footwear was the least optimized category during acquisition and use, with over a third of respondents exhibiting non-optimizing behaviour. Chairs were the least optimized category in disposal. Overall, the proportion of respondents displaying highly optimizing behaviour was low during acquisition13 and then increased at each consecutive 12 Appliances also had the lowest number of non-optimizing respondents (less than 20 per cent across acquisition, use and disposal). 13 Less than 15 per cent in each of the product categories.

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stage of consumption in all product categories.14 This was particularly striking for everyday footwear and large kitchen appliances, for which over three times more respondents were highly optimizing at the disposal stage15 than during acquisition or use. Analysis of individual respondent profiles reinforced evidence of inconsistency in patterns of life-span optimization, both across the consumption process and between product categories. Very few consumers (less than 2 per cent) exhibited highly optimizing behaviour towards life-spans across all three stages of consumption for any of the product categories. Even those who were highly optimizing across two of the stages were rare.16 In each of the product categories many respondents failed to exhibit highly optimizing behaviour at any stage of consumption: acquisition, use or disposal.17 This rather negative picture was reinforced by evidence that at the acquisition stage most consumers appeared uninterested in product lifespans; the same was true at the use stage, though not at the disposal stage. Many respondents (75 per cent) failed to exhibit highly optimizing behaviour in any of the three product categories during the acquisition stage; likewise at the use stage (73 per cent). By contrast, an overwhelming majority of respondents exhibited highly optimizing behaviour at the disposal stage for one or more products (85 per cent). In summary, variations in consumer behaviour across different stages of consumption and between product categories illuminate the complexity of research in this area, while the results overall reveal that, currently, few consumers behave consistently in ways that optimize product life-spans.

Factors Affecting Consumer Influence Following the questionnaire survey, interviews were undertaken and these, too, provided a rich source of data on factors affecting consumer influences on product life-spans (Table 14.5). Analysis of the data enabled factors underlying optimizing and non-optimizing behaviour to be explored. The following sub14 The only exception was that, for footwear, the proportion was unchanged at 5 per cent between the acquisition and use phases, although it increased to 53 per cent at the disposal phase. A similar trend was apparent in a recent study on clothing (Fisher et al. 2008). 15 By, for example, not throwing away products that still functioned. 16 Below 7 per cent of respondents in the case of everyday footwear and upholstered chairs. 17 In the case of upholstered chairs it was a majority of respondents.

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sections provide an overview of the three factors affecting consumer influences on product life-spans (personal, social/situational and product characteristics). It is followed by a more detailed explanation of their contribution to inconsistencies in patterns of life-span optimization within individual consumer profiles. This analysis makes use of both survey and interview data. Table 14.5

Key factors affecting consumer influence on product life-spans

Personal characteristics Age and gender Attitudes (e.g. to longevity, cleanliness and change) and intentions Values (what is important and its relative magnitude) Previous experience, non-specific (e.g. formative years) and specific (e.g. a particular event) Sense of individual control, responsibility and effectiveness Personality, nature of relationship to possessions (e.g. attachment/detachment) Intelligence, knowledge and skills (level of understanding and ability to respond) Preferences (what gives pleasure/satisfaction and what does not, e.g. shopping) Habit/ritual Task knowledge Desire (perceived needs)

Social/situational characteristics Demands of other cohabitants in the home Family circumstances (e.g. special needs, family breakdown) Financial situation Opportunity costs Popular culture Risk and time management Social norms (family and friends) Social progress (product and systems evolution)

Product characteristics Appearance Character Nature/function Origin Price Time/residual life

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Personal Characteristics Demographic data provided only a limited explanation for consumer behaviour, in both survey and interview analysis.18 The survey revealed few statistically significant relationships, although men were significantly more likely to be lifespan optimizers for everyday footwear at the acquisition and disposal stages than women. Increased age was a significant predictor of optimizing behaviour, especially during use (though the relationship was not linear through all age groups). This may be attributed to older people having more free time for maintenance and other product life extension activities. On the other hand, an elderly interviewee, Gloria, highlighted how age may restrict optimization in acquisition: ‘I see no point in spending a lot for things, not at our age.’ Psychological factors appeared more important in affecting consumer influence on product life-spans. The role of attitudes, values and intent in shaping people’s behaviour was complex, however, as seen in other environment and behaviour research (Hutton and Ahtola 1991; Ölander and Thøgersen 1995). For example, intent and behaviour were frequently incongruous, with many anomalies between product categories and across stages of the consumption process. The survey revealed that a favourable predisposition towards optimizing product life-spans did not necessarily translate into action. Exploration during the interviews suggested that translation of intent into behaviour was impeded by a combination of influences relating to motivation, opportunity and ability, as hypothesized by Ölander and Thøgersen (1995). Further adding to the complexity of the findings, many people who expressed no intention to optimize life-spans were found to practise optimizing behaviour; the motive for cleaning products (for example) may be based on aesthetics rather than maintaining functionality. The exploration of intent and behaviour also revealed that even when these were seemingly attuned, favouring life-span optimization, several interviewees experienced frustration. One, for example, stated: We end up with finding ways round using things because that bit doesn’t work properly ... You have to do that in a certain way in order to make it work … It would be much more sensible to chuck it out and buy a new one but we don’t … It does make life stupidly difficult. (Margaret) 18 Tippett et al. (1978) and Strandbakken (1997) drew a similar conclusion. By contrast, Dahl (1980) and Antonides (1990) found that household size and income influenced disposal behaviour.

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Some interviewees who rejected life-span optimization, both in their intentions and behaviour, were found to be trapped in a negative cycle in which acquisition of poor quality products led to more rapid disposal and resigned attitudes such as: ‘Well, I think we tend to be more of a throwaway world now’ (Grace). Many considered their attitudes and intentions towards product life-spans as set or permanent, demonstrated by frequent references to genes and inheritance and a predisposition to behave in a particular way. This was sometimes expressed as a conviction that they would probably act in the same way even in the event of a lottery win. The influence of pro-environmental values was examined by asking questions on involvement in environmental activities (such as energy conservation, packaging recycling and support for environmental groups) in order to discover whether respondents who undertook such activities were more likely to optimize product life-spans. The survey revealed that involvement in environmental activities appears to have little impact on patterns of behaviour that affect product life.19 In contrast, respondents who supported environmental groups were significantly more likely to intend to optimize the life-span of their products, corroborating the divergence between intent and behaviour found in previous studies of environmental behaviour. The interviews confirmed the weak translation of positive environmental attitudes into life-span optimizing behaviour. Past research has identified barriers to participation in proenvironmental behaviour such as concern that individuals cannot make a difference (Ellen et al. 1991; Schwepker and Cornwell 1991) and a confused sense of responsibility for the problem and solution (Hines et al. 1986). This is evidently still a concern. For example: There is a big problem at the moment with fridges, but I don’t think it would affect my decision to change it, if I had to, because I think, oh, one little fridge isn’t going to make that much difference – but it does, I suppose. (Richard) The interviews also substantiated claims that in many cases ordinary consumers remain unaware of the impact of their consumption on the

19 The only statistically significant relationships were that respondents who supported environmental groups were more likely to optimize the life-span of upholstered chairs during disposal and that (somewhat anomalously) those who took part in the most environmental activities were least likely to optimize the life-span of everyday footwear during disposal.

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environment (Heiskanen and Pantzar 1997). Hence, in relation to the disposal of appliances: ‘I don’t know what happens; I probably should’ (Colin). Recent research has postulated a positive relationship between emotional attachment and product life-spans (Chapman 2005). However, the interviews revealed that such attachment did not necessarily lead to optimizing behaviour. In cases where such attachment was identified, new products were no less likely to be purchased; attachment merely led to accumulation and storage of seldom used items. One interviewee (Grace) revealed that she had 80 pairs of well-loved, carefully maintained shoes. The effect of an interest in and enduring involvement with a particular category of products (Richins and Bloch 1991) was similarly found to be more complex than expected. People with greater product knowledge were identified as more likely to optimize life-spans in acquisition, but their interest in such products also made them more aware of innovations and this appeared to impede long term product satisfaction and retention. Other interviewees demonstrated less interest in acquiring possessions, took less care to prevent their visual deterioration during the use phase and were more likely to retain products until they no longer functioned, their apparent lack of interest in the product inhibiting obsolescence. Having an understanding of how to optimize product life at each stage of the consumption process and the necessary knowledge, skills and ability to carry these out had an obvious impact on life-span optimization; for example, during acquisition an ability to assess overall life cycle costs and, during use, a technical understanding that enabled repair would enable people to optimize life-spans. Thus in the interviews, an electrician (Tony), stated: ‘I like gadgets and things; if you have an interest you tend to learn a lot about them.’ People who lacked such knowledge were more suspicious of tradespeople and expressed fears of being ‘ripped off’. This supported previous research findings regarding the importance of ‘task knowledge’ in mediating intent and behaviour (Simmons and Widmar 1990; Vining and Ebreo 1990; Oskamp et al. 1991) and suggests a need to enhance practical household management skills. Several interviewees gained satisfaction relating to a sense of being in personal control and exhibiting competence from undertaking activities that extended product life-spans. For example, one interviewee (Margaret) said: ‘If the washer went wrong, no, I wouldn’t sort of scrap it and get new ... We kept the old one going, this bloke and I between us, we sort of kept it going for about nine years beyond its allotted span.’

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This is a form of motivating influence, demonstrating the importance of psychological factors to ‘reduced consumption behaviour’ (De Young 1996). In addition, the interviews provided evidence of personal satisfaction gained from helping other people by passing on products for reuse, such as interviewees giving furniture from their homes to their children for them to set up their own home, supporting the findings of earlier research into the determinants of conservation behaviour (Granzin and Olsen 1991). Finally, habits and routines in consumption were found to affect consumer influences on product life-spans. For example, an interviewee (Dennis) spoke about shopping at John Lewis for durable goods as a habit: ‘I’ve just sort of got used to using it, that’s all; it’s a pattern. Similar to going to Marks and Spencers for your underwear.’ Shops were not necessarily selected because of their reputation for product longevity, but were simply places visited habitually to acquire particular types of products. Similarly, interviewees indicated that routines during the use phase, relating to cleaning and care, were not always motivated by a desire to prolong life-spans.

Social/Situational Characteristics Social factors were identified by several interviewees as impacting upon their consumption behaviour. For some, a lack of time and need for convenience were causes of non-optimizing behaviour towards life-spans in line with trends discussed by Schor (1992). By contrast, concern about time scarcity led others to optimize product life-spans in acquisition, as a strategy to reduce overall transaction costs. Cultural expectations evidently influence product life-spans. For example, two interviewees based their rationale for optimizing life-spans on the rejection of consumerism and wishing to avoid the influence of fashion, advertising and other forms of marketing. One (John) said: ‘I do despair a bit of people spending what little money that they’ve got to, sort of, keep up with the latest fashions and then getting stuff that lasts for a few months or a few years and then slinging it.’ Another (Anita) spoke at length about her informal networks of reuse for children’s toys and clothes as a means of prolonging product lifespans and avoiding high street shopping. By contrast, a desire for change drove several other interviewees to change products that had not broken. The interviews suggested that this desire for

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discard and ‘the new’ (Van Hinte 1997; Campbell 1992) had a profound effect, causing tension between intent and behaviour. Family members also exerted considerable influence. This took the form of ongoing pressure between individuals (‘What happens is, I get badgered: “you’re not going out in those things”’ – Tony) and intergenerational effects (‘Because my mum and dad didn’t throw away anything I guess I am a bit like that’ – Richard). The first example referred not to Tony’s wife or partner but to his children, who evidently encouraged him to discard items to conform to the latest fashion or technology. Overall, the explanatory power of socio-economic factors in the survey results was weak. A rare exception was that respondents who were higher income earners,20 had a degree and owned more than one vehicle were least likely to optimize the life-span of large kitchen appliances during use, perhaps because they had limited time to organize repair work and could afford replacements. During the interviews, income was quite frequently identified as impacting upon decisions that could have a potential influence upon product life-spans. Thus in the case of George: ‘That’s what it mainly boils down to: it’s what we can afford at the time. When the washing machine broke down we more or less had to go out the same day … and get a new one. The same with the cooker.’ Other interviewees spoke about how their improved financial situation had led to greater opportunities for replacing products prior to failure. Constraints such as lack of finance and time, together with a range of social circumstances such as household structure and life stage, were frequently cited by interviewees as impeding their ability to act on an intention to optimize product life-spans. Such constraints were both real and perceived. Perceived constraints were apparent when the rationale given by the interviewee was incongruous with other information provided and in reality the individual had other priorities. For example, one interviewee (Sharon) said that she bought cheap products on the basis of her family’s modest income although it was evident from other comments that her family had a materialistic lifestyle. Another interviewee (Eric) spoke about limited time preventing him from undertaking maintenance but his other remarks suggested that he preferred to spend time pursuing hobbies. The interviews verified that cost is an important issue for many people when considering whether or not to undertake repairs, supporting research 20 Defined as an annual income in excess of £50,000 p.a.

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by Adler and Hlavacek (1976) and Cooper and Mayers (2000). The perceived cost is, however, possibly greater than the reality: data from the Office of Fair Trading (2002) suggested that 70 per cent of repair charges for electrical goods are under £50. Other factors appeared to be more relevant. Past experience of repair seemed to have a profound impact, encouraging people who had positive experiences to undertake further repair work but deterring those with negative experiences. Several interviewees mentioned the cultural influence of living in a throwaway society where repair is no longer expected. Managing risk is evidently an important driver for life-span optimizing strategies at the acquisition stage. Some interviewees indicated that taking care to acquire a reliable high quality product was worthwhile in order to minimize overall transaction costs (whether money or time). Indeed, acquisition appeared frequently to be directed as much by transaction costs as a product’s features. For example, one interviewee (Eric) said that he bought products carefully so that he had more money and time for buying and using expensive sports equipment. Risk minimization was also prevalent in the use phase: ‘If you look after something, it will look after you, won’t it?’ (Peter). On the other hand, a particular situation, the installation of a new kitchen, had prompted many interviewees to replace an freestanding large appliance on the grounds that the risk of incorporating it into the new kitchen was unacceptable because when it broke the replacement might not fit, either physically or aesthetically; new, integrated appliances were thus preferred. This could be seen as part of a broader strategy regarding property values, investment and saleability, verifying the importance of social factors in consumption decisions.

Product Characteristics Interview findings concerning the importance of the type of product to the formation of user attachment support earlier research by Martin (1998). The majority of interviewees disposed of large kitchen appliances at the time of replacement and rejected any notion of sentiment towards them. However, everyday footwear and upholstered chairs were considered by some to have aesthetic as well as functional value, and several interviewees indicated a degree of attachment to them. The interviews also suggested that the process of periodic quality evaluation over the life-span of a product may be less constant than previously thought (Granberg 1997). Products appeared to remain unnoticed; quality evaluations, when they occurred, took place purposefully. Many such evaluations were in

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response to external stimuli which were independent of the product (e.g. an advertisement or special offer for a new product) or changes in circumstance (such as a house move). For large kitchen appliances, in particular, evaluations occurred as result of a product ‘event’, such as failure or breakage. It was noticeable that acquisitions often entailed no review of satisfaction with existing products; for footwear, in particular, purchases were rarely a directly equivalent replacement, the consequence of a negative evaluation and disposal of an existing item. More research is required to understand the processes of product evaluation and dissatisfaction. Product characteristics were found to have a large impact on choices concerning disposal, as suggested by Roster (2001). Defining life-span optimization at the disposal stage proved somewhat contentious. Many interviewees regarded passing on unwanted products to others as inherently good. Some did it to appease their consciences; it seemed to release them from a sense of individual responsibility for creating waste. However, while the reuse of unwanted (but functional) products was evidently considered less wasteful than disposal, the owners were reliant on other people to need and use their waste. Only a few interviewees mentioned acquiring used products and these were all upholstered chairs which they described as ‘heirlooms’ or ‘antiques’.

Consistency in Consumption The interviews were conducted with survey respondents who had demonstrated apparent inconsistencies in behaviour towards product lifespans, in order to examine these inconsistencies in more depth and seek explanations. Analysis of the interviews exposed how substantial variations can exist within an individual’s profile, both across the acquisition, use and disposal stages of consumption and between different product categories. These are demonstrated in a table that distinguishes behaviour according to whether consumers are life-span optimizers in one or two phases of consumption (as noted earlier, a negligible proportion were optimizers in all three phases) (Table 14.6). Apparent discrepancies in interviewees’ profiles were sometimes explained by closer examination of underlying motives. For example, some interviewees indicated that they set out to buy the ‘best’, using comprehensive search techniques and demonstrating extensive product knowledge. Others said that they spent a lot of time searching for exclusive (and often expensive) products.

consumer influences on product life-spans

Table 14.6

Examples of inconsistent consumer behaviour

Life-span optimisation

One phase

Two phases

339

Examples

Acquisition only

Seeks exclusivity to impress others and demonstrate search skills. Conscious of product deterioration. Keen awareness of competitor products. Does not bother to repair.

Use only

House-proud. Driven by fashion, with desire for frequent change.

Disposal only

Conscious of waste. Poor buying decisions. Lack of concern about product aesthetics.

Acquisition and use only

Desire for long term reliability, not necessarily for environmental reasons. Aim to minimise time, effort and expense over the long term. If technology advances products are discarded even though functional.

Acquisition and disposal only

Lack of awareness of actions to extend product life in use. Disinterest in product aesthetics. Time famine. Other lifestyle priorities.

Use and disposal only

Lack of funds and/or knowledge to make ‘good’ judgements when purchasing. Constraints lead to retaining and repairing products.

A large element of their motivation appeared to be to impress other people. This desire to create a ‘right’ image extended to the use phase and consequently their products were regularly cleaned and cared for. However, their interest in product aesthetics and function also made them more conscious of the processes of deterioration and, in some cases, more aware of the availability of new products. Consequently they frequently discarded products on the grounds of superficial wear and tear, hygiene and boredom, rather than physical failure. Analysis of interviews also provided evidence that some apparent inconsistencies were the result of ignorance or a lack of awareness of the connection between certain actions and outcomes. For example, interviewees who prolonged product life-spans by repair or reuse, motivated by a dislike of waste, did not necessarily maintain their products carefully during use. Other interviewees who similarly disliked waste did not necessarily prioritize longevity in acquisition. Constraints such as poverty were also found to underlie inconsistencies. Two interviewees had profiles that appear inconsistent in terms of life-span optimization: buying the cheapest products and yet undertaking careful maintenance and often retaining items until total failure. Their behaviour

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was, however, simply driven by financial constraints which meant that they could not afford to purchase high quality products or indulge in premature replacement. People’s priorities were also implicated. For one interviewee (Eric), life-span optimization in acquisition was not followed through to optimizing behaviour in use because his pets took priority over the state of furnishings in his home: ‘I live in a house because my cats allow me to live there.’ Many interviewees were conscious of inconsistency in their decisions across the different product categories and rationalized them with little prompting. In the majority of cases they appeared more inclined to optimize the life-spans of larger, more expensive products (in line with the survey findings). Cost and risk were repeatedly cited as explanations, particularly in acquisition, the implication being that relative expense magnified the financial repercussions of errors. Care in acquiring such products was motivated by a desire to avoid expensive ‘mistakes’, whereas acquiring everyday footwear, as a lower cost item, did not present such a risk. The cost of purchase continued to exert an influence on life-span optimization during use, as did the possibility of repair in terms of cost and feasibility. Together these led to differences in behaviour between product categories. Discussing protective measures for an upholstered chair, one interviewee (Richard) said: ‘It was expensive when we bought it, so you tend to think it’s got to last a lifetime.’ By contrast, trainers were frequently cited as being both irrepairable and difficult to maintain. Indeed, several interviewees justified negligence in use on the basis that they liked footwear more after it had become worn: If you buy a new pair of trainers and they’re brilliant white, and they’re just dazzling I hate that; they’re too white, they need to be a little bit scuffed and a little bit worn – but I don’t like them when they’ve gone past a certain point. (Andrew) This links with a further factor that differed in influence depending on the product category, self-image. Several interviewees placed great importance on ensuring that their everyday footwear was in excellent condition, but the same individuals showed little passion for maintaining the condition of their upholstered chairs.

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Differences in attitudes towards large kitchen appliances and the other product categories were especially evident during the use phase. The attitude of interviewees towards appliances was generally more dispassionate, focusing on practical aspects of hygiene and cleaning. They were not considered susceptible to emotional attachment: ‘They’re just an inanimate object, aren’t they?’(Gloria). Such an attitude tended to encourage life-span optimizing behaviour in regular maintenance, but this did not necessarily extend to decisions concerning repairs or the later, disposal, stage. The interviews confirmed the survey finding that maintenance and rejuvenation behaviour are distinct: several people undertook one but not the other. This merits exploration in further research. Finally, different patterns of disposal in the three product categories were linked to product characteristics. Large kitchen appliances were rarely replaced prior to failure, being considered the least prone to new trends in fashion and style (although several interviewees said that this is changing). In the case of upholstered chairs and everyday footwear, many interviewees acknowledged the role of fashion, style or a desire for novelty or change in disposal decisions. That said, one interviewee (Dennis) retained footwear until absolute failure on the grounds that, while he liked ‘to maintain a standard’ in appearance, footwear could be downgraded to other uses, such as gardening, whereas the other products could not. The capacity of footwear for this kind of reuse, therefore, had a vital role. The interviews also revealed that there may be inconsistencies in actions towards different types of product within a product category.

Barriers to Optimizing Product Life-Spans This final section identifies the principal barriers to product life-span optimization at successive life cycle phases and some possible solutions.21 A major barrier to life-span optimization at the acquisition stage is the prevalence of a somewhat haphazard approach among consumers, only a minority of whom appeared to undertake any strategic evaluation of their needs or make a critical assessment of product quality on the basis of independent reviews prior to purchase.22 Factors underlying such behaviour included

21 Solutions are discussed in more depth in Chapter 10 (Cooper). 22 This is demonstrated by (a) the levels of impulse purchasing (footwear 51 per cent, chairs 21 per cent, appliances 10 per cent), (b) the limited number of respondents undertaking prior research (footwear 6 per cent, chairs 14 per cent, appliances 25 per cent) and (c) the high proportion of

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peoples’ inherent desire for new products, resignation to a throwaway culture, lack of funds to buy premium range products and inadequate knowledge and skills to predict life cycle costs. This lack of planning has serious implications for life-span optimization, assuming that unplanned purchases are less likely to meet long term needs and more likely to be discarded prior to failure. Moreover, prioritizing price and style over long life expectancy or characteristics associated with it, such as reliability, leads to a negative cycle, with the market signalling to suppliers that they should produce more short-lived products. Enhanced modularity in products enabling them to be upgraded could potentially accommodate people’s desire for new products and reduce the need for replacements. The provision of more information at the point of sale concerning anticipated product life-spans and advice on life cycle costs may help people to make more appropriate decisions.23 Ultimately, new systems of provision may be required that encourage durability in design and increased support to repair and maintenance,24 while self-reflective consumption (Heiskanen and Pantzar 1997) will need to be promoted in order to reduce the prevalence of impulse purchases. Life-span optimization at the use stage is clearly impeded by widespread indifference towards product maintenance and, especially, rejuvenation (particularly for everyday footwear). Few consumers made a concerted effort to retain product quality during use and repair options were frequently overlooked unless products were under guarantee. The perception of cleaning as a chore, time scarcity, the cost of repair relative to replacement, negative experiences of repair and resignation to a throwaway culture contributed to this pattern. Large proportions of footwear (over one third) and chairs (over one half) were disposed of due to wear and tear rather than because they failed to function. Again, there are considerable implications for product life-spans. Products that are not carefully maintained deteriorate at a more rapid rate and opportunities for product life extension are not utilized. As a consequence they enter the waste stream more rapidly. A cultural change in attitudes towards product maintenance needs to be achieved. Reducing the cost of labour relative to that of materials and energy might reduce the current economic disincentive

people who didn’t prioritize any requirements regarding product life expectancy (footwear 55 per cent, chairs 31 per cent, appliances 28 per cent). 23 See Chapter 12 (Cooper and Christer). 24 These may include product-service systems (Cooper and Evans 2000).

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to repair and reuse. Retailers could make the repair option more attractive through appropriate marketing and broadening their service to include easier access to reliable repair and reuse options. Optimization of life-spans at the disposal stage is hindered by decisions to discard products prior to failure. As noted above, the footwear and chairs that people discarded were often worn rather than broken, compounding a failure to optimize life-spans in acquisition and use (by, for example, buying poor quality products or not maintaining them carefully) which meant that they wore out more quickly. Influences upon such behaviour included inadequate knowledge about the waste implications, a lack of concern or sense of personal responsibility, the perceived acceptability of passing on products to others for reuse and a desire to minimize risks associated with product failure (such as being without a product between failure and replacement). Cultural change again is needed such that, as a general principle, throwing away products that still function is no longer regarded as acceptable behaviour. The design of products that ‘age with dignity’ (Van Hinte 1997) is one means of achieving such change, while the role of second-hand markets needs to be critically examined: at present, many people regard passing on products for reuse as socially acceptable, even commendable, although most would regard the acquisition of a second-hand product as rather less attractive.25 Economic inequalities create demand for such items from poorer consumers, but many nonetheless end up as waste because of the sheer volume of discarded but functional items. Overall, it appears that most people rarely think about the implications for waste in their consumption of household products such as those addressed in the study. This lack of coherent strategies by individuals to optimize product life-spans is not the result of deliberate decisions: most simply do not consider life-spans except when products fail earlier than expected. Even those who engaged in other pro-environmental activities, such as recycling, had not incorporated life cycle thinking into their consumption behaviour. Conflicting social norms26 and different lifestyle priorities are other important factors that contribute to current patterns of behaviour. Even when an awareness of environmental impacts was apparent, a lack of perceived 25 There are exceptions, of course, such as buying designer clothing from charity shops. 26 For example, the conflict between a desire for the most current fashions and a desire to be environmentally responsible.

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responsibility and effectiveness frequently inhibited a response. Campaigns to highlight the need for action at the top of the waste hierarchy, to reduce waste and not simply manage it more effectively, could mitigate such concerns. Government and industry alike need to respond. There is a case for compulsory minimum performance standards, longer guarantees and more point-of-sale information on anticipated life-spans.27 Consumers need to be made more aware of the long term consequence of products not realizing their full potential life-spans and to be encouraged to incorporate life cycle thinking into their consumption practices. More effective information and skills training on how to maintain and rejuvenate certain types of product may be necessary. The variety and complexity of factors that lead consumers to behave differently at each stage in the product life cycle and in relation to the different product categories is a further barrier to life-span optimization. The influence of price, fashion and technology suggests a need for product-specific solutions, which will have repercussions for both public policy and industry practices. A link was apparent between life-span optimization and financial resources. Some interviewees on lower incomes were unable to optimize product life-spans at the acquisition phase (and perhaps forced to at the use and disposal phases). By contrast, more affluent interviewees could optimize life-spans at the acquisition and use phases. Inequalities in opportunity and knowledge reinforced these differences. This suggests that a variety of life-span optimization strategies are required that take account of the circumstances of different social groups. Finally, acquisition decisions often appeared to be made without reference to any evaluation of existing possessions. Consequently, even when it might appear that product life-spans are being optimized, environmental impacts may be increasing due to accumulation. The role of people’s attachment to and involvement with products is an important, emerging dimension in the debate.

Conclusion This research has confirmed the importance of exploring consumer influences in the product life-span debate within the wider context of sustainable consumption. Data from the survey and interviews revealed the vital role 27 See Chapter 10 (Cooper).

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of consumers and pointed to responsibilities that complement those of producers. Clear evidence was provided that consumer behaviour across the stages of acquisition, use and disposal is such that product life-spans are often not being optimized and progress to sustainable consumption is consequently being hindered. The results thus demonstrate the importance of relative obsolescence in the determination of product life-spans and demonstrate that consumer influences must be taken into account in any government or industry strategies to increase them. The research revealed a multitude of explanations for differences in patterns of behaviour that lead to consumer-influenced variations in product life-spans. Even so, more research is required to explain the reasons why consumer behaviour is inconsistent between the different life cycle phases and why some products are treated with greater care than others. There is a need to study a broader range of products and analyse differences between products within each category. A longitudinal study might be valuable in understanding the complex process of product evaluation over time. In the meantime, evidence that decisions at early stages in the consumption process have a profound impact upon the generation of waste strengthens the argument that governments should give waste reduction at source a higher priority and address the issue of product life-spans, while the divergence in the research findings between product categories provides strong support for a product-specific approach in public policy.

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15

Product Life Cycle Management Through IT Matthew Simon

Abstract In order to achieve a life-span for products that is optimum for sustainability, the ways in which consumers use products cannot be left to chance. Producers of electrical and electronic products, the focus of this chapter, can actively intervene to educate users, persuade them to behave in a particular way, monitor products and their usage, advise consumers on positive action and receive their feedback. Such intervention is termed ‘life cycle management’ and is part of overall producer responsibility. This chapter looks at the nature of life cycle management, including its technical, economic and social aspects, describes a research project which attempted to establish some relevant principles, and draws conclusions on its future. Results from these two project trials illustrate the potential value of product life cycle information, both for understanding user behaviour and aiding repair and design.

Introduction Life cycle management of products involves the producer (i.e. the manufacturer or importer) taking an active role in the life of a product after its sale, not only for end-of-life recovery of resources but also for intervention in the way it is used and maintained. Early references to the concept of life cycle management were driven by possible recycling or reuse benefits for electrical and electronic products (Scheidt and Zong 1994; Klausner et al. 1998). Such end-of-life benefits are clearly a possibility, especially for short-life products (such as small household appliances). In general, however, the use stage in the life cycle

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is of greater importance than the end-of-life stage. Almost all energy-using products, from vehicles through large kitchen appliances to smaller electrical products, have most of their environmental impact in use (Lewis and Gertsakis 2001). There are some exceptions: mobile phones, for example, use little energy themselves compared to their base stations and networks (and to a lesser extent the chargers on standby) (Nokia 2005). Overall, though, the implications of this dominance of impact in use are that producers who are taking responsibility for the sustainability of their products should actively manage the usage impact and not simply the end-of-life phase. The energy and resource consumption of products is, however, not independent of the behaviour of users. This is evident across many classes of product, ranging from cars to refrigerators and computers. Not only is the intensity of use critical – miles driven or hours per day used – but also the habits and behaviour of users, such as the length of time a refrigerator door is left open or the product’s location in the home. The remit of a responsible producer may extend, therefore, to influencing the behaviour of users and their attitude to the product in question. The corollary of such action may be that gaining knowledge of how people use products will be of value to a manufacturer for marketing purposes or to design improved products. There is also a social angle to product life cycle management; it has the potential to change, and perhaps enhance, the relationship between manufacturer and user. Further development of these ideas raises topical issues of privacy and data security. Examples of consumer information being collected by producers are quite common. For example, most motor vehicles store data on their use which can help diagnosis of faults. A scheme by a leading UK motor insurance company, now ended, collected exact vehicle location data and charged for insurance by distance travelled, type of road and time of day. This was a rare example of a data collection system being used to influence users’ behaviour; one aim of the scheme was to dissuade young people from driving late at night, when accidents are more likely. There are many other examples in which the data collected is principally used for marketing. Supermarket loyalty cards are well known. Google’s search engine and email system target specific advertisements to users depending on the content of their searches or emails. Sky TV’s set-top boxes record viewing 

Norwich Union (2008). Pay As You Drive Insurance [online]. Accessed 16 April 2008 at http:// www.norwichunion.com/pay-as-you-drive/how-it-works.htm The scheme has now ended and the web link is no longer live.

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habits and audience figures and relay this data back to the television company by a phone line connection.

The ELIMA Project The European project described in this chapter provided a means of exploring product life cycle management and elaborating the costs and value of information acquisition, as well as addressing the issues of environmental and social impact. The partners in the project, major producers of consumer products, research organizations and universities, gained useful results on the costs and feasibility of data collection and processing. The core of the project consisted of two extended field trials of modified products, a method chosen for exploring the implications and costs of the data collection technologies. Electronic recording devices and sensors were inserted into two typical consumer products in order to collect data on how products were used. Current technology was used: long-range communication systems using the mobile phone network and short-range wireless data acquisition for downloading recorded information from products using a hand-held reader (Bodenhoefer et al. 2004; Simon et al. 2004). The full system consisted of the products, communication methods to collect data on the patterns of their use and database software to process the information gained (Figure 15.1). In the first trial, conducted by appliance manufacturer Indesit in the United Kingdom, 120 fridge-freezers of a new range were used in a field trial of a product fitted with data-recording functions integrated in its electronics. The critical parameters for refrigeration energy use are temperature inside and outside the appliance and the operation of functions such as defrost. Door opening was also recorded. Typical results from analysis of the data are shown in Figure 15.2. Correlation of door openings with total door open time revealed an average duration of 13.5 seconds and a typical range of 8 to 19 seconds. In an analysis of frequency data almost one half of users (46 per cent) were found to open their fridge-freezer doors more than 150 times a week.   

The €2.3m project, ELIMA (Environmental Life cycle Information Management and Acquisition), was funded by the EC and ran from 2001 to 2005. The research was undertaken in the UK, Germany, France and Austria. The partners are listed in the Acknowledgements (p. xiii). The wireless technology used the methods of radio frequency identification devices (RFID). RFID tags are widely used for product identification, for example in warehousing, airport baggage handling systems and, increasingly, retailing. The field trial took place in the homes of Indesit employees and their families.

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• • •

ELIMA management tools ELIMA server / database ELIMA communication systems (e.g. network, retrieval, etc)

Information Infrastructure

Component Supplier

Producer

Distributor/ Retailer

User

Maintain/ Refurbish

End-of-life treatment

Key: Products with data acquisition unit (IDU) Material Static data to database/IDU Dynamic use data to database/IDU Access by agents to database/IDU for product management

Figure 15.1

The ELIMA system

Figure 15.2

Plot of records from fridge-freezers of number and cumulative duration of door-opening events

Recycling/ Reuse

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An additional eight fridge-freezers were fitted with a mobile phone unit which transmitted very detailed operational data every four hours. These produced a large quantity of data on the products’ operation in a typical domestic environment which was useful for confirming design performance. In the second test, Cybernétix SA of France designed and built a prototype identification and data unit (IDU) to collect technical operation data from Sony’s PlayStation2 (PS2). The electronics, consisting of a sensor network, microcontroller, back-up battery and wireless communication, are shown in Figure 15.3. The recorded data included power-on time, secondary voltage, spikes, temperature, humidity, shocks, CD rotation speed and product orientation.

Figure 15.3

Image of the additional circuit board inserted into a standard Sony PS2 console

Four field trials were arranged among about 200 Sony employees in four countries (Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy) lasting between five and 11 months; overall, 1,300 months of ownership and use was recorded as dynamic data. Each trial participant supplied information such as household structure to inform the analysis.  

PS2 can be used in either a vertical or horizontal position. Dynamic data is data that is updated as more information becomes available.

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Analysis of the dynamic field trial data was aimed at supporting design, logistics, maintenance and reuse or recycling. Information on a product’s history can make repair work easier and consequently reduce maintenance costs to the benefit of customers and producers alike. For example, the data stored in a product sent for repair might indicate a defective CD drive, and also its potential cause. Based on the documented product history that is stored, such as total usage, engineers can decide whether repair, reuse of components or recycling is most appropriate. Such an approach thus has the potential to contribute towards optimizing product life-spans. The IDU system can also be of great importance for design reviews of new technologies, as it provides unbiased data on the product’s use. For example, the orientation sensor implemented into the PlayStation showed that 60 per cent of users preferred the horizontal position of their console, whereas 12 per cent favoured vertical operation, indicating that both positions are desired by the consumer.

Costs and Benefits of Information Acquisition It is difficult to anticipate at the design stage which items of data might be needed later in the product’s life. The likely usefulness of any such data has to be addressed especially carefully because the cost of building in data recording is often significant unless it can be done using existing sensors by simple modification of resident software. The fridge-freezer trial suggested that the cost of collecting data, either from appliances in the home while carrying out maintenance calls already needed to rectify faults or from circuit boards returned to the factory, is around £8 per appliance. This figure could be reduced at the expense of adding to the appliance’s production cost. At a hypothetical call-out rate of 2 per cent (the proportion of fridge-freezers that require a maintenance visit each year), the information gathered would provide a large enough sample to allow useful conclusions to be drawn on typical consumer use. For example, the 300,000 appliances built by the company during the period of the project would generate 6,000 sets of data. The daily data transmission by mobile phone technology in the pilot study incurred call charges, making it relatively expensive. In order for continuous data transfer from the fridge-freezer to become cost effective, it would be necessary for such equipment to be shared with other household

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services, such as cable television, the internet or telephone, for which a charge can more easily be made. The high quality of information gained in the fridge-freezer trial is revealed in the graph of door opening frequency and time (see Figure 15.2 on p. 354). This data is of an accuracy not obtainable by observation or by questionnaires on behaviour. In addition, a more detailed graph of temperature by the minute was obtained using data from the fridge-freezers connected by mobile phone (Figure 15.4). This more expensive option was a way of recovering extremely detailed information on the technical performance of the product, such as defrosting. It also offered incidental user behaviour data, such as a rise in temperature when food was added to the fridge-freezer. Such data helps to confirm the technical performance of the product in typical households and is potentially valuable for improving the efficiency and reliability of future designs. 30

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The usage data on the entertainment console provided information on patterns of user behaviour. Households that displayed extremes of behaviour were often more interesting than ‘average’ households: for example, the 3 per cent of users who employed their console for over two hours per day gave the best information relating to product durability. Data recovered from the

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consoles also showed how shocks, voltage variations and humidity might affect their operation or reliability. Overall, these two trials illustrated the potential value of product life cycle information, both for understanding user behaviour and aiding repair and design. Clearly the information has to have enough value to set against the cost of its collection, while taking account of the fact that future value has to be discounted to the present. This element in the calculation is highly significant, as data collected during maintenance, especially if collected soon after sale, is potentially more valuable than data collected later, at the end-of-life stage. In another element of the ELIMA project, a prototype disassembly line was constructed where decisions on reuse could be made as products (personal computers) travelled along the line. Using the product’s serial number, read wirelessly, data on the age and environmental conditions of use were recovered from a simulated manufacturer’s database and used to determine the appropriate amount of disassembly and the fate of the removed parts. Reuse of components has the potential to improve significantly the economics of recovery and recycling operations, and usage data can make a difference. Even accurate information on the date of manufacture and the bill of materials (i.e. an itemized list of components) can be valuable.

Acceptability to Users Increased information can help manufacturers to optimize the service life of products, but there is a possibility that consumers may not find the collection of information about their private behaviour acceptable. According to Olivero and Lunt (2002: 244) ‘privacy concerns in e-commerce exchanges are an emerging theme in consumer research.’ They predicted, correctly, that the rapid advances in the technologies used to collect, store and exchange consumer data will result in many new marketing opportunities and warned that these may lead consumers to be more concerned about personal privacy and less willing to disclose information. They concluded that consumers’ awareness of the market value of information and perception of privacy threats will lead to their wanting more active control over the disclosure of data. As part of the ELIMA project, a postal questionnaire was sent to randomly chosen UK households to explore attitudes towards automatic data collection by products. A total of 365 questionnaires were returned and these were followed up by 12 telephone interviews to confirm answers and motivation. In addition,

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users of the products under test in different countries were questioned. There were some unexpected responses. Over 80 per cent of the users wanted to know what information would be collected and how it would be obtained, while over 90 per cent wished to know more about who would have access to the information. The findings of the telephone interviews were consistent. Some of the comments indicated that if the data collection facility was properly explained at the point of sale, people would be happier with the idea of information being collected. Older age groups were most concerned. The methods of data collection also caused some unease: 40 per cent of users were unwilling for data to be collected regularly via the internet (although this technique is currently used by satellite TV providers, as noted earlier). As to the application of the information, over 80 per cent of users agreed with it being utilized for improving designs and increasing recycling. In telephone discussions, people were more in favour of data being collected if they felt that it would be used to provide feedback on how to use the product more effectively. Only 32 per cent wanted it used for marketing related products and services, although younger consumers were less worried about this. Aware that the information was to be used for social or environmental benefit, 80 per cent of users were happy to provide it for no return; indeed, suspicion was generated if a payment or other incentive was to be offered in exchange for the information, especially amongst older consumers. There was recognition that the producer, not the consumer, would be the initial beneficiary. A typical comment on whether the data collection feature would put someone off buying a product was: If there was nothing in it for me, then yes, because I’d still be wary … again, if it told me it was overheating that would be useful. But if it was only going one way, to the manufacturer, then I would think: why should I bother providing that? Misuse of information raised concern. Over 80 per cent of users thought that the information could be used for purposes other than those claimed, or were worried about security. However, only 40 per cent of users agreed that 

As there was a bias in responses towards older consumers (only 7 per cent of respondents were under 25 and 57 per cent were 45 and over) the effect of age was tested in analysing the results.

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this type of information collection constitutes an invasion of privacy, showing, perhaps, that the technology is viewed with a sense of proportion. A typical response about application of the information was: I suppose the question is: would that information ever be made available to invasive authorities, i.e. the Government? If any of that information started to go that way I would object. If it simply went to manufacturers to improve their product, I’d have no problem. Evidently there are concerns from consumers about the possible misuse of information that active product life cycle management may permit, but they are generally trusting of manufacturers’ motives. There is little of direct benefit to consumers, however, which they realize. This finding correlates with other international research. Duce (2003) made a study of public reaction to the concept of RFID-enabled electronic product codes and found that consumers’ attitudes to the use of such technology in the retail environment were initially neutral; they could see the benefit to business but not to themselves. Her subjects felt that they had little choice, however, and were concerned about possible abuse. Other surveys of the use of RFID in retail have shown a public willingness to embrace the technology for benefits such as crime reduction and security, but have also revealed concerns over privacy that threaten to overshadow these benefits (CapGemini 2005). In summary, the surveys highlighted the importance of marketing the concept of a data collection facility to consumers. A clear and thorough explanation of the technology and its use is crucial if consumers are going to overcome privacy fears and knowingly purchase a product containing a data collection system.

Sustainability and Product-Service Systems In order to measure the environmental impact of the ELIMA technology a limited LCA (life cycle analysis) study was carried out using carbon output as a measure. This suggested that the additional environmental impact of the electronics over the whole product life cycle was likely to be less than 1 per

 

These are effectively a type of barcode employing an RFID chip which allows a product’s identity and serial number to be verified wirelessly at a distance of, typically, a few metres. Awareness of possible negative aspects was stronger in the USA, Japan and Germany than in the UK or France.

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cent (McManus and Simon 2003). However, the impact of transport could be significant if special trips were made to collect data from products (as happened in the research project). This suggests that data collection ought to be automatic or combined with other activities, such as maintenance or end-of-life processing. Set against negative environmental impacts are potential benefits in the area of reduced resource use. For example, the knowledge gained for maintenance might avoid unnecessary part replacement or need for transport, feedback to users on their behaviour could reduce energy consumption, and at end-of-life the data stored may enable recovery of reusable parts. Finally, a greater understanding of how the product performs in real life should enable designers to create products better matched to users’ expectations. They might be more energy efficient, more resource efficient (in terms of the materials of which they are built) and designed for an optimal life-span. Any discussion about the sustainability or acceptability to consumers of products with additional information features can draw on the research into product-service systems. These have been put forward as potentially more sustainable systems of delivery based on the premise that services, since they use human labour, may consume fewer resources than products (Manzini et al. 2001). Typical examples would include a car-sharing club or the leasing of an appliance. Bhamra et al. (2001) discuss the three categories of product-service system: product-oriented (such as maintenance), user-oriented (such as leasing or sharing) and need-oriented based on selling a ‘result’ (such as heating or waste disposal). The three types respectively require increasing interaction with the user and increasingly complex organization. An example is Apple’s iPod music player, for which sales were built by good styling, an innovative and sympathetic user interface, and the key service of a linked music download site: buyers became attached to the concept of the iPod rather than a particular model, and may have upgraded several times, but the key profit for Apple has been from its music download site, iTunes. This is a good example of a product-service system, although not necessarily a sustainable one: the music is distributed without physical media, but energy is used and toxic substances are present in the iPod. Apple has recently improved its performance on the sustainability of its hardware (Greenpeace 2007). Nonetheless, the iPod product-service system may represent a missed opportunity for the company to build understanding in their customers about the benefits of sustainable product life cycles. Research does not confirm that product-service system are consistently more sustainable than traditional products. For example, using a gardening service

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may reduce the purchase of personal lawn mowers and similar products but the service provider uses energy and resources in driving to people’s homes. There is a strong tendency for product-service systems to be transport-intensive in this way. It is interesting to consider the ELIMA system as a product-service system, as doing so throws light on the changed relationship between producer and consumer. The ELIMA prototype represents a strongly product-oriented product-service system, designed as a technological solution to an environmental problem and containing electronics and a means of communication with the manufacturer but no particular features for user-manufacturer interaction. It is not ‘human-centred’ and so does not exploit the creative potential of human interaction. In such systems the manufacturer may attempt to retain control of products and the ways in which they are used, and to hide information from users. They may also address only the environmental aspect of sustainability. By contrast, at the other end of the product-service spectrum are needoriented systems. These require openness about their modes of operation and communication and thus could be considered more democratic. They also address the social aspect of sustainability and carry greater potential for changing user behaviour. In order to avoid ‘big brother’ concerns, however, these systems require complete user co-operation, an example being the home energy use monitors now offered by some electricity utility companies to consumers.

Potential Net Benefits The technology employed in this research project provided good quality data, reliably, on the operation of the products and on user behaviour. But what are the potential net benefits to be gained from actively managing the life cycles of products, as described above, and what effects might such management have on design, business strategies, sustainability, product longevity and user behaviour? Product designs are consistently moving in the direction of more electronic content and more sophisticated control systems. For any product that already contains a microprocessor, adding data recording features will be relatively cheap and can be expected more often, sometimes combined with communication facilities such as a RFID system.

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Benefits for producers are possible in many areas: manufacture, logistics, maintenance, refurbishment and end-of-life. Adding data collection features to products in special situations, such as pre-launch trials, may often be worthwhile. Feedback of the information to design and marketing teams could be valuable, at least if the timing is right. The volume of data collected by systems of the type described may be substantial if every product in a massproduced series (such as washing machines) is fitted with recording devices which send back data. Although the cost of storage is low, the cost of processing the data into useful information is higher, since it requires human intervention and sophisticated software (such as data mining systems). The cost of data collection (by a maintenance technician equipped with a laptop, for example) is to be also significant. Decisions on what information is sought thus need to be made carefully. All costs must be offset by the value of the information gained, bearing in mind that as the product ages the value to the producer of information on its use declines. Future data requirements are harder to predict for products with a relatively long life-span, such as large domestic appliances or vehicles. This implies that the inclusion of data recording features in such products has diminishing value as they get older, and that using the information gained to extend their life-spans is less likely than using it to improve efficiency, or in maintenance. However, a number of domestic products are already produced with future upgrading anticipated, usually by changing software or control systems; Miele washing machines are an example. Data recording and communication features can play a part in optimising such upgrades. Life cycle management is important to optimize the overall sustainability of products, especially those that consume energy and resources during their lifetime (so-called ‘active’ products).10 In the case of other, ‘passive’, products (such as furniture and clothing) the optimum life-span is as long as possible and the life cycle management techniques described are less relevant, although in some cases they may in future gain electronics (such as ‘smart’ training shoes to monitor athletes’ exercise or jackets containing controls for personal music players). The best way to manage the life cycles of most passive products is not by making them more complex, however, but building a better producer/user relationship.11

10 The technology is likely to be extended to buildings as well as their contents. 11 See Chapter 5 (Van Nes).

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Conclusion As significant net environmental benefits are possible, product life cycle management should become one of the tools used by companies to meet their producer responsibility obligations and achieve their sustainability objectives. The trials illustrated the potential value of product life cycle information, both for understanding user behaviour and aiding repair and design. In order for product life cycle management to become widespread, however, a valid business model must exist that enables benefits for both producer and consumer. In other words, a product-service system is needed which provides information to the producer (the value of which exceeds the cost) while offering consumers services that they will value in exchange for their cooperation (such as special features, software upgrades, advice on saving energy or increased product life). At present, such a model does not exist for collecting life cycle data in appliances, although various forms of product-service system operate in other markets (Behrendt et al. 2003). A greater understanding of how the product performs in real life should enable designers to create products with optimal life-spans. These will in most cases increase product longevity; it is unlikely that the effect of product life cycle management will be to shorten the life-span of a product, although it could happen exceptionally if a producer recommends replacement because newer versions are more energy-efficient. It is also possible, however, that companies will continue to promote new technology to users for short term marketing gain, as is common in the mobile phone market (a market distorted, in the UK at least, by service providers giving away new handsets to users in exchange for their loyalty). The research has shown clearly that many consumers see data collection as a technology with potential risks to privacy, although providing them with detailed information about the services offered in exchange for data, as described above, can overcome many of the barriers. Simply improving communication between producer and user, in both directions, will be beneficial. At a time when society seems to be moving towards increased consumption of cheaper and shorter lived products it may seem to be swimming against the tide to propose a closer relationship between the product, its user and the manufacturer, but consumers already display much more loyalty to brands than to retailers. Building the product/user relationship will enable consumers to be informed

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about the producer’s life cycle management strategy and may result in greater emotional attachment to the product. In an ideal future, consumers will be educated, advised and encouraged to ‘good’ sustainable behaviour by producers who will themselves benefit by understanding them more closely. Information will pass both ways, by means of special technology or otherwise. Products will have a life cycle optimized in energy efficiency, maintenance and duration and will be recovered by the producer (or an agent) for end-of-life treatment. They will be designed with features to aid this process, whether data acquisition devices or more simple features such as economy buttons that appeal to and influence users’ behaviour. These developments are all technically feasible; it is now up to producers to move to a more sophisticated, proactive sustainability strategy that includes product life cycle management.

References BEHRENDT, S., JASCH, C., KORTMAN, J., HRAUDA, G., PFITZNER, R. and VELTE, D. (2003). Eco-Service Development: Reinventing supply and demand in the European Union. Sheffield: Greenleaf. BHAMRA, T., EVANS, S., VAN DER ZWAN, F. and COOK, M. (2001). Moving from eco-products to eco-services [online]. Journal of Design Research 1 (2). Accessed 7 July 2009 at http://www.inderscience.com/jdr/backfiles/articles/ issue2001.02/article3.html BODENHOEFER, K., SCHNEIDER, A.F.W., COCK, T., SANDS, G., ALLMAN, L., SIMON, M., CHONG, S.K., YANG, K., DELANNOY, O., CATANESE, B. and MUELLER, K. (2004). Environmental life cycle information management and acquisition: First experiences and results from field trials. Proceedings, Driving Forces for Future Electronics. Electronics Goes Green 2004+ conference, 6–8 September, Berlin, Germany. CAPGEMINI (2005). Consumer Education is Key… [online]. Press release. Accessed 10 July 2006 at http://www.capgemini.com/resources/news DUCE, H. (2003). Public Policy: Understanding public opinion [online]. Auto-ID Center executive briefing. Accessed 10 July 2006 at http://autoid.mit.edu/ whitepapers/ GREENPEACE (2007). Guide to Greener Electronics (7th edn) [online]. Accessed 17 April 2008 at http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/ press/reports/greener-electronics-ap-7.pdf

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KLAUSNER, M., GRIMM, W. and HENDRICKSON, M.C. (1998). Reuse of electric motors in consumer products: Design and analysis of an electronic data log. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2 (2), 89–102. LEWIS, H. and GERTSAKIS, J. (2001). Design + Environment. Sheffield: Greenleaf. MANZINI, E., VEZZOLI, C. and CLARKE, G. (2001). Product-service systems: Using an existing concept as a new approach to sustainability [online]. Journal of Design Research 1 (2). Accessed 7 July 2009 at http://www.inderscience. com/jdr/backfiles/articles/issue2001.02/article2.html MCMANUS, M. and SIMON, M. (2003). LCA of the ELIMA Integrated Information Management System. Environmental Assessment in the Information Society. 21st Swiss LCA Discussion Forum, SETAC/ISIE/DF, 3–4 December, Lausanne, Switzerland. NOKIA (2005). Life Cycle Environmental Impact of Mobile Phones [online]. Integrated Product Policy Pilot Project, Stage 1 Final Report. Accessed 6 June 2009 at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ipp/pdf/nokia_mobile_05_04.pdf OLIVERO, N. and LUNT, P. (2002). Privacy versus willingness to disclose in e-commerce exchanges: The effect of risk awareness on the relative role of trust and control. Journal of Economic Psychology 25, 243–62. SCHEIDT, L.-G. and ZONG, S. (1994). An approach to achieve reusability of electronic modules. In: Proceedings, IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment. IEEE, San Francisco, USA, pp. 331–36. SIMON, M., ALLMAN, L., YANG, K., COCK, T. and SCHNEIDER, A. (2004). Decision-making in product life cycle information networks. In: SAAD, S. and PERERA, T. (eds). Proceedings, Advances in Manufacturing Technology XVIII. 2nd International Conference on Manufacturing Research, 7–9 September, Sheffield, pp. 116–21.



16

There are Times and Places: Systems and Practices in the Domestic Processing and Reuse of Packaging Janet Shipton and Tom Fisher

Abstract Consumers’ interaction with packaging in their processing of domestic waste has not been extensively examined by academics, designers or local authorities. Consequently there is little understanding of how ideas, actions and objects together result in the reuse of packaging, and when and where this happens. This chapter uses the findings from a research study to examine different ways in which consumers reuse packaging in their homes and draw out the principles behind these reuse practices. These principles are then tested in practice as the basis for packaging design that may facilitate extending the life of packaging and thus reduce domestic waste.

Introduction Industry debate on the environmental impact of packaging centres on the hierarchy of initiatives to tackle waste, the three ‘R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle.



In this chapter ‘packaging’ refers to discrete objects rather than materials such as card or plastic film.

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While some ‘closed-loop’ reuse systems are well known, as in the case of milk bottles, government, retailers and designers have previously dismissed other packaging reuse as a marginal activity. Indeed although second among the three ‘R’s in the waste hierarchy, reuse has not been emphasized and has been overshadowed by recycling in terms of investment, awareness and understanding. This lack of emphasis may be a consequence of an attitude in promoting sustainable consumption which assumes that consumers are relatively passive participants in household resource efficiency strategies promoted by governments. For instance, usually only the following are classified as ‘reuse’: the collection of packaging for recycling, the ‘lateral’ reuse of objects for the same purpose by a different owner (Schiffer et al. 1981) and composting. The reuse of intact packaging items in ‘open-loop’ systems, for instance where people reuse packaging in their homes, is usually ignored. The research described in this chapter shows that open-loop reuse of packaging is significant in its own right and that a considerable amount of packaging reuse goes on in UK homes. By understanding the ways in which these actions fit with everyday life, opportunities may exist to design the potential for reuse into packaging. While some work has inspected the motivations for reuse behaviour in general (Corral-Verdugo 1996), the study discussed in this chapter has explored what consumers do with packaging in the home and identified factors affecting reuse behaviour. In so doing it has uncovered a range of potential functions for packaging objects and revealed opportunities to design these into future packaging. As packaging comprises 18 per cent of household waste (Defra 2005), facilitating its reuse has an important role in minimising waste. The research confirmed that reuse practices exist in the context of consumer concern to minimize packaging and other waste; however, the potential for design to engage with this concern is reduced due to a lack of knowledge about what consumers do with packaging once they get it home. This has not stopped some writers reviewing methods and presenting case studies for designing reusable and recycled packaging (e.g. Mackenzie 1991; Harris 1992; Cerny and Seriff 1996). However, this literature does not explore the complex relationships consumers have with packaging items in daily life and how these relationships influence whether and how packaging actually gets reused.



A ‘closed-loop’ system is one where a system of provision attempts to ensure packaging is reused for the same purpose. An ‘open-loop’ system refers to the reuse of packaging, for the same or a different purpose, outside such a system of provision.

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This chapter presents an approach to packaging reuse that seeks to work with patterns of behaviour that already exist. It takes a ‘systemic’ approach, looking at the many factors affecting consumer behaviour, and draws on principles from the sociology of consumption and archaeology (Preston 2000; Shove and Warde 2001; Gregson and Crewe 2003). It seeks to identify the temporal and spatial aspects of the processing of packaging in the home – its ‘times and places’ – drawing particularly on the work of Lucas (2002). Integrated with this is an aspiration to understand the cultural knowledge upon which individuals draw when sorting packaging for reuse or disposal and in reusing it. The empirical work on which the chapter is based has shown that this cultural knowledge draws on unspoken understandings of what is the ‘right thing’ to do – everyday ‘know-how’ – which makes itself evident through feelings; people do not necessarily reason out their actions but base them on what feels appropriate. Two concepts are helpful in making sense of the relationship between these elements of the packaging reuse phenomenon. The first is the concept of the home as a spatial entity and of individuals’ lives in it as a ‘system’, which together determine the usefulness of packaging and hence whether it is reused. This concept is outlined in terms of the function of objects by Schiffer (1999). Changes in the systems in which objects exist cause their functions to change. The second (and broader) concept is the idea of ‘social practice’. Mundane routines such as the packaging reuse observed in this study may be thought of as elements of social practices, reproduced through routinized patterns, that change when individuals are confronted with some ‘rupture’ in their usual routines (a moment at which it is not clear what they should do) (Reckwitz 2002). It may be possible to introduce such ruptures through design interventions such as those described below. The material presented below offers two (complementary) ways of ordering reuse. The first distinguishes ‘tendencies’ for reuse which are distributed on two axes. One of these draws on Goffman’s notion of the ‘front stage’ and ‘back stage’ of everyday life (Goffman 1959), while the other indicates the duration of the reuse: ‘long term’ and ‘short term’. ‘Front stage’ display is about creating self-identity through displaying knowledge of what is stylish, well designed and authentic, whereas the ‘back stage’ part of life is out of sight.



For Reckwitz (2002: 251) a social practice is, ‘A routinised type of behaviour which consists of several elements, interconnected to one another: forms of bodily activities, forms of mental activities, “things” and their use, a background knowledge in the form of understanding, know-how, states of emotion and motivational knowledge.’

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The second draws on Cummins’ idea of ‘system’ function (Cummins 1975; Preston 2000), which leads on to a discussion of the temporal and spatial dimensions of the processing of packaging. A process of speculative, usercentred packaging design is then outlined which builds on one of the most prevalent contexts for reuse that the research uncovered, the garden; this approach to design starts by understanding the context and practices into which the object being designed is intended to fit.

A Framework for Inspecting Hidden Packaging Reuse Although it appears that no work motivated by a concern for sustainability has explored domestic, open-loop packaging reuse, social geographers interested in relationships between humans and objects have studied what happens to goods that are no longer new. Gregson and Crewe (2003), in their work about products and spaces for second-hand exchange, stress how invisible such objects are; they are no longer part of the public spectacle of consumption but have entered the sphere that has been labelled ‘ordinary’ consumption (Shove and Warde 1997). The life of possessions after purchase is, also, not stable: they undergo various transformations and occupy various spaces. Gregson and Crewe (2003: 143) describe the ‘mutability’ of the value of goods and suggest that they are ‘open to cultural reinterpretation through shifts in taste and desire and through transformations in form and function through possession rituals.’ The research described in this chapter used a broadly ethnographic methodology to understand precisely how packaging undergoes these shifts in value and transformations of function. A postal survey with a sample of 30 established that packaging reuse does take place. The survey respondents described the often varied and complex ways in which they reused packaging in their homes, which contrasts with the impression given by industry and government of reuse as a marginal activity compared to recycling. All of the respondents cited at least one way in which they reused packaging and many mentioned several. However, echoing the view commonly held in the packaging industry, they perceived reuse as marginal and did not identify a positive impact on sustainability. In addition, a  

This was an opportunity sample of householders located in and near Nottingham. INCPEN (the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment) only recognizes returnable packaging systems as reuse: ‘Returnable packaging for refilling, such as drums, or home refill packaging, may provide environmental benefits […] It is of little benefit to operate return systems that fail to collect a significant proportion of packing, or have high environmental impacts’ (INCPEN 2003: 12).

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number expressed embarrassment or amusement in describing their (sometimes quirky) packaging reuse habits. It was apparent that many had rarely reflected on these activities or recognized them as reuse before. Subsequent research methods included further postal questionnaires sent to 20 households in different geographical locations in the UK and two-stage semi-structured interviews with six individuals, the second of which included design tests. The research also included ongoing opportunistic observation of individuals in the Nottingham area and ‘cupboard raids’, leading to a photographic catalogue of examples of reuse which provided rich insights into the times, places and systems into which reuse practices fit. These data suggest that reuse activity is widespread and complex. It is undertaken in a (possibly large) number of separate ‘practices’, the ‘embedded and inter-dependent practices and habits’ that Shove and Warde (1997) note are characteristic of hidden or ‘inconspicuous’ consumption.

Some Reuse Examples Several reuse examples identified through the research are shown below: a cardboard box for nappies used as a toy box (Figure 16.1), two blue glass wine bottles placed on windowsills as decorative items (Figure 16.2), a plastic bottle cut down to perform the secondary function of a cloche protecting seedlings on an allotment (Figure 16.3), and cardboard boxes consigned to storage in a shed.





Figure 16.1

Cardboard nappy box used as toy box

This group was a convenience sample recruited by the snowball approach, comprising approximately equal numbers of both genders and including a range of socio-economic groups. This sampling method was appropriate to the study, given the explorative nature of this research. ‘Design test’ refers to an elicitation technique where selected articulate participants respond to an exploratory design proposition as a way of increasing understanding of the issues behind the design itself. It has some similarities to an interview prompt, but draws more heavily on the action research tradition of practice-based research.

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The nappy box is reused in the main living areas of the home and likely not put away, since children constantly need toys. Despite a slightly tatty appearance, it occupies the ‘front stage’ of the parents’ life, on display to themselves and others. Any misgivings Figure 16.2 Glass wine bottle on display about appearance are probably put to one side since children grow out of toys and the box functions very well to hold them in the meantime. The same considerations of appearance do not apply to the boxes consigned back stage to storage in the shed. The glass bottles are being displayed solely for their appearance. They function aesthetically; their colour and shape are both likely to be important to the decision to retain and display them. Whereas these three examples have been reused intact, the bottle for the allotment has clearly been modified; it is now a ‘new’ object. In the practice of allotment gardening, its appearance may signal the ingenuity of its maker to the other gardeners; it may function in two ways: physically Figure 16.3 Plastic bottle used as cloche in garden and symbolically. Postrel (2003: 5) emphasizes the importance of the style of things in contemporary consumption; the importance of ‘look and feel’. Writing about goods as they are often considered, as spectacular items pre-purchase and not, as here, in the relative obscurity of ordinary everyday life, she stresses the importance of the conscious deployment of ‘sensory appeal’ and style. It is clear that this holds true for some sorts of reuse as well. The aesthetic and symbolic qualities of packaging, the material it is made from and the brand it may display seem to affect the likelihood of reuse depending on how they work with the taste of the individual and fit the environment, the owner’s domestic ‘system’.

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The importance of consumption for self-identity is well known and the curation of domestic interiors is a significant example of this (Dittmar 1992; Warde 1994). A person may value a particular brand because of the status it provides in his or her particular ‘system’ of interior decoration (Baudrillard 1996). The blue wine bottles suggest that the same principle can apply in reuse. Conversely, a packaging object might display a brand or graphic design deemed as unattractive or inappropriate for presenting a person’s self-identity and for this reason be consigned to the ‘back stage’ part of the home: a cupboard, shed, attic or wardrobe. People manipulate their material environments to suit their taste and their practical requirements. These examples of reuse entail packaging being ‘captured’ in a temporal and spatial process of sorting, categorizing, storing and reusing prior to disposal as waste, and point to some of the cultural knowledge that influences this process. The places that specific types of packaging can occupy in this temporal and spatial system are set out in Figure 16.4, which builds on the idea of the front stage and back stage of the home and practices of packaging

Figure 16.4

Space and time matrix

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reuse over time. Although this portrayal over-simplifies the practices that take place, and packaging objects may not occupy static positions (they move from one quadrant to another as they go into and out of storage, for instance), it demonstrates the range of reuse practices observed. The complexity of these will now be examined by considering more examples in a case study and exploring ideas concerned with function.

A Case Study: Carrier Bag Reuse Carrier bags are perhaps the most ubiquitous and most frequently reused packaging item. How they are categorised for reuse depends on three factors: their material type, appearance (in terms of the graphic design they carry) and branding. One of the interviewees in the study, Amanda, a 40-something mother of two, described her feelings towards different carrier bags by clearly distinguishing ‘nice’ or ‘posh’ bags associated with clothes shopping and carrying the brand of the store from others that are ‘flimsy’: Carrier bags – from IKEA I’ve got my little carrier bag storage thing: I shove them in that. If it’s clothes shopping with posh carrier bags I put them in a different place. I’m quite sad with carrier bags. I keep the nice carrier bags. These ‘others’ [pointing to thin supermarket carrier bags] are physically weaker: they are ‘flimsy’. The flimsy ones I’ll use for whatever and the nice carrier bags I’ll keep in a different basket and they get used for when you want to go out. ‘Nice’ carrier bags can demonstrate the status that might accrue from the owner’s consumption choices; they operate symbolically. Reusing such a bag out of the house is a form of front stage display; there is a sense in which a bag is ‘worn’ and advertises its owner’s sense of style and fashion (Figure 16.5). Amanda’s comments demonstrate the relationship between the potential for reuse (long term or short term) and the spatial organization of the home. Each type of carrier bag has its appropriate place and is assigned to it through a process of sorting and reviewing. In another example a sturdy plastic carrier bag that would have stood up to reuse for its original purpose (i.e. transporting goods) is placed in a shed, out of sight, and used to protect the blade of some gardening equipment (Figure 16.6).

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Although its physical properties made the bag functionally useful, its symbolic ‘content’ presumably made it unsuitable for display.

Figure 16.5

‘Nice’ carrier bags

These two reuse examples are quite ordinary but demonstrate that the design of a carrier bag will determine how it fits into existing practices. An element of consumer creativity is involved in determining whether or not a particular item fits; it may also draw upon cultural knowledge, as in the example of the ‘nice’ bags. This type of knowledge, accessed through feelings that tell an individual whether an object is in its ‘place’, is combined with ‘know how’ in the sturdy bag example to produce a solution to the problem of equipment rusting in a damp shed.

Creativity drawing on similar ‘know how’ is demonstrated in Figure 16.7, where a carrier bag is worn as a hat to keep off the rain. This man was caught in a rain shower while in a queue at a visitor attraction in the south of England and had seen the reuse Figure 16.6 Sturdy plastic bag used to potential in a plain, light green protect equipment carrier bag, turning it into a sort of turban. Bold or unsightly graphics may have dissuaded him from reusing the bag in such a public but relatively intimate way. Similarly, graphics were unlikely positively to affect the reuse potential of the bag because, rather than being a fashion item, it was providing an emergency function. Reuse was possible primarily because the bag could physically perform the given task of being transformed into a turban (i.e. it

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had the right properties) and because transforming it in this way was, presumably, acceptable to the individual.

Functions of Packaging It is appropriate at this point to discuss the concept of function in more detail to understand the principles that govern how an object’s function changes, since packaging items are very often reused for functions that are different from those intended Figure 16.7 Carrier bag made into a hat by their designers. The instability of function as a category is evident in the examples shown above. Exploring how consumers modify functions and how designers might be able to use this in order to promote reuse may be especially fruitful because functionality in packaging items transforms and mutates more quickly and in more complex ways than in many other objects. A simple translation from ‘functional’ to ‘non functional’, as the product is used up or removed from the packaging, does not do justice to the myriad ways in which consumers affect the functionality of packaging items. Preston (2000) compares a number of approaches to the function of objects in the study of material culture. She proposes two determinants of function: ‘causal/historical’ and ‘system’ determinants. Describing the causal function of objects as the purpose that brings them into existence, Preston suggests that our ‘justified expectation’ of a function in a particular situation implies what Millikan (1984) called a ‘proper function’. She notes that these definitions ‘relegate to limbo’ other things that they might do, other ‘performances’. She uses the example of plastic water bottles that are produced to function as containers for water. This is the proper function that the object was intended to perform and has caused an object to persist through time; plastic bottles 



She notes that, from an archaeologist’s perspective, the issue of an object’s function is vital to uncover other secrets, such as the society it belonged to and how its owner may have behaved. By contrast, the research described here sought an understanding of a society and how its people behave in order to discover potential functions for packaging and opportunities to integrate them into future designs. This definition originates from Wright (1973).

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are made for this function, not for their function as mini-cloches. Moreover, proper functions encourage us to behave in certain ways in our interactions with objects; they are normative. For example, ‘nice’ carrier bags lead us to advertise the brands they carry. This stands in contrast with the concept of ‘system’ function, originating from Cummins (1975), which focuses on what an object actually does or, as Preston puts it, is ‘disposed to do’ in its current ‘system context’. This principle accounts for evolution in an object’s functions. To use the plastic bottle example again, its system context would allow the bottle’s modification for use as a cloche in the garden (or, alternatively, as a refilled bottle for holding water to use at the gym). A variety of functions for packaging can accrue in the hands of individuals defined by the ‘systems’ that exist in their lives, some of which are shared with other people, others of which are unique to a single person. In order to bring some element of proper function into these secondary systems through design, the functions that packaging acquires need to be understood (hence the significance of the research reported here). As Preston proposes, it is useful to see proper function and system function as complementary rather than contradictory and to move from the rather abstract level of these terms to consider the particular functions of particular objects. Before considering some specific examples, however, this review of concepts of function must be extended one stage further. Building on Binford’s (1962) work describing sub-classes of material culture, Schiffer (1992) presents a typology of functions: techno-function (which equates to utilitarian or physical function), socio-function (which keys into norms of behaviour that Preston identifies as ‘social facts’10) and ideo-function (an object’s relationship to shared ‘abstract ideas, values and beliefs’). The two schemes of classification, ‘proper’ and ‘system’, interrelate.11 Each of Schiffer’s three types (techno, socio and ideo) may be either a proper function or a system function. So, for example, the branding on a carrier bag may have a proper socio-function or proper ideo-function: it will be designed to appeal to 10 Assuming that Preston seeks to indicate by ‘social fact’ phenomena that affect the behaviour of large groups of people, it is reasonable to assume that she means by them the norms of behaviour that might affect the function of objects. In the example of the bottle of water, a set of norms and assumptions about healthy behaviour and the consequent consumption of water is behind the ‘socio’ function of the bottle. 11 Preston (2000) emphasizes that system functions change with changes in systems but proper function remains in place in the face of these changes.

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consumers’ sense of themselves as social beings and this process may involve the demonstration of shared values. Both schemes are relevant to packaging reuse: a plastic bottle’s proper techno-function is to hold water, but a (refilled) bottle of water carried in public might also have a system socio-function, conferring status by indicating a fashionable concern for personal health. The graphics of snowy mountains on the bottle might provide an ideo-function by referring to the shared beliefs about nature on which fashionable concern for health draws. The wide acceptance of these ideas, and the likelihood that the bottle’s designers consciously appealed to them, makes this a ‘proper’ ideofunction. Given the sense in which the proper function of packaging is to be functionless after use, Preston’s scheme implies that part of the proper function of much disposable packaging is ‘being waste’. Thinking of waste as functional is counterintuitive (even if logically correct) and changing the function of packaging from ‘being waste’ involves the packaging being changed, temporarily at least, from its proper function (waste) to some form of reuse defined by a system function. ‘Being reused’ could be part of its proper function, too, if this possibility was designed into it (as could ‘being recycled’, or disposed of ‘properly’, for that matter).12 On the other hand, given the importance of consumers’ creativity in the reuse examples seen in the research, designing ‘proper’ reuse functions into packaging might have negative consequences if this reduced opportunities for individual creativity.13 Political interventions to reduce packaging waste can have unintended consequences related to a process identified by Preston whereby a system function, over time, becomes a proper function. For example, the removal of thin plastic carrier bags from Irish supermarkets led to an increase in the sale of bin liners and other tailormade bags (Bickerstaffe 2006). The decision to ban thin bags did not recognize their secondary function to dispose of nappies or as bin liners. If these ‘system’ secondary functions for thin bags had been seen as a latent proper function they could have been integrated into the design of new bags and thereby reduced wastage.

12 This relates to the wider debate about viewing all waste as a resource, aiming for zero waste and a cradle to cradle approach to design (McDonough and Braungart 2002). 13 Such a consequence can be inferred from Lucas’s account of the home as a waste processing system. Lucas (2002) notes that the good that consumers perceive in recycling absolves them of the guilt they might otherwise feel at the ‘disposability’ of our material culture and the amount of waste it produces, in effect encouraging wastefulness. On the other hand, to ‘design in’ reuse to packaging would not necessarily close off the potential for it to be creatively reused in other ways.

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Preston (2000: 32) notes that ‘proper functions inevitably are born out of pre-existing system functions of things’, though there are countless system functions that never become proper functions; in other words, objects are put to many uses which do not become mainstream. Reused packaging is likely always to perform what she calls ‘ongoing system functions’, its ongoing, secondary, function defined only by the setting in which it ‘works’. Such functions are invariably beyond the scope of design because they are defined by the spontaneously arising system in which the object finds itself, not by what is designed into the object. If design is to engage with system functions, they have to be captured using research such as that described here; in other words, the systems that define them have to be identified. Such design requires an understanding of the forces behind reuse practices like those uncovered by this research, which become evident in the techno-, socio- and ideo-dimensions of reused packaging. The next section outlines the features of a domestic waste system and uses interview excerpts to illustrate the techno-, socio- and ideo-functions served by reuse.

The Home as a Waste Processing Unit It is useful to think of the home as a waste processing unit, with goods going in and waste coming out, processed at different times and places according to the systems and practices specific to a particular home (Lucas 2002). The flow diagram presented here delineates the key moments when (and places where) packaging items are evaluated after they have fulfilled their primary functions of presenting, containing and delivering a product. It also points to factors that affect these evaluations, such as their remaining primary function, potential secondary function, desirability and value (Figure 16.8). Specific systems activate different sets of physical or symbolic features (i.e. material type, visual appearance and branding) in a particular packaging object (Schiffer 1999) which may prevent or facilitate secondary function. The diagram embraces the concept of the ‘twilight zone’ from Lucas’s discussion. Lucas describes households as systems that objects flow through, being ejected as waste when evaluated as useless, inessential or potentially dangerous. Although he does not discuss ‘twilight zones’ at length, he identifies them as places where waste is stored in limbo between regular use and disposal. This research study has identified two sorts of twilight zones that interrupt the immediate processing of packaging as waste in the domestic environment,

Figure 16.8

The domestic packaging process flow

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‘shrines’ and ‘rainy day’ zones (Shipton and Fisher 2003). Shrines contain objects saved for ‘sentimental’ reasons and which may therefore have socio- or ideo-functions. Rainy day zones contain objects saved for a possible further techno-function. These in-between spaces create the potential for redirection and re-circuiting of packaging within the waste processing system. As long as an item is in a twilight zone, there is a possibility that it may be reused. The diagram presents the progress of packaging in the domestic environment as it advances past moments of evaluation followed either by reuse or disposal as waste. It identifies several moments when packaging is likely to be evaluated and categorized as waste, potentially reusable, or definitely for reuse. While it does not account for all possible examples of packaging reuse, it relates the spatial, temporal, social and cultural features of the reuse practices that have been observed. As noted above, reused packaging is deployed in either the front stage or back stage of the domestic space and its life-span in the home varies from a slightly delayed progress towards the bin to an extended stay in the home. Twilight zones for packaging items that are kept because of the contents they had when in primary use, or for their potential physical function, seem to be quite different from those used for items with a socio- or ideo-function. The former, ‘rainy day’ zones are typically out of sight because such items are likely to have less aesthetic appeal and to have been kept for their potential technofunction. By contrast, the ‘shrine’ is often in the living quarters of the home, with the item on display for its aesthetic qualities.

In and Out of the Twilight Zone Comments by participants in the research study revealed some of the forces that come into play as packaging enters or leaves a twilight zone.14 These demonstrate that the objects around a reused packaging item are often influential on the decision to store or reuse it. They also make it possible to identify aspects of the social practices of which reuse is a part. Particular practices bring particular determinants to the fore and work in different ways at the moments of categorisation identified above. For example, practices of display can draw on an object’s appearance or the brand it carries, as Joyce, a 66year-old interviewee, indicated in her detailed reasoning about why she stored a pink box, that once contained toiletries, in a bedroom cupboard drawer. She 14 These formed the basis for the categorizations used in Figure 16.8.

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was able to name the medium/high status store that she had bought it from, which suggests that her ideas about that brand affected her decision to keep the box. If so, she will have drawn on cultural knowledge about the brand: it has for many years directed its marketing at middle-aged and older women. Asked what she had kept in it since saving it, she replied: Nothing. I’ve just kept the box because it is nice; I’ve kept it because I thought I might buy something and want a nice box. As in the earlier example, the word ‘nice’ here denotes a relatively high status object that is presentable. Joyce went on to explain that she had considered using the box to contain a gift for a family member; this purpose felt right to her. It could, of course, be that she likes the box so much and her emotional attachment to it is so strong that this caused her to keep it rather than reuse it. Either way, the reason for consigning it to a ‘rainy day’ twilight zone is based on a combination of techno- and socio-function. Later in the same interview, Joyce explained that she saves glass jars: … we reuse them for that [pickled onions]; not all of them, but I’ve probably got eight or nine in the garage. She offered an aesthetic rationale for choosing which jars to keep and which to throw out: I would prefer a square jar because a square jar looks nice on your windowsill with pickled onions in or something. Although she saves jars as part of the practice of onion pickling, with a techno-function in mind, this overlaps with a function that is part of the often highly aestheticized practice of caring for the home. The techno-function seems the stronger. She keeps the jars in a rainy day twilight zone primarily for this reason; her use of ‘prefer’ suggests that their appearance is sufficiently acceptable that it would not prevent her from reusing the jars, but that it is not the main reason she has them on display. In another example, aesthetic qualities were directly responsible for preventing the reuse of a packaging item. John, a 64-year-old interviewee, described how his wife saved brown paper bags for storing seeds in the garden shed, but not white ones. She categorized the white ones as less natural and therefore less appropriate for this purpose. In her ‘system’, the material and

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aesthetic qualities of the white paper bags did not permit the appropriate sociofunction and these aesthetic inadequacies overshadowed the techno-function of the white bags. The processed ‘pureness’ of white bags was, perhaps, at odds with the ‘natural’ associations of brown ones. A tin from the 1940s for OXO stock cubes demonstrates the way that functions change along with systems (Figure 16.9).15 Designed to be airtight and to advertise the manufacturer, it worked for its intended primary function of storage and marketing. The instructions printed on the side suggest it may have had a ‘proper’ secondary function as a sandwich box, or it may have been reused for some other storage purpose. As the tin would still have been relatively new after its first use, it probably maintained the function of a sandwich tin until a superior (or simply newer) product replaced it. The tin may then have been re-evaluated as functional, but in the ‘back stage’: the kitchen pantry or a garden shed or garage. These spaces would have offered new possibilities for a ‘system’ techno-function and allowed the tin to enter a back stage twilight zone where it may have remained for a long time. Perhaps years later, changes in taste meant the tin Figure 16.9 Old Oxo tin was re-evaluated based on a different set of aesthetic values than those operating when it entered the twilight zone, its value waxing and waning in a process similar to that set out by Thompson (1979). The meanings that the aesthetic and physical elements of the box have, in the present, give it different socio- and ideo-functions. It has lost the techno-function of keeping sandwiches, and is now valued for the symbolism of nostalgia and authenticity that is associated with its branding, material and design. It has gained a new function that brings it out of the back stage twilight zone and into the front stage. It is no longer a sandwich tin but a decorative item: such tins can now regularly be found at antiques fairs, in internet auctions and on display as decoration in public houses and homes.

15 This example is from one of the authors.

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Design Testing In order to understand how these research findings translate into the process of designing packaging, design work was carried out to generate prototype packaging for two products with possibilities for reuse built in. This speculative design work focused on one of the most prevalent contexts for reuse that the research uncovered, the garden. Interview participants were asked to comment on the design proposals; their responses demonstrate that there is value in a design process that starts from an understanding of the practices into which the reuse is intended to fit. The first product was a popular branded plant feed which is sold as loose crystals in a non-resealable plastic bag which is in turn packed in a carton. Once opened, the product is typically stored in its packaging in a shed or greenhouse until the contents have been used up. Interviewees provided detailed information on how they stored the product and over what timescale. They said that the contents go solid over time, because the pack is not watertight, and slugs damage it. Once opened, the product and its packaging may enter and remain in a ‘twilight zone’, perhaps for many years, while the contents go solid and useless or are devoured by the slugs. It is very unlikely that the packaging will be re-categorized and removed from the twilight zone as anything other than waste. The participants were shown realistic pictures of the new design prototype, a transparent plastic container with an air vent in the base recess, which is kept sealed until the pack is reused, and a re-closable plastic lid (Figure 16.10). Product information is printed on a removable paper label. The pack was designed with a prescribed secondary ‘proper’, long term, techno-function as a garden cloche. This function could be back stage or front stage, depending on the type of gardening practice it fits into: a flower garden might be different to a vegetable garden in this respect. Interviewees were asked to compare and comment on the two packs. John, the 64-year-old gardener, preferred the new, reusable design: The one with the reusable retail container would be an immediate seller to the gardener. The beauty about that one is that it’s got a resealable top and forget the secondary use. These bags [pointing to the existing, carton design], once you open them the contents go solid. In that [the

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Figure 16.10 First design test prototype], they wouldn’t go solid and the fact that you could use it as a miniature cloche is very appealing. He indicated that the new design was superior to the carton design for both the ‘proper’ primary function of storing the product effectively and the ‘proper’ secondary function of being a cloche. Amanda, a 40-year-old interviewee, had a similar response: The only one I’ve ever bought is the carton, but I like the other one because it’s good for keeping it in and reusing it, and the slugs won’t eat the carton. I like it because it looks substantial; you can take the top off and use it and put the top back on, and it’s obviously got a bit of an additional use for cultivating your plants, hasn’t it? Mary, a 23-year-old student, also preferred the reusable design, based on aesthetics as well as the potential techno-function: You can see the product quite well and it’s nicely embossed on the side; it’s just more aesthetically pleasing, I suppose. It looks more hardwearing as well and it looks like you can obviously use it for something not just as the package. Some of my plants have just died through frost

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and stuff so I probably would use it. It’s not so unattractive as shoving plastic bags over your plants when it’s winter. The aesthetics of the pack were evidently important to Mary, which suggests that, to her, the garden is a relatively ‘front stage’ environment. The second design test carried out involved adapting a plastic ‘blister clam pack’ of the sort often used to contain a variety of small garden or DIY objects, comprising two transparent vacuum formed components that snap together enclosing products like greenhouse fittings or cable ties, along with a piece of card printed with graphics (Figure 16.11). The new solution provides the opportunity for the individual packs to be linked together to form edging for borders in the garden.

Figure 16.11 Second design test This design was much less prescriptive in the possibilities for reuse than the first, offering the consumer more opportunities to invent ways of configuring it. By using variations in the colour and shape of the part of the pack containing the original product, opportunities exist for the design to be adapted to individuals’ needs, providing a myriad of potential secondary ‘system’ functions.

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Although this design had a less immediately positive response from many of the interviewees, John made the following comments: I would say that the idea of using it as an edging wouldn’t necessarily appeal to me, but what I do like about this is that I could perhaps put instructions in there. You could get a fair sized piece of paper in there for things like instructions and using it as a form of plant identification – that would appeal to me. John saw alternative uses for the packaging that realized its potential technofunctions. He had discussed some of his reuse activities on his allotment in the first interview and it became clear that he had little need to reuse products and packaging other than a desire to solve problems himself without resorting to purchasing a ‘tool for the job’. He described why he reused old CDs in the garden environment: I started to use them probably 5 or 6 years ago and everyone up our allotment now uses CDs for scaring birds, and this sort of thing [referring to design prototype], if you saw another gardener using it, would just take off. John could be described as a bricoleur (Lévi-Strauss 1966), someone who enjoys the challenge of creating things from nothing and does it for the satisfaction. This is characteristic of his approach to material objects in general and clearly behind his approach to packaging reuse. He seemed to get intrinsic satisfaction from finding new functions for objects and was ‘creative minded’. Although people who can be described as true bricoleurs may be relatively small in number, some level of this characteristic was observed in many interviewees in this study, possibly because packaging reuse naturally associates with a bricoleur mindset. Other interviewees were unsure of the reuse potential in this second design. Many focused on the material (vacuum formed PVC) and suggested that its aesthetic qualities and associations, its ‘character’ as a material, were inappropriate for use in the garden. Although they seemed to classify the material as unsuitable for the suggested use, alternative uses for these objects might arise through the sort of creativity evident in John’s approach. According to Gregson and Crewe (2003), individuals often select second-hand items to display their individual taste and ability to appreciate these objects. Keen reusers participating in this research seemed to want to discover the reuse

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potential in packaging themselves, perhaps to demonstrate their ingenuity or individuality. This was evident in the way that many were keen to describe ways of reusing objects that they themselves had discovered. These two design tests suggest that an over-prescriptive approach to ‘designing in’ secondary uses might be an impediment to reuse if applied indiscriminately to packaging. Even though the first design provoked more positive responses regarding suitability for reuse, the interpretation of its proper secondary use was not always as intended; participants saw other uses in the new design, such as slug protection or extended storage, as well as the intended use as a cloche. In the light of the design tests, while it may be effective to adopt a design strategy that fits packaging for specific further techno-functions in reuse, the number of consumers who would be likely to recognize and adopt these functions might always be small if the functions are very specialised. A higher frequency of reuse might result from designs that have the potential for many different further uses and can be adopted as part of a range of different practices.16 Ingram et al. (2007) note that objects can be ‘scripted’17 through their design to increase the likelihood of users doing particular things with them. Secondary techno-functions can be designed into packaging (i.e. they can be scripted for reuse), but this reuse script has to contend with the strong influence of packaging’s ‘proper’ function to end up as waste. These scripts are always ‘open’ and therefore can be subverted by consumers who find alternate uses for the item. It may be easier to design in a techno-function than an ideo- or sociofunction. For example, it may be very difficult to script a packaging object to fit into an individual’s shrine twilight zone which is defined by that individual’s biography. Finally, although it is hard to predict what brands, colours and designs will be found attractive over time (and thus fit into the front stage of 16 The consequences of banning supermarket carrier bags in Ireland seem to support this assumption. The fact that the sales of bags with specific uses increased once free bags were no longer available at the checkout demonstrates that consumers were spontaneously using the free bags for a variety of purposes. The range of possible uses is, perhaps, a consequence of the bag’s simplicity. 17 The concept of the ‘script’ comes from Akrich’s work in the study of technology and sociotechnical change. As she puts it: ‘A large part of the work of innovators is that of “inscribing” [a] vision of (or prediction about) the world in the technical content of the new object. I will call the end product of this work a “script” or a “scenario”’ (Akrich 1992: 208). Scripts can be, to a degree, ‘open’, in which case they leave room for a consumer/user to ignore or subvert them, or they can be more ‘closed’, in which case there is no alternative for the consumer/user but to comply with them. Latour (2000) describes just such a ‘closed’ script in his famous article about Berlin apartment house keys: they are designed – ‘scripted’ – in such a way as to force the resident to lock the door after them with the key.

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individuals’ lives), to the extent that design can engage with fashion by adding symbolic value to objects, it can be used to encourage packaging reuse in this type of setting.

Conclusion This chapter has examined the ways in which consumers reuse packaging in their homes and set out the temporal and spatial principles behind this practice. These principles may be developed as the basis for packaging design that facilitates reuse and thus helps to reduce domestic waste. Like other domestic objects, packaging is transformed in value and function at various moments in time and in various places. When discussing values and patterns of exchange, gifting and collecting of objects, Gregson and Crewe (2003: 142) explain: ‘Shifts in commodity value can take place in multiple directions, and de- and re-valorisation processes are contextual, subjective and unpredictable.’ The distinctive features of packaging mean that the times and places of reuse can be predicted to some extent, depending on two sets of interlocking factors: the aesthetic and symbolic qualities of the packaging and the opportunities for physical function that the packaging item provides within the system or context. While reuse will always remain to some extent unpredictable, these attributes can be manipulated in the design of an item of packaging to provide the potential for one or more of Schiffer’s types of function to come into play: techno, socio or ideo. A third factor that influences reuse is much harder to anticipate: the context or system that the packaging item will enter. Functions can be designed into packaging, including ‘proper’ secondary functions, but an item may never realize its reuse potential unless the system supports and values its secondary function. This is especially so if the packaging is to enter a shrine twilight zone. In such cases, it is often the aesthetics of packaging objects that make them fit such a system. It is hard to predict what brands, colours and designs will be found attractive in the future because changes in fashion are, by definition, arbitrary. The findings described above show that items of packaging are frequently reused for their socio- and ideo-functions, which rely on aesthetics. However, although it might be possible to predict shifts in fashion in the short

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term, attempts to design for this type of reuse in the more distant future are likely to be unsuccessful. As individuals often value items of originality and interest because they wish to display their taste and ability to appreciate such objects, to designin closed ‘proper’ secondary functions to packaging would be to ignore some key motivations for reuse: invention, creativity and the development of selfidentity. It appears that an effective way to encourage packaging reuse is to provide both aesthetic and designed-in functional qualities that ‘buy’ time by encouraging the owner to categorize the item as retaining some value after fulfilling its primary function and consign it to a twilight zone. Twilight zones are important because they redirect the object away from immediate disposal, providing time for it to regain value (perhaps through nostalgia or another sentiment) and to be distanced from its original low status function. They allow the owner the opportunity to reassess the object and consider further functions that it may offer in the ever-changing systems of the home.

Note Names of all participants in this study have been changed.

References AKRICH, M. (1992). The de-scription of technical objects. In: BIJKER, W.E. and LAW, J. (eds). Shaping Technology/Building Society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 205–24. BAUDRILLARD, J. (1996). The System of Objects. London: Verso. BICKERSTAFFE, J. (2006). In Praise of a Hidden Household Hero [online]. Accessed 12 July 2007 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4836766.stm BINFORD, L. (1962). Archaeology as anthropology. American Antiquity 28 (2), 217–25. CERNY, C. and SERIFF, S. (eds) (1996). Recycled, Re-seen: Folk art from the global scrap heap. New York: Harry N. Abrams. CORRAL-VERDUGO, V. (1996). A structural model of reuse and recycling in Mexico. Environment and Behavior 28, 665–96. CUMMINS, R. (1975). Functional analysis. Journal of Philosophy 72 (20), 741–65. DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS) (2005). The Open University Household Waste Study [online]. Accessed

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November 2007 at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/waste/ research/download/ou-fct01-20060621.pdf DITTMAR, H. (1992). The Social Psychology of Material Possessions: To have is to be. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. GOFFMAN, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. GREGSON, N. and CREWE, L. (2003). Second Hand Cultures. Oxford: Berg. HARRIS, M. (1992). 250 Ways to Reuse Packaging. Greeley, CO: Desert Island Press. INCPEN (THE INDUSTRY COUNCIL FOR PACKAGING AND THE ENVIRONMENT) (2003). Code of Practice for Optimising Packaging and Minimising Waste [online]. Accessed 10 November 2007 at http://www. incpen.org/pages/pv.asp?p=incp14 INGRAM, J., SHOVE, E. and WATSON, M. (2007). Products and practices: Selected concepts from science and technology studies and from social theories of consumption and practice. Design Issues 23 (2), 3–16. LATOUR, B. (2000). The Berlin key or how to do words with things. In: GRAVES-BROWN, P.M. (ed.). Matter, Materiality and Modern Culture. London: Routledge, pp. 10–21. LÉVI-STRAUSS, C. (1966). The Savage Mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LUCAS, G. (2002). Disposability and dispossession in the twentieth century. Journal of Material Culture 7 (1), 5–22. MACKENZIE, D. (1991). Green Design: Designing for the environment. London: Laurence King. MCDONOUGH, W. and BRAUNGART, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press. MILLIKAN, R.G. (1984). Language, Thought and Other Biological Categories. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. POSTREL, V. (2003). The Substance of Style. New York: Harper Perennial. PRESTON, B. (2000). The Functions of Things: A philosophical perspective on material culture. In: GRAVES-BROWN, P. (ed.). Matter, Materiality and Modern Culture. London: Routledge, pp. 22–49. RECKWITZ, A. (2002). Towards a theory of social practice. European Journal of Social Theory 5 (2), 243–63. SCHIFFER, M.B. (1992). Technological Perspectives on Behavioural Change. Tuscon, AZ: University of Arizona Press. SCHIFFER, M.B. (1999). The Material Life of Human Beings: Artifacts, behaviour and communication. London: Routledge.

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SCHIFFER, M.B., THEODORE, E.D. and MCCARTHY, M. (1981). Waste not, want not: An ethnoarchaeological study of reuse in Tuscon, Arizona. In: GOULD, R.A. and SCHIFFER, M.B. (eds). Modern Material Culture: the archaeology of us. New York: Academic Press, pp. 67–86. SHIPTON, J. and FISHER, T. (2003). The spontaneous re-use of packaging: Designing for creative consumption and dispossession. Proceedings, Techné: Design Wisdom. 5th European Academy of Design Conference, 28–30 April, University of Barcelona, Spain. SHOVE, E. and WARDE, A. (1997). Noticing Inconspicuous Consumption [online]. Accessed 8 December 2005 at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/sociology/esf/ inconspicuous.htm SHOVE, E. and WARDE, A. (2001). Inconspicuous consumption: The sociology of consumption, lifestyles and the environment. In: DUNLAP, R., BUTTEL, F., DICKENS, P. and GIJSWIJT, A. (eds). Sociological Theory and the Environment: Classical Foundations, Contemporary Insights. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 230–51. THOMPSON, M. (1979). Rubbish Theory: The creation and destruction of value. Oxford: Oxford University Press. WARDE, A. (1994). Consumption, identity-formation and uncertainty. Sociology 28 (4), 877–98. WRIGHT, L. (1973). Functions. Philosophical Review (82), 139–68.



17

Extending Product Life-Spans: Household Furniture and Appliance Reuse in the UK Anthony Curran

Abstract Household furniture and appliances are classified as ‘bulky waste’ in the waste management sector. This chapter provides an overview of household bulky waste disposal and reuse activities in the UK and the contribution made by furniture and appliance reuse to extending product life-spans. Using analysis based on questionnaires, interviews with local authority officers and visits to reuse organizations, the different methods for discarding bulky household items are discussed and reuse levels estimated. The potential to increase the number of items diverted for reuse is assessed; in particular, the role of furniture and appliance reuse projects in the voluntary and community sector. These capture a substantial portion of items that would otherwise be sent to landfill and forward them to people in need. The chapter highlights the social dimension to reuse. Removing items from the waste stream helps tackle the problem of increasing waste generation and extending their life-spans slows the rate of virgin resource consumption. These environmental benefits are, however, widely regarded within the sector as secondary to the social benefits to volunteers employed by reuse organizations and low income households provided with basic household items.

Introduction Among the less appealing consequences of prosperous societies are increased energy and resource use and waste generation, symptoms of a throwaway

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culture. As the general affluence of society increases, consumption rises. This includes the replacement of products still in good condition for newer models or designs, owing to people’s desire to keep up with the latest fashion or technological advance. This rise in consumption has been accompanied by an increase in waste generation, which has brought a new challenge: to find ways to tackle, in a more environmentally conscientious manner, the unwanted, yet reusable, items that would otherwise be consigned to landfill sites. This is especially apparent with discarded household furniture and appliances, the primary concern of this chapter, which are currently collected and disposed of in many areas of the UK with little or no thought to the potential for reuse. These goods are classified as ‘bulky waste’ by local authority waste managers, along with any other large or heavy items that are not disposed of in the regular refuse or recycling collection. All sectors of society are involved in the process of managing bulky items, including local authorities, private companies, the voluntary and community sector, and individuals. Their reasons vary and include having a duty to provide a public service, entrepreneurship, provision of household items to those in need and, for individuals, simply discarding items no longer wanted. Local authority waste management services for dealing with bulky items are focused on providing a service to collect and dispose of this waste in an efficient manner and, for most products, take the form of mass collection and transport to landfill (Curran et al. 2006a). They also provide Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) as places where householders can take their waste free of charge. These tend to focus on maximizing recycling rates, and systems to enable reuse are often absent or set up on a small scale in an uncoordinated manner. This chapter explains how bulky waste is discarded by UK householders and the means by which some of this ‘waste’ goes on to be reused by others. It will be seen that two contrasting meanings can be drawn from the label ‘waste’: describing the portion of discarded items that is no longer of use, and the wasted opportunity of landfilling the portion that is discarded in good condition.   

See Chapter 1 (Cooper). Run by Waste Disposal Authorities, these are known as Civic Amenity (CA) sites or, more colloquially, as the ‘dump’ or ‘tip’. As a common noun ‘waste’ is used to describe something that is no longer of use. Waste is defined in the 2006 European Directive on waste as ‘any substance or object … which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’ (Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on Waste). Applying this definition, items do not have to be of no further use to be waste; they must only be discarded or intended to be discarded.

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The Voluntary and Community Waste Sector The pattern of increasing consumption due to changing fashions and technology noted above does not seem to be linked to individual affluence but is seen across all income groups. This is apparent in the current mass popularity of non-essential products (such as decking in garden areas) and particular types of products (such as laminate flooring and leather settees). The market economy caters for all types of demand by the price mechanism so that, as an example, an affluent person may purchase a three-piece suite for £3,000 while a person on a lower income may find a product with similar functionality for £300. Free market forces, however, only regulate economic interactions between demand and supply and may not resolve social and environmental concerns. In the case of furniture and appliances, for example, market intervention is often required to ensure supply for the very poor. Many furniture and appliance reuse organizations are in operation around the UK to fulfil this requirement. Serving the substantial market for very low cost items, by means of government and external subsidies, volunteers and charitable donations, these organizations pass on (for example) second-hand three-piece suites to the single parent, unemployed person and recently homeless for as little as £30. A review of the voluntary and community waste sector in England commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently estimated its size, identified its activities and assessed its potential future role in delivering the Government’s waste strategy. It found that approximately 1,000 voluntary and community waste organizations exist, collectively reusing or recycling an estimated 500,000 tonnes of waste per annum, and that refurbishment and reuse of furniture and appliances was the most commonly undertaken activity of the sector (Williams et al. 2005). Over 2 million household items are reused annually via reuse organizations (Curran and Williams 2010), and a comparable number passed on by individuals privately by a variety of means, including internet websites and traditional charity shops (Curran et al. 2007). Redirecting furniture and appliances from the waste stream to reach people who need them extends their life-spans and thereby combats increased waste generation and slows down virgin resource consumption, helping to offset some negative effects of the throwaway society. Research in another sector has drawn similar conclusions: Woolridge et al. (2006) reported on the reuse and recycling of textiles, a waste stream with similar issues to bulky household waste. Using a streamlined life cycle analysis, their study found that recycling and reusing

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used clothing, compared to landfill, avoids the substantial environmental and energy burdens associated with the manufacture of new products and disposal of wastes, and represents a prudent use of natural resources. Recent research has described the ‘additional advantage’ that the voluntary sector can offer over a basic waste collection service: provision of furniture to low income families, promotion of citizen participation and volunteering opportunities, training for the long term unemployed, work placements for people with learning disabilities and, finally, a community building role such as encouraging interaction between diverse groups in society at reuse organization premises and when collecting and delivering donated items (Sharp and Luckin 2006). Over 300 organizations in the sector devoted to furniture and appliance reuse are members of the Furniture Reuse Network (FRN), a coordinating and advisory organization that works at a UK level on behalf of local projects and is part of the national network of groups that work to reduce social exclusion in society and assist vulnerable groups and those on low incomes.

Research into Reuse Recent research on reuse includes a study by Gregson and Crewe (2003), who used ethnographic methods to identify the dynamics of informal exchange networks for dealing with second-hand items such as car boot sales and jumble sales, an overview of the development of high street charity shops (Horne and Maddrell 2002) and an investigation of the impact of internet auction sites on exchange practices for new and used goods (Ellis and Haywood 2006). There has, however, been a general lack of research in this sector. This chapter summarizes findings from research into the disparity between the current collection and management systems for household bulky items and the potential for reuse. If local authorities allowed the voluntary sector to play a bigger role in managing this waste stream, the result would be less waste and increased social benefits to local communities. Identifying the extent of household furniture and appliance reuse in the UK is also important for understanding its role in extending product life-spans. The underlying objectives of the research were to establish the methods for discarding household furniture and appliances (including current reuse), 

Such groups include homelessness organizations, housing associations and help and advice bureaus.

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assess the potential for improving reuse for each of these methods and evaluate the role of furniture and appliance reuse organizations in the voluntary and community sector. The findings presented here are based primarily on data from postal questionnaire surveys returned by 466 householders across the cities of Bath, Portsmouth and Swindon in which respondents were asked to describe what bulky items they had discarded over the previous 12-month period, the condition of the items at the time and the disposal routes used. Householders included in the survey were selected by housing type and level of deprivation in order to be representative of the population. In addition, a series of telephone interviews were conducted with 99 local authority waste management officers responsible for bulky waste, and 20 furniture and appliance reuse organizations were visited and interviewed in depth. Finally, the development manager of the FRN, Craig Anderson, provided a detailed account of the sector’s activities nationwide. Together, these sources provide the knowledge required to perform a broad, sector-wide assessment of bulky waste disposal and reuse in the UK.

Bulky Waste Management The different options for discarding household bulky items will be explored in this section, and the proportion of items (Table 17.1) discarded by each disposal route and levels of reuse estimated. As bulky items collected by local authorities constitute less than 5 per cent of total household waste (Defra 2005), it is not surprising that local authorities have, to date, focused their efforts towards reducing waste disposed of through landfill on the ‘easy win’ of mass recycling of common materials: paper, glass, metal and (sometimes) plastics. The principal distinction between this and bulky waste is that the latter often comprises products that are waste by legal definition only, not residual condition. The bulky waste stream therefore lends itself more to reuse than recycling. Although reuse is rated above recycling in

  

The research was conducted at the University of Southampton from 2005 to 2007 as part of a wider programme of research by a consortium of universities into strategies and technologies for sustainable urban waste management. Based on the national index of multiple deprivation 2004. Accessed 28 March 2006 at http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Less than 1.2 million tonnes out of a total 25.4 million tonnes across England in 2003–04 (Defra 2005).

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Table 17.1

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Methods of discarding bulky items typically resulting in disposal

Route

Route description

Council collection

Waste Collection Authorities and Unitary Authorities across the UK operate bulky waste collection services for householders. A recent study evaluating these services reported that 75% of councils charge householders, on average £18, for a bulky waste collection (Curran et al. 2006a). Upon collection the waste is deposited either at the nearest HWRC or waste transfer site, or directly to a landfill. Councils often refer residents to a voluntary/charity organisation for collection of items in good condition. A substantial number of local authority waste services are sub-contracted; Curran et al. (2006a) reported this to be the case for just over a third of bulky waste collection services.

Commercial collection / skip hire

Household bulky waste collections comparable to the local authority service are offered by the private sector, often at competitive rates. A skip may be rented for the removal of large amounts of waste; this is usually associated with renovation work, when a large volume of garden waste or DIY rubble and off-cuts are generated, little of which is suitable for re-use. This category also includes items collected by retailers and manufacturers who offer a take-back service when new items are purchased, or where items are traded-in or part-exchanged.

HWRC

These are specially-designed sites where residents can take their waste free of charge. There are just over 1,000 HWRCs in the UK, which collectively have a throughput of approximately 7.5 million tonnes of household waste per annum. They accept all household wastes including refuse, recyclables, garden waste, bulky items and textiles. Their principal aim is to maximise recycling by separating wastes by material-type; the recycling rate for HWRCs in the UK (excluding inert waste) was 28% in 2002/03 (Bridgwater et al. 2004).

Other means

This discreet option was included in the survey to identify fly-tipped items by elimination, as all other disposal options were already stated: fly-tipping is the illegal act of discarding waste in an unauthorised place. It occurs when a householder cannot or chooses not to use one of the legitimate routes for disposal.

the waste hierarchy, the practical difficulties of reusing significant amounts of material have tended to prevent local authority involvement. Data from the postal survey asking householders about their bulky waste suggest that almost 1.8 million tonnes of bulky items are discarded in England annually. An estimated 86 per cent of bulky items (by mass) were discarded using routes which are focused on disposal or recycling of waste (household waste recycling centres, council collection and commercial collection), while 14 per cent used routes that extend product life-spans through reuse (voluntary/ charity collection, donation and private sale) (Figure 17.1).10 

The European grouping of reuse networks, RREUSE (Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises), argues that the position of reuse in the waste hierarchy is across the boundary distinguishing waste management activities (disposal, recycling and energy recovery) from waste reduction/prevention activities, i.e. it can fall into both categories (RREUSE 2005). The FRN is an active and founder member of RREUSE.  These figures are based on self-reporting of householders and have not been verified; however there is no reason known to doubt their accuracy. Reported figures were scaled up to reflect the population of England. 10 The former are shaded light, mid and dark grey rather than patterned in Figure 17.1.

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Private sale 1% Donation Council Voluntary/charity 6% collection collection 15% 7% Commercial Other means collection 5% 10%

Primarily disposed of to landfill, some recycling

Further use: product life spans maximised

HWRC 56%

Figure 17.1

Source of household bulky items, by discard route (England, 2004–5)

Routes Focused on the Disposal or Recycling of Waste The most significant among these routes (shaded light, mid and dark grey in Figure 17.1) are household waste recycling centres (HWRCs), which received just over half of all bulky items (56 per cent). Previous research has explored activities undertaken at HWRCs. Williams and Alsop (2005), who investigated practices at HWRCs across England and Wales by surveying the local authorities who operate them, found that HWRCs in 73 per cent of authority areas separated materials for reuse, although for bulky items in particular the figure ranged from 34 per cent to 45 per cent. Moreover these proportions belie the true level of reuse, which is likely to be lower because an authority may have stated that it collects materials for reuse if just one site (of up to 15 in its area), may separate only a small amount of that material and, even then, the items may not be reused. A second study, the comprehensive National Assessment of Civic Amenity Sites (NACAS) identified having a system for reuse as one of the most influential factors affecting HWRC diversion rates (Bridgwater et al. 2004).11 In 130 site visits conducted for the study, 57 per cent were found to have a system for reuse, although only a portion of the items reused were 11 The diversion rate is the proportion of total household waste diverted for recycling or reuse.

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furniture or appliances.12 The NACAS report provides case studies covering the variety of methods applied to reuse items, including selling them to the public from a storage container or dedicated shop on-site and redistributing them off-site for sale by independent contractors or the voluntary/charity sector. Only 28 of the sites engaged in reuse had a system in place to measure reuse and only nine of these involved actually weighing reused items rather than rough estimation. Overall reuse tonnages (i.e. for all products, including bulky goods) ranged from negligible amounts to 4.6 per cent of annual site throughput.13 These two studies make it clear that some bulky items are diverted for reuse at HWRCs, albeit in a very inconsistent manner. They also illustrate the poor standard of recording reuse levels and why reuse levels can only be roughly estimated (Figure 17.2). Discard route Passed on privately Vol./charity collection HWRC Council collection

= Estimated

Commercial collection

current rate

Fly-tipped

= 0

Figure 17.2

20

40

60

80

Range of potential

100

Re-use rate (%)

Reuse rates for household bulky items, by discard route

One quarter of discarded bulky items are estimated to be collected by local authority bulky waste collection services (15 per cent) or similar, commercially run, operations (10 per cent); this includes house clearance and skip-hire for the removal of large numbers of items. These services are waste-oriented and tend to prioritize economy and efficiency over product or material recovery, as demonstrated by a previous study (Curran et al. 2006a) which found that many local authorities collect bulky items in compacting vehicles and require 12 Other materials commonly diverted for reuse were small items, including textiles, books, toys and paint. 13 The 4.6 per cent reuse rate is based on ‘guestimated’ figures from the HWRCs. The highest performing HWRC of six exemplar case studies which recorded exact tonnages had a somewhat lower reuse rate of 2.2 per cent (equating to 10.5 per cent reuse, the bulky waste portion).

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residents to place items outdoors, regardless of weather conditions, for ease of collection. Such collection procedures eliminate any value in the items being discarded, thus preventing reuse. A related study continued this earlier investigation by interviewing waste management officers by telephone in 48 local authorities to determine current and potential reuse and recycling levels for bulky waste (Curran et al. 2006b). This revealed that in 53 per cent of authorities a compacting refuse collection vehicle was used to collect some or all household bulky items, precluding reuse or recycling. Many authorities (some 39 per cent of the sample) collected all bulky items together and deposited them direct to a landfill site or incinerator. An alternative method (in place in only 23 per cent of authorities) made separate collections in non-compacting refuse collection vehicles, depending on the type of product, thus allowing identification of reusable items and recycling of non-reusable metals and wood. The use of non-compacting vehicles for all types of bulky product and depositing them at a council depot or HWRC, thus enabling reuse, was reported by only one in six authorities, 17 per cent. The interviews also indicated that 75 per cent of local authorities do not currently reuse any bulky items, although most claimed to refer residents with reusable items to a local reuse organization. Those more directly engaged in reuse comprise 16 per cent that physically divert some individual items to such an organization and 9 per cent that divert all white goods or all bulky items to be considered for further use by a reuse organization. Reuse of council-collected bulky items is lower than those delivered by individuals to HWRCs because there is no internal system for passing on, or selling, items in reasonable condition.14 Reuse of commercially collected items (10 per cent of discarded bulky items) is lower still, due to the higher proportion of non-reusable material and use of skips.15 Fly-tipped items (the 5 per cent categorized as ‘other means’) are invariably beyond repair as most have been

14 Council collection vehicles do not take potentially reusable items to a HWRC for a number of reasons e.g. to save the cost or time involved, because the system precludes reuse (compaction vehicle or items left outdoors in inclement weather), existing long-standing agreements to transport all waste direct to landfill or transfer station, or low regard of the reuse option by council managers. 15 Reuse in the commercially collected stream is likely to be increasing in response to the WEEE Regulations (Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment) introduced after this study was conducted.

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carelessly hauled to the fly-tip spot and then left outside for an extended period until the incident is reported (Table 17.1, above).

Routes Focused on Reuse The remaining methods for discarding bulky items, accounting for the residual 14 per cent, are concerned with reuse of products rather than disposal of waste (indicated by the patterned cells in Figure 17.1 on p. 399 (Table 17.2)). It should be noted that items privately passed on (whether sold or given away), unlike those discarded through any of the other means, never actually enter the waste stream and thus have a nominal reuse rate of 100 per cent (Figure 17.2 on p. 400). Reuse organizations operating on a not-for-profit, charitable basis,16 on the other hand, intervene in the waste management sector to redirect usable household items to people who need them at low cost. Their reuse rate is very high compared with local authorities, estimated at 85 per cent from the interviews undertaken with managers of reuse organizations, as they are able to be selective in the items they accept; they only accept items that they expect to be able to pass on). Table 17.2

Methods of discarding bulky items typically resulting in further use

Route

Route description

Voluntary/charity collection

This is undertaken by some 400 furniture and appliance re-use organisations that exist across the UK.

Private sale

This route requires no intervention by a re-use organisation or local authority and all items will be used further; otherwise they would not have been purchased by the new owner. Traditional methods include second-hand shops, jumble sales, car boot sales and newspaper ads, and more modern means include internet marketplaces such as eBay.

Donation

This route requires no intervention and results in continued use of products instead of disposal. Post-war, built-to-last, heavy wood furniture used to be the traditional items in this group, passed down through generations; however these items are now more often the realm of antique shops and auctions. Low income groups in particular continue to pass on household items in this way: 26% of survey respondents from high deprivation areas gave items away, compared to only 16% of respondents living in affluent areas. Other networks for exchange or donation of items exist on varying scales, such as the internet-based Freecycle movement, which consists of thousands of localised groups covering most countries (http://www.freecycle.org). At the end of 2006 there were 441,000 Freecycle members in the UK and 2.8 million worldwide.

16 93 per cent of reuse organizations are registered charities. A small number operate as social enterprises or community businesses and as such may make short term profits but ultimately return this revenue to the local community in line with their long term objectives, which usually entail tackling poverty.

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While it is important to note that data on the routes used to discard items (Figure 17.1) and on reuse rates for each route (Figure 17.2) are only estimates, they can be combined to suggest a current overall reuse rate for discarded household bulky items of 15 per cent,17 equivalent to approximately 269,000 tonnes, across England in 2004–2005. Analysis of the postal survey data also revealed that around 86 per cent of these reused items was sourced from disposal routes based on reuse (the patterned segments): 46 per cent passed on by private sale or donation and 40 per cent from voluntary/charity collection (Figure 17.3). This is despite the fact that these routes account for just one seventh of all discarded bulky items (Figure 17.1 on p. 399). It is apparent from this analysis of management practices for household bulky waste that the reuse of discarded items is dependent not only on their condition but on the disposal route chosen by the householder. Council Commercial collection collection 2% 1% Passed on privately 46%

HWRC 11%

Voluntary/charity collection 40%

Figure 17.3

Source of all reused items, by discard route

Potential for Improving Reuse The basic premise for discarding any possession is that it is no longer of use to the owner. Where the reason is that the item is broken beyond repair or utterly worn out, then no reuse potential exists. The householders surveyed were asked for their opinions of the reuse potential of the items that they had discarded 17 This figure is based on the sum of the throughput of each disposal route multiplied by its estimated reuse rate. It is multiplied by the total of 1.8 million tonnes, cited earlier, to arrive at the estimated reuse tonnage.

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(Table 17.3). Almost 60 per cent of furniture and 50 per cent of appliances were regarded as potentially fit for further use. The ‘other items’ category, mostly waste materials such as DIY off-cuts, building rubble, bagged garden waste and old carpet, was correctly reported as having low reuse potential. The figures can be taken as maximum potential reuse rates. Estimated current reuse, 15 per cent, is thus only half way to reaching the maximum potential suggested by householders, 31 per cent. Actual reuse will, however, be limited in practice by factors relating to the disposal methods chosen. Table 17.3

Consumers’ opinions of the reuse potential of bulky waste

Category

Fit for further use? Not at all (%)

Readily reusable (%)

After repair/refurbishment (%)

Furniture

41

53

6

Appliances

51

34

15

Other items

91

8

1

Bulky waste overall

69

25

6

There are two ways to increase the rate of reuse of discarded household items, as demonstrated in Figure 17.2: improving reuse methods within the current routes used (i.e. moving through the ‘range of potential’ to the right) and redirecting items to routes with higher current reuse (i.e. higher up the vertical scale).18 The previous section identified how the level of reuse varies from zero to 100 per cent across the available routes for discarding bulky items. Each will now be considered in turn for their potential to improve reuse. The three least used routes, private donation, private sale and ‘other means’, which account for an estimated 12 per cent of discarded items (Figure 17.1), involve private individuals only and it is therefore difficult to direct changes that would increase reuse. The items that householders give away or sell are already having their life-spans extended successfully. A portion of fly-tipped items are likely to be salvageable if alternative means are used to discard them, but this is likely to be small: few people would commit an offence and risk prosecution to fly-tip items that are in a condition to be sold, given away or 18 The order of routes in Figure 17.2 may be considered a hierarchy, akin to the waste hierarchy, reflecting the higher chance of an item being reused when the chosen disposal route is further up the hierarchy.

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collected by a charity free of charge. Hence, items given away or sold are likely to be among the 25 per cent of bulky items considered readily reusable, while fly-tipped items are likely to be predominantly among the 69 per cent of bulky items that are not fit for further use (Table 17.3). The remaining routes for discarding bulky items involve interactions between the householder and the organization (whether public, private or voluntary) that takes responsibility for the discarded items. These represent opportunities for intervention to redirect items from the waste stream to people who will use them further. The two routes for discarding bulky items managed by local authorities, council collection and HWRCs, constitute by far the largest share of the total, 71 per cent (Figure 17.1) and offer the greatest potential improvements in reuse (Figure 17.2). Currently they account for only 13 per cent of total reuse (Figure 17.3). Previous estimates of potential reuse for these two waste streams (Table 17.4) largely corroborate data from householders (Table 17.3), which are in turn comparable with an earlier survey which found that one third of discarded appliances were readily reusable and a further 22 per cent ‘in need of repair’ (Cooper and Mayers 2000). Although reuse of bulky items delivered by individuals to HWRCs is greater than for those collected by councils, as noted above, research studies suggest that HWRCs have a higher reuse potential than council collections (Table 17.4), a point also identified by Network Recycling in a study for Defra (Reeve 2004).19 Table 17.4

Previous potential reuse estimates for bulky waste

Category

Council collected (%)

Taken to HWRC (%)

Hard furniture

51(1) / 69(2) (includes recycled)

82(2) (includes recycled)

Soft furniture

27(1) / 68(2)

77(2)

Appliances

30(1) / 65(2)

60(2)

19(3)

59(3)

All bulky waste (1)

= Cameron-Beaumont and Lee-Smith (2005)

(2)

= Anderson (1999)

(3)

= Community Recycling Services (2002), cited in Reeve (2004)

19 Network Recycling reported on local authority good practice assessment of bulky waste management in work was carried out under Defra’s Waste Implementation Programme. See www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/wip/index.htm (accessed 24 January 2007).

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The infrastructure requirements for an effective separation and recovery system for bulky household waste for local authorities have been considered in a regional study by consultancy firm SLR (2002). The consultants identified key requirements to maximize performance from household collections (training for frontline staff, separate collections for reusable items, and use of suitable vehicles) and HWRCs (improved site management and layout). Their report proposed ‘Bulky Items Refurbishment Centres’ to bring about the necessary improvements, including design, training and finance requirements. Improving reuse at HWRCs will involve an increase in the number of types of product collected (a management decision limited by space and manpower restrictions, or not having outlets for the diverted items) and the proportion that are successfully diverted from the waste and recycling areas to the reuse bay (largely dependent on the diligence of site staff and the direction given to them by managers). Previous research has found that reuse at HWRCs involves a larger range of bulky items than non-bulky items (such as books and shoes) and that the former are more often separated for reuse (Table 17.5). Working on assumptions that 75 per cent of reuse tonnage comprises bulky items20 and that 16 per cent of tonnage passing through HWRCs is bulky items,21 the maximum reuse rate for an individual HWRC in the NACAS report (4.6 per cent) equates to a reuse rate of bulky items of 22 per cent.22 As this falls far short of potential reuse estimates (Table 17.4), it is clear that even the best performing HWRCs have room for substantial improvements. The NACAS report also estimated that 57 per cent of HWRCs have a reuse system in place, implying that the remaining 43 per cent could reuse items discarded in ‘readily reusable’ condition (25 per cent of all items) with relatively little effort. The way in which many local authority bulky waste collection services are set up and operated is very prohibitive to reuse. As noted earlier, these services are designed to collect waste for disposal, maximising efficiency by collecting all types of items together, compacting them, and transporting them directly 20 An accurate measure of the breakdown of reused items by type in the HWRC waste stream would require a substantial new study. Research by Williams and Alsop (2005) indicated that more than 60 per cent of products commonly separated for reuse are bulky items; factoring in that bulky items are heavier than non-bulky items leads to the estimate that bulky items account for 75 per cent of all reused items (by tonnage). 21 Around 1 million tonnes of bulky items are discarded at HWRCs (56 per cent of the estimate for total bulky waste, 1.8m), which equates to 16 per cent of the total throughput of HWRCs in England, applying this to data from the NACAS study (Bridgwater et al. 2004). 22 i.e. 0.046*0.75/0.16

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Table 17.5

Items collected for reuse at HWRCs

Item

Proportion of sampled HWRCs separating each item for re-use Study 1:(1) 6 case study sites (%)

Study 2:(2) 32 local authorities reporting that re-use occurs (%)

Furniture

100

56

Electrical goods

100

59

Fridges/Freezers

17

47

Computers

100

63

Bikes

100

59

Bathroom suites

83

22

Other bulky items (e.g. radiators, lawnmowers)

50

28

Textiles/shoes

100

Not reported

Books

83

56

Bric a brac

100

22

Paint

33

31

Other non bulky items (e.g. cooking oil, flat glass windows)

50

3

BULKY ITEMS

NON BULKY ITEMS

(1)

= Bridgwater et al. (2004)

(2)

= Williams and Alsop (2005)

to the disposal point. Only a minority of local authorities, therefore, have the potential to increase reuse of the items they collect to the maximum suggested (Figure 17.2); most of the others have collection systems restrictive to reuse and find it too expensive to overhaul them to realize this potential. Similar constraints apply to profit-oriented commercial services, although the higher ‘true’ waste component of the skip-hire element of this route means that fewer reusable items are missed. The final option remaining is to redirect items to be managed higher up the hierarchy of routes (Figure 17.2). Over 60 per cent of the local authorities

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interviewed by telephone reported that they advise residents requesting the council collection service to use a local reuse organization instead if their items are in good condition. Anecdotal evidence from local authority waste management officers, however, suggests that this is not an effective strategy for diverting items for reuse: according to one officer, ‘by the time a resident contacts the council, they just want rid of the items’. It is clear from this analysis that more involvement from charitable reuse organizations is required in order for a substantial increase in reuse to occur. This is dependent on positive coordination between local authorities and these organizations, possibly including the sub-contracting of collection services to them. Without reuse organizations’ client base of people who are in need of low-cost household items, local authorities have no market for the reusable items they collect; nor do they have an infrastructure in place to repair, store and display salvaged items (in terms of facilities or low-cost labour based on volunteer help). Reuse organizations were also identified by Williams and Alsop (2005: 38–39) as having a key role to play in improving reuse at HWRCs: ‘there is considerable scope for improving the collection of materials for reuse at CA sites, although liaison with local organisations involved in similar activities will be crucial to the development of an effective service.’

Making it Happen: Furniture and Appliance Reuse Organizations The role of the furniture and appliance reuse sector will be evaluated in this final section. There are several hundred reuse organizations across the UK, offering most of the population the option to donate bulky items that are in good condition for use by others rather than have them landfilled or incinerated. These organizations operate as social enterprises or charities and have a common principal objective to benefit their local community, particularly those in need, through the provision of basic household items. The social outputs of the sector include ‘the reuse of 2.5 million items each year across the UK, assisting around 700,000 low-income households and providing training and work experience for over 8,000 trainees and 10,000 volunteers.’23 The associated environmental benefits of improving waste management and extending product life-spans are generally seen within the sector as only the means to that end.

23 Data from Furniture Re-use Network homepage. See http://www.frn.org.uk (accessed 16 January 2009).

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Most reuse organizations operate in a fairly simple manner. While there are many variations across the country, the basic requirements of all organizations can be summarized as follows:

•

labour – one manager, a small number of support staff, volunteers and (sometimes) trainees

•

premises – a warehouse or retail space for storage and display of collected items

•

vehicles – one or more 3.5 tonne box vans for collection and delivery of items.

The size of the organization is generally related to the size of the population in the area in which it operates. Dependent on the ethos of their board of directors or trustees, organizations either supply the collected furniture and appliances exclusively to people who are on low incomes at a nominal cost (or sometimes free of charge) or sell to the general public, often operating a two-tier pricing structure to enable those who can prove that they are on a low income to receive items at a reduced price. To provide a better understanding of how reuse organizations operate, two examples are presented as short case studies: Furniture Now! and Furniture Matters. Furniture Now!, based in Eastbourne, is a typical reuse organization in terms of its size and how it operates, whose core business is the collection and redistribution of donated items of furniture (Table 17.6). In Eastbourne alone 6,600 products in one year were prevented from becoming waste and had their life-spans extended through its work. The primary benefits, however, are social: the provision of basic items to 2,800 households and helping 48 volunteers in a potentially life-changing way. Such effects are repeated by hundreds of similar organizations across the country, which indicates clearly that extending the product life-spans of household furniture and appliances has much farther-reaching effects than simply improving waste management and resource use. Furniture Matters, which operates in the north-west of England, has prospered by diversifying from the traditional model of a reuse organization, being dependent

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Table 17.6

A typical reuse organization

FURNITURE NOW! EASTBOURNE

• • • • •

Furniture Now! was set up as a registered charity in 1994 to address the problems of poverty, waste and social exclusion in the local area. In 2006 Furniture Now! received approximately 6,600 household items. 94% were furniture, the remainder electrical appliances. 97% of items were resold at a basic price, averaging £12.40 per item, helping 2,800 people in need. Only the remaining 3% were sent to landfill. 48 volunteers gave almost 6,500 hours over the year. Many of the volunteers and employees received accredited training, helping some of the most socially excluded and disadvantaged people in the community back into employment and improving their confidence and self esteem.

on products donated from the public, in order to benefit the communities it serves and has taken over the council waste collection service (Table 17.7). The 40 per cent reuse rate achieved in the council-collected waste stream is approaching the limit estimated above (Figure 17.2) and exceeds the previously estimated potential (Table 17.4). The diversion of discarded items in suitable condition for reuse from disposal back into use is approaching 100 per cent. Table 17.7

An advanced reuse organization

FURNITURE MATTERS, LANCASTER AND MORECAMBE

•

• • • •

Furniture Matters is a pro-active social enterprise with roots in traditional furniture re-use. The company now tests and repairs electrical items and IT equipment, and operates nine premises in total, including substantial retail space. In 2005/06, Furniture Matters collected 20,480 items in total. 73% of items were delivered to 8,765 local people for re-use and a further 12% were recycled. Items were obtained from commercial sources such as end-of-line surpluses in addition to household donations. 143 volunteers served in 2005/06 and 46 training placements were provided. In 2006 Furniture Matters took on the bulky waste collection service on behalf of the local authority. During the first six months of operation the service achieved a 40% re-use rate, with a further 25% of items recycled.

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The case studies demonstrate the current state of the furniture and appliance reuse sector. Furniture Now! represents an average sized operation and illustrates the standard model of a reuse organization, while Furniture Matters is an example of how a reuse organization can evolve and can successfully operate a bulky waste collection service and achieve a high level of reuse. As established above, reuse organizations are the key to bringing about reuse from the discarded bulky items presently collected by local authorities and commercial waste collection services and predominantly landfilled. The Furniture Reuse Network (FRN) has produced a best practice manual outlining the requirements for bulky reuse services set up through local authority collections or HWRCs (Lee-Smith 2006). Its purpose is to enable the more effective development of partnerships between local authorities and reuse organizations, and to help ensure that the latter offer a high standard of service when collecting bulky items on behalf of local authorities for reuse. Some forward-thinking councils have already established partnerships with, or have sub-contracted work to, reuse organizations, as in the case of Furniture Matters. The social benefits can be seen by local authority councillors as ‘added value’ to the delivery of the waste collection service which commercial competitors, and the council itself, cannot provide. The furniture reuse sector has seen a steady growth since it was established in the early 1970s to approximately 400 organizations in 2009. Current dependence on short term, ad hoc grant funding, however, has meant that individual projects fail on a regular basis, and short term grant funding means that for many organizations this worry is never more than one year away. A common sentiment shared by many reuse organization managers is the need to diversify away from their core charitable principles, in order to become selfsustainable, by sourcing commercial supplies of items (rather than relying on donations alone) and bidding for longer-term contracts for local authority waste management services. The FRN has expressed an aspiration to ‘double the supply of goods to members and the number of people on low incomes benefiting’.24 Recent EU legislation such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is highly significant for the appliance sector.25

24 Craig Anderson, personal communication, 6 November 2006. 25 See Chapter 10 (Cooper). The WEEE Directive aims to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment going to landfill by requiring producers to take responsibility for them at the end of their lives through collection and take-back schemes.

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Collecting appliances separately from other waste provides an opportunity to improve reuse alongside recycling practices. The FRN argues that the sector is ideally placed to play an integral role in this: ‘A large number of furniture reuse organisations already have a collection and distribution infrastructure which can be easily adapted for WEEE collections. This equipment must be refurbished or, if unusable, recycled correctly in order to meet EU guidelines.’26 Reuse organizations intending to develop partnerships with Producer Compliance Schemes or to become Designated Collection Facilities or Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities to clear WEEE on behalf of local authorities and manufacturers will, however, need to produce evidence of the reuse of items (or where not reusable, treatment to required standards).27 Within the reuse sector as a whole the FRN evidently fulfils a vital role in disseminating information on current developments in furniture and appliance collection and reuse, providing guidance to members, and offering networking opportunities for organizations to share good practice.28 The FRN also works at a national level to support the development of the sector by ‘lobbying Government and others to ensure legislation, regulation and guidance is supportive of reuse for social benefit, and raising the profile of its members’ work and increasing public understanding of the social and environmental value of reuse.’29 Its importance in delivering these functions was consistently reported in the interviews with reuse organization managers. In summary, reuse organizations across the UK could provide a viable alternative to the indiscriminate practices of many local authority bulky waste collection services that collect all items en masse and transport them direct to landfill, irrespective of their condition. Although the primary objective of reuse organizations descends from varying sources (environmental concern, training outputs and the creation of volunteering opportunities, tackling poverty by providing basic household items to specific groups within the local community), their overarching impact lies in the reuse of substantial amounts of furniture and appliances that would otherwise have been disposed of.

26 Craig Anderson, personal communication, 6 November 2006. 27 The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Environment Agency are the lead UK agencies for WEEE implementation and guidance. See http://www. berr.gov.uk or http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk for current guidance, or the equivalents for the devolved administrations (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland). 28 This includes a members-only discussion board on the FRN website (http://www.frn.org.uk/ discussion.asp) and the FRN Annual Conference. 29 Craig Anderson, personal communication, 6 November 2006.

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Conclusion This chapter has explained the different methods that householders in the UK use to discard household furniture and appliances. It has been established that there is substantial potential for these items to be reused. Up to 31 per cent of discarded items have reuse value but only around 15 per cent, half of the potential number, are reused at present. Current reuse mainly takes place through the efforts of conscientious individuals and reuse organizations. There are, however, many other reusable items that are currently disposed of through local authority waste collection from individuals unable or unwilling to pass them on for reuse. If the rate of reuse of household furniture and appliances is to improve significantly, reuse organizations need greater access to items in the local authority waste stream. Local authority waste managers should seek to engage the reuse sector in partnership and incorporate reuse into their management practices, both for the sake of contributing to their targets to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and for the wider social benefits. A hierarchy of reuse routes has been established. This indicates that individuals should pass on reusable items directly to someone in need, given the option, and to a reuse organization if this option is not available. HWRCs should have dedicated reuse bays and items in reasonable condition should be placed in these. Council and commercial ‘bulky waste’ collection services should be reserved for just that – bulky items that are waste. Finally, for the sake of reuse (alongside other environmental and health and safety reasons) items in any condition should never be fly-tipped. This hierarchy of preferences is advocated from the standpoint of increasing reuse and its consequent social and environmental benefits alone, and does not factor in associated resource and fuel costs. A full life cycle analysis of disposal options for household bulky waste is needed to provide evidence as to the wider repercussions of extending product life-spans through reuse.30 Reuse organizations have considerable potential to tackle the waste of the throwaway society by forwarding products from individuals who do not use them to their end of life-spans to those who will. National and local government departments have an important role to play if reuse is to be maximized on a national scale, by facilitating reuse organizations’ access to reusable items and 30 Research is ongoing in this area within the Waste Management Research Group at the University of Southampton.

414

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providing assistance (whether by means of financial or physical resources) to help them cope with expanding operations. The need for sustainable development, living within our environmental means or ‘one planet living’, is increasingly being recognized at the highest levels of government. Reuse, as a means to return the life-spans of household furniture and appliances to what they ought to be, does not eliminate the problem of the throwaway society, but it can form part of the solution.

References ANDERSON, C. (1999). Recycle, Reuse, Bury or Burn? Towards a new agenda for bulky household waste management. Bristol: SOFA Project. BRIDGWATER, E., CAMERON-BEAUMONT, C. and SEABROOK, G. (2004). National Assessment of Civic Amenity Sites: Maximising recycling rates at civic amenity sites. Bristol: Future West/Network Recycling. CAMERON-BEAUMONT, C. and LEE-SMITH, C. (2005). Bulky Waste Collections: Maximising Re-use & Recycling. A step-by-step guide. Bristol: Network Recycling/Furniture Re-use Network. COOPER, T. and MAYERS, K. (2000). Prospects for Household Appliances. Halifax: Urban Mines Ltd. CURRAN, A., HEAVEN, S. and WILLIAMS, I.D. (2006a). An evaluation of council bulky waste collection services in England. CIWM Scientific & Technical Review 7 (1), 12–25. CURRAN, A., HEAVEN, S. and WILLIAMS, I.D. (2006b). Collected household bulky waste in England: Potential for re-use and recycling. Conference proceedings, Waste 2006, 19–21 September, Stratford-upon-Avon. CURRAN, A., WILLIAMS, I.D. and HEAVEN, S. (2007). Management of household bulky waste in England. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (1), 78–92. CURRAN, A. and WILLIAMS, I.D. (2010). The role of furniture and appliance re-use organisations in the UK. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54 (10), 692–703. DEFRA (DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS) (2005). Municipal Waste Management Survey 2003/04. London: Defra. ELLIS, R.M. and HAYWOOD, A.H. (2006). The Implications of eBay for ‘Real Networks’ [online]. Chimera Working Paper 2006–08, University of Essex. Accessed 23 May 2007 at http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/content/pubs/ ebayproject.html

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GREGSON, N. and CREWE, L. (2003). Second-Hand Cultures. Oxford: Berg. HORNE, S. and MADDRELL, A. (2002). Charity Shops: Retailing, consumption and society. London: Routledge. LEE-SMITH, C. (2006). Bulky Basics: A guide to partnerships, policies and procedures to maximise re-use from bulky household waste. Report produced in partnership with Defra, LARAC and Network Recycling. Bristol: Furniture Re-use Network. REEVE, S. (2004). Local Authority Good Practice in the Re-use and Recycling of Household Collection Bulky Item Waste Stream: Literature review. Report for Defra. Bristol: Network Recycling. RREUSE (2005). What is Re-use? View of the re-use not-for-profit sector [online]. Contribution to the Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste. Accessed 24 November 2006 at http://www.rreuse.org SHARP, L. and LUCKIN, D. (2006). The community waste sector and waste services in the UK: Current state and future prospects. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 47, 277–94. SLR CONSULTING (2002). Sustainable Management of Discarded Furniture and Household Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the Former Avon Area. Report for Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, South Gloucestershire Council and North Somerset Council. Bradford-onAvon: SLR Consulting Limited. WILLIAMS, I.D. and ALSOP, C. (2005). From the tip to the recycling centre: Local authorities’ views on current practice and future challenges for civic amenity sites. CIWM Scientific & Technical Review 6 (1), 32–40. WILLIAMS, N., CROKER, M. and BARRETT, D. (2005). Review of the Voluntary and Community Waste Sector in England: Final Report [online]. The InHouse Policy Consultancy for Defra. Accessed 13 June 2006 at http://www.defra. gov.uk/environment/waste/strategy/review/index.htm WOOLRIDGE, A.C., WARD, G.D., PHILLIPS, P.S., COLLINS, M. and GANDY, S. (2006). Life cycle assessment for re-use/recycling of donated waste textiles compared to use of virgin material: An UK energy saving perspective. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 46, 94–103.

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Index ABB 164 AdapTable 309 Adaptable/Adaptive products 99, 124, 303, 308–10, 312 (see also Flexible products) Advertising xix, 11, 15, 42, 96, 119, 134, 146, 165, 206, 259, 262, 276–7, 302–3, 306, 312, 335, 338, 352, 374, 377, 383 (see also Marketing Communication) Aesthetics 8, 17, 40, 45–6, 51, 83–6, 94, 108, 112, 121, 145–7, 247, 297, 304, 306–8, 327, 332, 337, 339, 372, 381–3, 385–7, 389–90 Affordability 26, 81, 222, 225, 251, 258, 261, 264, 267, 299, 304, 307, 336, 340 After-sales services 22–4, 28, 146, 167, 196, 203–6, 212–3, 218, 227, 229, 232–4, 280, 289, 300 Age, Ageing (of products) 6, 10, 41, 71, 83–4, 86, 116, 146–7, 162, 190, 304, 308, 343, 358 Agenda 21 report 7 Amortization tax 230 Analogue broadcasting 87–8, 215, 292 Anderson, Craig 397 Antiques 40, 46, 70, 84, 95, 305, 338, 383, 402 (see also Furniture, second-hand) Apple 83, 86, 309, 361

Appliances household/domestic xv, xxi, xxv– xxvi, 3, 8, 10, 13, 18, 21–3, 26–7, 43–4, 46–7, 50–2, 57–8, 80, 91, 94, 165, 208, 220–2, 225, 233–4, 248, 276–7, 287, 289, 291–2, 304, 307, 309, 311, 319–321, 325, 327, 329–330, 334, 336–8, 341–2, 351, 353, 356, 361, 363–4, 393–7, 400, 402, 404–5, 408–14 kitchen xxi, 80, 277, 307, 325, 327, 330, 336–8, 341, 352 life-span of 10, 22, 26–7, 276, 325 Archer, Bruce 44 Archigram 163, 171 Arens, Egmont 11 Armani 304 Attachment (see Product attachment) Auctions 96, 305, 383, 396, 402 Audio-visual equipment, Audio systems xxi, 120, 126 (see also Hi-fi) Automobiles (see Cars) Axminster 304 Azua, Martin Ruaz de 143, 149 Bakelite 95 Barriers to change xxiv, xxv, 243, 264, 319, 321–2, 333, 341, 344 Beaumont, Lord 193 Beds 93, 112, 209

418

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Bey, Jurgen 148 Beyond Recycling xix–xx, 216 Bicycles 55, 90, 304 Boilers 88, 182, 222 Bonding (see Product attachment) Books 70, 168, 406–7 Bosch 85 Brand attitudes 301 community 300, 311 evaluation 321 experience 299, 302 image 231, 299, 302 loyalty 292, 310 power 299–300 reputation 118, 245, 301, 303 Brand, Stuart 139 Brundtland Report 243, 245–6, 263, 268 Budget range 4, 26 Business model 24–5, 82, 99, 139, 158, 164, 168, 171–5, 224, 267, 364 Business rates 227, 233 Calculators 44, 48 Cameras 50, 68, 83, 88, 112, 230, 258 single use 4, 172, 175, 196, 230 Car boot sale 8, 96, 305, 396, 402 (see also Second-hand markets) Carbon dioxide emissions 22, 220, 360 Carpet Foundation 285 Carpets 20, 280, 283, 286, 288–9, 291, 304, 306, 404 Carrier bags 274, 374–8, 388 Cars 25, 43–5, 52, 56, 79, 88, 91, 99, 112–3, 120, 137, 157, 162–3, 165, 170–2, 174, 233, 244, 248, 252, 261, 299, 352, 361 design of 42, 47, 95, 148, 166–7, 169–170, 254

environmental impact of 7, 20–21, 161–2, 220, 226 legal disputes over 182, 184–7, 191 life-span of 6, 55, 159–160, 221, 224, 229 producers 25, 244, 253, 311 scrappage scheme 11, 221 servicing 53, 71, 159–60, 163, 225 Case law xxiii, 181, 201–2 Ceiling fans 88 Chairs 54, 95, 148–9, 151, 304, 309 upholstered xxv, 319, 325, 327–30, 333, 337–8, 340–3 Chanel 304, 307 Chanin, Natalie 141 Charity sector 247, 395–6, 398–400, 402–3, 405, 408, 410–11 (see also Voluntary sector) shops 234, 305, 327, 343, 395–6 ‘Chewing gum goods’ 174–5 China 5, 20, 150, 162, 298 Choice editing 27, 217, 225 Cicero 41 Circular economy 12–13, 158, 249 (see also Loop economy; Systems, closed loop and open loop) Classic design/style (see Design classics) Claude Butler 304 Climate change 5, 58, 160, 216, 220–1, 261, 265 Clothing xv, xxi, 3–4, 8, 20, 25–6, 40–1, 43, 45–6, 93, 141, 172, 175, 283, 301, 303–4, 330, 335, 343, 363, 374, 396 (see also Fashion) Co-design, Co-designer xxiii, 100, 133, 145–7, 151 Cognitive dissonance 308, 310

index

Collectors 92–3, 95, 162, 174, 389 Competition Commission 211, 233, 284 Competition law 227 Competitive advantage 245–6, 258, 305 Components 12, 20, 55, 81–3, 85, 87, 89–91, 93–4, 118, 123–9, 151, 160–2, 164–8, 174, 176, 210, 212, 216, 227–8, 231, 248, 275, 260, 276, 281, 283, 291–3, 308–309. 354, 356, 358, 386, 398 (see also Spare parts) Computers 40, 48, 51–2, 56–8, 77, 79, 80, 85–89, 91, 97, 107–8, 112–3, 125, 127, 164, 210, 252, 254, 309, 352, 358, 407 laptop xv, 83, 160, 210, 309, 363 desktop 309 Consumer aspirations xvii, 63, 84–5, 92, 303, 306, 312 attitudes xxi, 3, 9. 27–8, 45, 91–2, 100, 159, 162, 174–5, 325, 331–3, 341–2, 352, 358, 360 behaviour xx–xxii, xxv, 3, 7, 26–7, 63, 77, 79, 110, 117, 224, 235, 250, 254, 274, 276, 281, 319, 321–3, 325, 330, 332, 339, 354, 369 (see also User behaviour) inconsistent 91, 224, 257, 329, 330, 338–41, 345 dissatisfaction 15, 22, 27, 40, 57, 63, 224, 226, 286, 307, 310, 321, 338 education 58, 189, 227, 251 electronics (see Electrical and Electronic goods) influence on life-spans factors affecting 7, 324–5, 331

419

involvement with product 53, 110, 117, 120–2, 148, 334, 344 protection 53, 192–3, 197, 213, 223, 280, 286 responsibility 25, 28, 251–2, 300, 331, 333, 338, 343–4 satisfaction xxiv, 19, 44, 215, 218, 307, 313 sovereignty 27, 217, 250, 251, 264 Consumer Credit Act 1974 183 Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (New Zealand) 206–7 Consumer Protection Act 1987 192–3, 197 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 213 Consumer Sales Directive (see Directive on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees) Consumerism xxii, 19, 61, 73, 319, 335 Consumers ethical/green 13, 72, 137, 257, 300 reflective 143, 342 Consumption phases 9, 23, 254, 320–1, 323–7, 329–30, 338–9, 341, 344–5 (see also Disposal stage, Use phase) Contract express terms in 183, 206 implied terms in 183–7, 197 Contract law xxiii, 181–92, 198 Cookware 47, 280, 282–3, 285, 288–9 Co-producer, Co-production 71, 99, 145–7 Corporate social responsibility 231, 245 Cradle to cradle 12, 171, 174, 260, 378 Cues extrinsic 276, 279

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intrinsic 276 Cultural norms xxi, 3, 18, 28, 94, 226, 322, 325, 331, 343, 377 Customer satisfaction 253–4, 256, 265 (see also Consumer satisfaction) Damages 185–6, 198–9, 209 Date stamping products 292 Defects, Defective goods (see Faults) Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) 395 (see also Government policy) Degradation (see Wear and tear) Dematerialise 149, 160, 169, 176 Denim jeans 45–6, 70 Depreciation 18, 161, 164, 173, 203, 226, 261, 305 (see also Value over time) of cars 18, 164 Design classics 94–6, 124, 259, 304, 307 education 138 life xxiv, 26, 231, 273–6, 284, 287–90, 292–3 Design for disassembly 66, 71, 170, 227–8, 291 durability 62, 72, 253, 303, 305, 307 longevity 62, 91, 109, 124–5, 127, 129–30, 174, 286, 313 need 136 product attachment (see also Emotionally durable design) 123–4, 128 reliability and robustness 123–4, 128 repair and maintenance 123–4, 128 upgradability 123–5, 128 variability 123–4, 128–9

Designers xxii, 11, 42, 52, 53, 59, 65, 67, 68, 71, 77, 83, 85, 86, 89, 91, 95–6, 98–100, 108, 124, 129, 139, 142–3, 145–8, 151, 176, 274, 290, 361, 364, 367, 368, 376, 378 Digital cameras 69, 83, 88, 112 radio 88, 215 television 87, 215 Directive 92/42/EEC on efficiency requirements for new hot-water boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fuels 222 Directive 96/57/EC on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof 222, 290 Directive 98/11/EC implementing Directive 92/75/EEC with regard to energy labelling of household lamps 282 Directive 1999/44 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees 187, 199–202, 205, 207 Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles (ELV) 23, 170, 229, 249 Directive 2000/55/EC on energy efficiency requirements for ballasts for fluorescent lighting 222 Directive 2001/95 on general product safety 193, 222 Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment 81 Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) 23, 66, 71, 81, 229, 249, 401, 411 Directive 2005/32/EC establishing

index

a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products (EuP) 24, 228 Directive 2006/12/EC on waste 394 Dishwashers 9, 79, 97, 210, 275, 281, 287–9 Disposable products 4–6, 41–2, 50, 80, 196, 217–8, 227, 230, 274, 288 (see also Cameras, single use) Disposal stage/phase 23, 254, 223, 324, 327–8, 330, 332, 328, 330, 338, 341, 343–4 (see also End-oflife) Dolce and Gabbana 304 Domestic appliances (see Appliances, household/domestic) ‘Doors of Perception’ 139 Downshifting 266 Droog Design 138, 147–9 Dualit 91, 277, 298, 307 Durability definition of 182 design for (see Design for Durability) intrinsic xxi, 3, 8, 14, 232–3, 235, 286, 289, 300, 307, 311 DVD players 112, 281, 288–9 eBay 8, 97, 100, 164, 293, 305, 402 Eco-design 71, 81, 86, 138, 170, 173, 227, 319, 321 (see also Sustainable design) EcoDesign Directive (see Directive 2005/32/EC establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products) Eco-efficiency 14, 79, 135, 138–9,

421

143, 151, 266 (see also Resource Efficiency) Ecolabel award scheme 137, 210–11, 232, 275, 283, 287–90, 292 Ecological footprints 43, 135, 144, 160, 298 Ecological tax reform 146, 216, 227, 229–30 (see also Labour, taxes on) Eco-payback period 109 Efficiency energy 3, 12, 17, 21–2, 55, 57, 80, 169, 217, 221–2, 225–6, 254, 261, 275, 288, 290–1, 297, 320, 361, 364–5 resource 11, 244, 255–6, 351, 368 Electrical and electronic goods xxi, xxv, 10, 23, 50, 53, 69–71, 79, 83–4, 87–8, 90–1, 98, 113, 164, 224, 232, 235, 254, 279, 283–4, 291, 337, 351–2, 360, 407, 411 (see also Appliances, household/domestic) ‘Embalmers’ 92–3 Embodied carbon/energy 20, 220 Emotionally durable design/objects xxi–xxii, 61, 68, 70–3, 78 (see also Design for product attachment) End-of-life 39, 40, 79, 170, 174–6, 249, 252, 260, 351–2, 354, 358, 361, 363, 365 (see also Disposal stage) Energy efficiency (see Efficiency, energy) labelling 282–3, 290–1 Energy Saving Trust 222 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) xiii Engineers 62, 160, 167, 182, 220, 356

422

longer lasting products

Eno, Brian 150 Environmental campaigns xix, xx, 217, 273, 344 claims 273, 281, 289 labels 223, 225, 227, 232, 281, 301 ‘Eternally Yours’ xiii, 7, 72, 84, 138–9, 146 Ethical consumers (see Consumers, ethical/green) European Commission 24, 205, 210, 222, 224, 228 European Consumer Law Group 196, 212, 225, 231, 234 European Union 71, 162, 169, 174, 205, 222, 226, 232, 235, 249, 275, 282–3, 398 Extended warranties 7, 196, 208, 211–2, 227, 231–3, 273, 280–1, 283–4, 288 Externalities 18, 173, 260 Factor Four, Factor 10, Factor ‘X’ 13, 135, 160 Failure (of product) 15–16, 41, 50, 68, 94, 165, 190, 197, 203, 209, 211–3, 279, 286, 298, 307, 321, 327–9, 336, 338–9, 341–3 (see also Faults) Fashion xvi, 4, 5, 15, 40–41, 43–6, 51, 65, 80, 86, 88, 94–6, 118–20, 124, 128, 141, 158–60, 163–4, 168, 173, 175, 249, 251, 279, 288, 292, 307–8, 321, 327, 335–6, 339, 341, 343–4, 374–5, 389, 394–5 (see also Clothing) Fault diagnosis 20, 293, 352 Faults, Faulty goods xxiii, 8, 10, 18, 26, 98, 107, 113, 116, 121–3, 128, 160, 166, 172, 185–8, 191–2, 195–203, 207–13, 228, 284,

291, 308, 342, 352, 356 (see also Failure of product) Finite resources (see Resource availability) Fit for purpose 15, 182–4, 186, 196, 212, 283 Flexible products xxii, 71, 85, 107, 126, 128–9, 302–3, 308, 310 (see also Adaptable products, Design for variability. Marketing ‘flexibility in design’) Floor coverings xxi, 23, 311, 395 Footwear xxi, xxv, 3, 8, 20, 70, 87–8, 233, 275, 280, 288–9, 291, 304, 312, 319, 325, 327–30, 332–4, 337–8, 340–3, 363, 406–7 Fornitore, N 148 Frederick, Christine 11 Frederick, J. George 11 Freecycle 97, 293, 402 Freezers, Fridge-freezers (see Refrigeration equipment) Fridgesavers 222 Friends of the Earth 217, 228 Function ideo 377–9, 381, 383, 388–9 proper 376–9, 388 secondary 371, 378–9, 383, 385, 389–90 socio 377–9, 381–3, 388 system 370, 377–9, 386 techno 377–8, 381–5, 388 Functional goods, discarding xxiii, 3–4, 8–9, 15–17, 21, 23, 26, 43, 51, 61, 68, 77–79, 94, 220–1, 224, 235, 251, 292, 298, 304, 321, 329, 338, 343 (see also Relative obsolescence) Furniture xxi, xxvi, 18, 55, 95, 113,

index

124, 148, 303, 309, 311, 335, 393, 395–6, 409 discarded/waste 20, 23, 235, 304, 393–5 life-span of 3, 276, 363, 396, 402, 409, 414 second-hand 26, 151, 400, 404–5, 407, 412–3 (see also Antiques) Furniture Reuse Network 396, 408, 411 Games 8, 80, 91 General Product Safety Regulations 2005 192 Germany 20, 161, 163, 165, 175, 353, 355, 360 Gillette, Key Camp 41 Glasses (see Spectacles) Goethe 134 Goff, Bruce 155 Good Housekeeping Institute 293 Government xix, xxiii, xxiv, 10, 12, 21–2, 24, 27–9, 44, 66, 81, 93, 100, 135, 157, 174, 181, 202, 213, 215–8, 225–6, 230, 236, 244, 249, 260, 268, 276, 281, 292–4, 344–5, 360, 368, 370, 395, 412–4 Government policy xx, 11–12, 25, 181–2, 193, 216, 218–26, 236, 275 impact on after-sales service providers 227, 233–5 manufacturers 226–31 retailers 227, 231–3 users 227, 235 instruments/measures market-based/economic xxiv, 215, 225, 227, 229, 233, 235, 275 regulatory/statutory xxiv, 81,

423

215, 225, 227, 287 voluntary xxiv, 215, 225, 227, 287 on sustainable development 24, 135, 181, 223, 273, 275 Gramophones 48 Grants 223, 227, 411 Griffiths, Jay 141 Gross domestic product (GDP), Gross national product (GNP) 4, 43, 135, 151 Growth economic/industrial xvi, 5, 11–12, 19–20, 42, 67, 133, 135, 150, 162, 169, 173–4, 217, 219, 253–4, 265, 269 green 13–14 Guarantees graduated 227, 232 length of 124, 207–10, 216, 227–8, 230–3, 275, 278, 283–4, 287–9, 344 lifetime 288–9 manufacturers’ 193, 196–7, 207–8, 210, 227, 231, 280–1, 283–4 retailers’ 196, 208, 227, 232, 281, 283 Gucci 304 Habits 19, 93, 244, 248, 288, 322, 331, 335, 352–3, 371 (see also Routines) Hair dryers 113 Handbags 175 Heirloom 303–4, 312, 338 Hi-fi 252 (see also Audio-visual equipment) Hire purchase 182–3, 191 Hoff, Dick van 141 House of Lords 184, 199, 231 Household behaviour (see Consumer

424

longer lasting products

behaviour) Illich, Ivan 136 Inconspicuous consumption (see Ordinary consumption) Indesit 353 India 5, 20, 150, 159, 162 Industrial design 42, 68–9, 77, 83, 160, 176 ecology 259, 264 goods 158, 168, 175–6 Information search 110, 276–30, 321, 324 Infrastructure xxi, 55–7, 94, 97, 137, 141, 164, 201, 243, 354, 406, 408, 412 Innovation 6, 24–5, 68–9, 72, 79, 83, 86, 110, 119, 148, 158, 215, 219, 245, 254, 265, 268–9, 293, 311, 334 (see also Product development) Installation and care labels 193, 273, 282, 285, 288–9 Internet 91, 97, 100, 123, 136, 138, 164, 305, 357, 359, 383, 395–6, 402 iPods 48, 83–4, 86, 361 Ireland 206, 388 Irons 113 Issigonis, Alec 95 Italy 137, 163, 355 Jabsobsen, Arne 95 Jaguar 184, 298 Japan 20, 98, 244, 360 Jeans (see Denim jeans) Jewellery 70, 88, 164, 303 Jimmy Choo 304 Jumble sales 305, 396, 402 (see also

Second-hand markets) JVC 95 KitchenAid 307 Labour costs 49, 81, 161–2, 196, 200–1, 212, 227, 268, 342, 408 skilled 14, 128, 158, 161, 171, 173–5, 182, 212, 233–4 taxes on 216, 227, 229 (see also National Insurance, Ecological tax reform) Labour-intensive activity 22, 219, 234 Lake economy 158, 165, 174, 176 (see also Rental, Lease) Lamps 62, 95, 282 Landfill xv, 5, 19, 40, 48, 52, 61–2, 81, 226, 236, 258, 265, 393–4, 396–7, 399, 401, 408, 410–3 Law Commission 184,197, 199, 203–4 Lease 98, 99, 149, 164, 167–8, 224, 252–3, 312, 361 (see also Rental) Less developed countries, Poorer/ Low income countries 159,161–3, 166, 219, 268 Life replacement 9 residual 9, 228, 293, 331 service 9, 10, 26, 91, 143, 157, 159, 162, 164–5, 168, 308, 310, 358 technical 6, 9–10, 16, 108, 164, 291, 320 Life cycle xxv, 9, 23, 220, 223, 229, 236, 249, 259, 298, 311, 320, 344, 351–3, 358, 360–1, 364–5 information/data xxv, 351–3, 358–61, 364 management xxv, 351–3, 360, 363–5 phases (see Consumption phases)

index

Life cycle analysis, Life cycle assessment 9, 21, 52, 58, 109, 135, 360, 395, 413 Life-span data/information xxiv, 10, 15, 22, 26, 29, 225, 227, 232, 273–6, 280–2, 286–8, 292–4, 310, 344 definition 9, 78 demographic influences 17, 332 historical debate 6–8, 11, 41–4, 77, 320 labels xxiv–xxv, 9, 216, 227, 231, 233, 273, 280–3, 287–94 longer xv–xvi, xx–xxi, xxiv–xxv, 3, 7, 13–14, 19–25, 27–8, 48, 68, 107–9, 119, 122, 146, 174, 182, 215–23, 227, 229–231, 233, 235, 254–55, 274, 276, 280, 293, 297, 299, 302, 305–6, 311, 313 (see also Longevity) Lifetime ownership costs, Full life cost 227, 232, 263, 267 Light bulbs 6, 9, 261, 275, 281–3, 287–8 ‘Lighting bugs’ 80 Limits to Growth report 19 Linear economy /structures 12, 70, 173–4, 248–9, 252, 265 Lloyd Loom 304 Local authorities 224, 367, 393–4, 396–403, 405–8, 410–13 Long Now Foundation 28, 139 Longevity and energy efficiency trade-off 21–2, 221, 226, 291, 320 definition of 8 design for (see Design for longevity) Loop economy 158, 165, 174 (see also

425

Circular economy; Systems, closed loop and open loop) Louis Vuitton 304 Low income households, Poorer consumers xvi, 26–7, 222, 343, 393, 395–6, 402, 408–9, 411 Luggage 280, 283, 285, 289, 304 Luxury products 83, 91, 164, 305–6 (see also Premium) Magimix 278, 307 Maintenance 8–9, 14, 17, 19, 26, 41, 49, 51, 53, 57, 87, 146, 159, 161–2, 167–70, 172, 174, 211, 219, 225, 227, 229, 233–5, 252, 267, 281, 291–3, 311–2, 321–2, 324, 328–9, 332, 336, 339, 341–2, 356, 358, 361, 363, 365 (see also Design for repair and maintenance) instructions 87, 193, 280, 324, 327, 383, 387 Make Do and Mend xvi, 93 Manufactum 96 Manzini, Ezio 138–40 Marinetti, Filippo 136 Market research 22, 27, 232, 245, 257, 260, 275, 281, 306 structure 17–18, 248–9 Market Transformation Programme 217 Marketing campaign 251, 258, 262, 277, 301, 310, 312 communication 231, 251, 262–3, 298, 302 (see also Advertising) discipline 243–6, 253, 263, 267 environment 246, 255–6 ‘flexibility in design’ 302–3, 308

426

longer lasting products

(see also Adaptable products, Flexible products) mix 257–61, 263 paradigm/mindset xxiv, 243, 245, 249, 263–6 philosophy 250, 253–4 (see also Consumer sovereignty) ‘products with prestige’ 302–3, 305, 311 (see also Premium brands) ‘value over time’ 302–3, 305 (see also Depreciation, Value over time) strategy 95, 172, 253, 257–8, 309 Marks and Spencer 277, 301, 335 Marshall, Alfred 298 Mass production 41, 160, 308 Mattresses 275, 280, 284–8, 291 MaxMara 307 Meade, James 229 Michelin 168 Microwaves 61–2 Miele xix, 97, 277, 298, 307,363 MIPS (Material intensity per service unit) 135, 160, 229 Mitsubishi 171 Mobile phones 56–8, 62, 64–5, 69, 77, 79, 83, 86, 88, 91, 98, 107, 112, 143, 159–60, 164, 248, 251, 254, 256, 309–10, 352–3, 355–7, 364 (see also Telephones) Modular design 82, 86, 124–6, 128, 168, 176, 221, 227–8, 260, 309, 342 Modules (see Components) Morris, William 136 MP3 players 69, 164 Nappies 4, 218, 230, 258, 274, 371–2, 378 National Insurance 223, 229, 233–4

(see also Labour, taxes on) Netherlands xiii, 7, 13, 72, Network on Product Life Spans xiii, xx, 8 New Economics Foundation xix, 135, 216 New Zealand 206 Nissan 185 Nissanoff, David 164, 305 Nostalgia 40, 95, 259, 383, 390 Novelty xvi, 80, 254, 265–6, 341 Obsolescence absolute 16, 78, 91 aesthetic 45–6 economic 15, 44, 49, 91 functional 15, 43–4, 78 of desirability (see Obsolescence, psychological) of quality 15, 44, 78 planned xv, xxiv, 3–4, 6, 8, 11, 23, 28, 40–2, 62, 65, 77, 215, 231, 320 planned for 52, 57–59 psychological 15, 43–5, 78, 91 relative 16–17, 78, 91, 321, 328–9, 345 (see also Functional goods, discarding) social 46–8 technological 44, 48–9, 91 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) 6–7, 10, 15, 17–18, 216, 219–20, 224, 228, 236 OFT (Office of Fair Trading) 233, 284, 337 Ordinary consumption 19, 322, 370–1 Ownership xxiii, 92, 98, 99, 145, 149,

index

157–8, 163–5, 172, 174–5, 182–3, 185, 248, 253, 261, 263, 267, 299, 303, 319, 323, 355 Packard, Vance 6, 14–15, 43–4, 48, 77–8, 134, 231 Packaging functions 376–9 Papanek, Victor 136 Pars pro toto syndrome 166 Parts (see Components, Spare parts) Patek Philippe 303 Patina 84 Paul Smith 304 ‘Pay as you throw’ tax 223–4, 227, 235 PDAs (personal digital assistants) 69, 98 Pens 4, 6 Performance economy (see Selling performance, Service economy) Photocopiers 164 ‘Piggybacking’ 83, 87–8 Planning regulations 227, 233, 251 Plastics 20, 69, 83, 90, 230, 277, 371–2, 374–8, 384, 386, 397 PlayStation2 355–6 Pollution xv, 12, 42, 230, 244–5, 255, 257 Population 5, 19, 135, 160–1, 243, 268 Portero 305 Premium brands 280, 298, 305–7, 311 end of market 91, 283, 288–9 price 4, 18, 257, 260–1 quality 23–4 range 26, 91, 284, 342 Prestige brands (see Premium brands, Marketing products with prestige) Privacy of use information 352, 358,

427

360, 364 Producer responsibility xxv, 23, 174, 223–4, 227, 229, 249, 251, 267, 351, 364 (see also Take back) Product attachment xxii, 8, 65, 68, 91–2, 107, 115, 117, 123–9, 146, 150, 334, 341, 365, 382 (see also Design for product attachment, Emotionally durable design, Product:user relationship) development xxi, 17, 39, 52, 54, 69, 125, 128–9, 244, 251, 255 (see also Innovation) life cycle (see Life cycle) life extension xxiv, 6, 8, 24, 68, 78, 81, 87, 95–6, 108, 129, 142, 145–7, 161, 171, 174, 196, 210, 216, 219, 228–9, 233–4, 323, 325, 328–9, 332, 334, 339, 342, 363, 367, 393, 395–6, 398, 404, 408, 409, 413 maturity 9, 42, 51, 54–9, 259, 279 reassignment 83, 89–91 reviews 293, 328, 341 Product:user relationship xxi–xxii, 22, 52, 59, 61–2, 64–5, 68, 133, 142, 145–7, 364 (see also Product attachment) Product/user symbiosis (see Product: user relationship) Products, green/sustainable xxi, 24–5, 39, 54, 221, 260–1, 300 Product-service mix 25, 267 Product-service systems 94, 98–9, 142, 146, 149, 171, 173, 233, 260, 342, 360–2, 364 (see also Selling performance) Quality 12, 23, 84, 208, 228, 232, 260,

428

longer lasting products

321, 328, 341–2 labels 273, 281, 284–5 mark (see Quality labels) merchantable 183, 184, 186–8, 204 satisfactory 183, 188, 190–1, 193, 196–8, 204, 212–3, 222, 228 Radio-frequency identification devices (RFID) 98, 353, 360, 362 Radios 88, 95, 160, 292 ‘Rainy day’ zone 381–2 Rational choice 17, 274 Raw materials 9, 12, 13, 19, 21, 118, 216, 219–20, 227, 229–30 (see also Resource availability) Raw Nerve 148 Razors 4, 6, 41, 80, 230, 258 Rebound effect 13, 135, 173 Recession xv, 11, 14, 19, 28, 157, 216, 221, 269 Reconditioning 8, 12, 16, 216, 235 (see also Upgrade) Recreational Craft Regulations 2004 193 Redesign 20, 25, 128, 151 Refrigeration equipment 10, 21, 46–7, 57, 81, 166, 221–2, 275, 281, 288–90, 311, 333, 352–7, 407 Refund xxiii, 195, 198, 200–3, 211 Rakowitz, Michael 140 Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 on a Community ecolabel award scheme 275 Relationship marketing 252, 262 Reliability 8, 17, 42, 51, 56, 123–4, 128, 146, 170, 187, 228, 233, 258, 261, 276, 279–80, 284, 328, 339, 342, 357–8 (see also Design for Reliability) Remanufacturing 159, 162, 167

Renault 190 Rental 17, 149, 158, 164, 171–2, 175, 233, 291, 305, 312 (see also Lease) Repair as purchase 211–3 call-out 196, 212, 356 cost of 15, 18, 81, 128, 186, 200–1, 233, 342 under guarantee (see Guarantees) under warranty (see Extended warranty) Repairable/Irreparable 6–8, 16, 23, 160, 196, 200, 218, 221, 224, 233, 288–9, 327, 340, 342 (see also Design for Repair and maintenance) Repairers 212, 225, 227, 233–4, 312, 324 Replacement life (see Life replacement) morality 116–7, 120–2 motives, typology of 15, 108–9, 120–1, 129 Repurposing (see Product reassignment) Rescission 191, 201–2 Resource availability/scarcity xxvi, 5–6, 19– 20, 66, 150, 236, 250, 274, 393, 395 (see also Raw materials) efficiency/productivity 12–13, 160, 229, 244, 255–6, 368 (see also Eco-efficiency) Responsibilities of consumers 25, 28, 251–2, 293, 300–1, 320, 331, 333, 338, 343–5, 405 Responsible consumption 27, 72, 299 (see also Consumers, ethical/ green) Retailers xxiii, 4, 9, 22–4, 27, 43, 175,

index

196–8, 201–4, 206, 208, 213, 227, 231–3, 249, 252–3, 281, 283–4, 286, 289, 291, 293, 301, 309, 311–2, 324, 343, 354, 364, 368 ‘Retro’ design 95, 304 Reuse organizations 393, 395–7, 402, 408–12 of components 168, 174, 356, 358, 361 potential 368, 374–5, 387, 389, 394, 398, 401, 403–6 social benefits xxvi, 22, 393, 396, 411, 413 Ricoh 168 Right to damages 185–6, 198–9 to refund 199 to reject 185–6, 190–2, 200, 203 to repair 191, 198–201, 203 to replacement 191 Roberts 95 Rolls Royce 298–9 Routines 87, 322, 327, 335, 369 (see also Habits) Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) 221 Royal Warrant 285 Safety xxiii, 15, 47, 53, 56, 85, 117–8, 121, 163, 169, 181, 188, 192–3, 221–2, 283, 285, 308, 413 Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 187 Sale and Supply of Goods Bill 1994 193 Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 187, 191, 209–10 Sale of Goods Act 1893 184, 186 Sale of Goods Act 1979 (SoGA) 182–3,

429

186–8, 191–2, 196–203, 211, 228, 231 Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 (Ireland) 206 Sapper, Richard 95 Satellite receivers 112 Saturated market xxiii, 4, 23, 157, 160, 167 Scottish Executive 225, 286 Scottish Waste Reduction Plan 286 Scrappage scheme (see Car scrappage scheme) Scripting 83, 86–7, 146, 388 Sealed units 94, 165 Second-hand goods 9, 18, 27, 91, 97, 117, 151, 165, 184, 188, 190, 226, 234, 305, 327–8, 343, 370, 387, 395 markets 8, 19, 26, 82, 91, 94, 96–7, 305, 343, 396, 402 Secondary markets (see Second-hand markets) Selling performance xxiii, 157–8, 167–9, 171–2, 175–6 (see also Product-service systems) Service/functional service economy xxiii, 157–8, 167, 171–3, 176 Service life (see Life, service) Servicing xxiv, 159, 173, 195, 204, 225, 234, 311 (see also Cars, servicing) Sharing 98–9, 124, 140, 145–7, 149, 171, 361 Sheldon, Roy 11 Shoes (see Footwear) Shopping xv, xvii, xxiv, 120, 136, 233, 273, 276, 280, 290, 293, 321, 327, 329, 331, 335, 374 ‘Shrine’ 381, 388–9 Siemens 278

430

longer lasting products

‘Silent performers’ 83, 88 Single-use cameras (see Cameras, single use) Skips 400–1, 407 Slide rules 48 Slow activists xxii, 133, 136–8 consumption 13–14, 28, 70 design xxii, 133–4, 137–41, 145, 149–51 technology 86 SlowLab 133, 137, 139–141, 147–9 Small appliances 8, 94, 309 Smoke detectors 88 Social businesses/enterprises 141, 151, 234, 398, 402, 408, 410 marketing 235, 268, 273, 302 norms (see Cultural norms) practice 47, 369, 381 Sofas, Settees 49, 140, 395 Sony 355 Spain 355 Spare parts xxiii, 98, 160, 163, 165–7, 175, 182, 193, 195–6, 201, 203–7, 212–3, 225, 227–8, 231, 234, 278, 286, 288–9, 398 Spectacles 4, 112 Specific performance 198 Spime 97 Standardization 21, 47, 166–8, 285, 291 Standards, product quality 27, 47–8, 50–52, 56–8, 181–3, 219–20, 223–4, 226, 228, 231, 279–281, 285, 290, 344, 412 Stevens, Brooks 11, 42–3, 77 Stewardship xiii, 157, 249, 252 ‘Stokke Tripp Trapp’ chair 309 ‘Stone age economy’ 169

Strauss, Caroline 139–41 Style 4, 6, 11, 15, 19, 42, 45–6, 95, 146, 258, 286, 297, 304, 307, 341–2, 372–4 Sufficiency 13–14, 158 Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 183 Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 183, 191, 212 Surface of product 20, 82–6, 146, 220 Sustainable communication 263 consumption 13–14, 20, 23–4, 27, 29, 70–1, 134, 145, 181, 215, 236, 252, 255, 260, 262, 265, 267, 274–5, 294, 319, 322, 329, 344–5, 368 design xxii, 7, 59, 61, 66–8, 72–3, 98, 136, 138, 302 (see also EcoDesign) development xx–xxi, 3, 7, 13, 23–4, 67, 134–5, 138, 143, 181, 223–4, 246, 263, 266, 268, 273, 275, 301, 322, 414 economy xxiv, 6, 67, 133, 176, 243, 251, 256, 261, 269 marketing xxiv, 243, 254, 264, 266–8 Sustainable Everyday project 140, 147, 149 Switzerland, Swiss Government 161, 173–4 System functions (see Function, system) interdependence 83, 88–9 performance 171 Systems innovation 158 closed loop and open loop 150,

index

175, 252, 368, 370 (see also Economy, circular) Tableware 4, 8, 230 Take-back 71, 158, 167, 171, 174, 176, 227, 398, 411 (see also Producer responsibility) Task knowledge 331, 334 Taylor, F. Winslow 41 Teapots 112 Technological change/progress 11, 15, 18, 22, 28, 40–1, 44, 49, 51–2, 56–7, 69, 79–80, 86–9, 95, 97, 99, 108, 112, 119–20, 126–8, 159, 163, 169, 215, 217, 221, 264–5, 268, 279, 301, 309, 394 (see also Obsolescence, technological) Technology, fast and slow 86 ‘Teddy bear goods’ 174–5 Telephones/Phones xv, 57, 95, 98, 125, 353, 357 (see also Mobile phones) Televisions 10, 64, 80–1, 87, 90–1, 95, 113, 136, 210, 215, 233, 275, 279, 281, 288–9, 292, 353, 357 Tempo 148 Teletangram 125 Testing, product 10, 226–7, 232, 280, 285, 291, 301, 310, 410 Textiles xxi, 8, 395, 400, 407 Throughput 3–4, 7, 12–14, 19–20, 25, 28, 68, 157, 173, 175–6, 217, 400, 403, 406 Throwaway culture xvi–xvii, xix, xxi, xxiv, 3–4, 25, 28–9, 215, 217–8, 236, 252, 298, 312, 342 society xv–xvi, 28, 43, 78–9, 81, 94, 337, 395, 413–4 Tilley Endurables 279

431

Tinkerers 53, 56, 92–4 Toasters 9, 52, 61, 64–5, 91, 94, 97, 277, 280, 289 Tools xxi, 44, 99, 149, 262 hand 40, 70, 84 power 85, 93, 166 ‘Tools and toys’ 163–5 Toothbrushes 80, 174 Torches 50, 283 Tort law xxiii, 181, 192 Toxic materials 4, 6, 80–1, 218, 275, 325, 361 Toys 8, 26, 44, 80, 90, 99, 335, 371–2, 400 Transaction costs 158, 165, 261, 267, 302, 321, 335, 337 ‘Twilight zone’ 93, 379, 381–4, 388–90 Typewriters 48 Tyres 164–5, 168 Unemployment 6, 11, 13, 219, 395–6 Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 197 Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 210 Upgrade xxii, 8, 17, 23, 49–51, 82–3, 85–7, 97–8, 107, 110, 117–8, 121, 123–9, 146–7, 159, 163, 167–8, 221, 224, 227–9, 231, 233–5, 260, 262, 303, 308–12, 342, 361, 363–4, 398 (see also Design for upgradability, Marketing flexibility in design) USA 10–11, 19–20, 41–2, 67, 77, 160, 164, 231, 234, 280, 306, 360 Use phase/stage 19, 21, 52, 323–4, 328, 330, 334–5, 337, 339, 341–2, 344, 351 Used goods (see Second-hand goods) User

432

longer lasting products

behaviour xxv, 8, 86–7, 99, 351, 357–8, 362, 364 (see also Consumer behaviour) skills 233, 309, 311, 325, 331, 334, 344 User:product relationship (see Product:user relationship) User/product symbiosis (see Product: user relationship) Utility 15, 25, 40–1, 44, 89, 121–2, 319, 321 Vacuum cleaners 10, 91, 160, 166, 210 Value for money 5, 12, 19, 26, 28–9, 54, 145, 147, 164, 222, 288, 302–4 over time 18, 91, 172, 175, 302–3, 305, 307 (see also Depreciation) emotional 118 (see also Product attachment) social 117–8, 306 individual and societal 28, 55, 70, 94, 226, 244, 250, 266, 300, 312, 325, 331–3, 377–8 Value per weight ratio 169–70 VAT 223, 225–7, 230, 233–4 VCRs (Video cassette recorders) 89, 281, 288–9 Vehicles xxi, 3, 5, 10–11, 18, 21–3, 42, 49, 55, 71, 187, 220–1, 224, 229, 233–5, 305, 320, 336, 352, 363, 400–1, 406, 409 ‘Vibrating soap’ 80 Violins 159 Virgin resources (see Resource availability) Volkswagen 169–70 Voluntary organizations (see Reuse

organizations) Voluntary sector xxvi, 393–7, 400 (see also Charity sector) Voluntary simplicity 266 Washing machines xix, 9–10, 17, 21, 25, 62, 81, 97, 60, 166, 210, 276, 287, 291, 336, 363 Waste commercial collection 398–401, 403, 407, 410–11, 413 council collection 398–401, 403, 405, 408, 410–11, 413 household xix, 174, 273–4, 320, 368, 395, 397–9, 406 reduction xix–xx, 7, 25, 216–7, 226, 229, 274, 286, 301, 320, 345, 398 stream 20, 40, 44, 57, 81, 224, 235, 320, 327, 342, 393, 395–7, 402, 405–6, 410, 413 Waste Makers, The 6, 43, 77, 134 Watches 4, 88, 113, 164, 303 Wear and tear 8, 15, 16, 45, 78, 110, 113, 117–9, 121, 128, 184, 197, 203, 213, 275, 283–4, 29, 308, 339, 342 Welfare, well-being 27, 63, 133, 139, 141–5, 151, 162, 252, 264 Westex Carpets 279 Which? 232, 261, 280, 293 White goods (see Appliances, kitchen) WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) 23 Xerox 168 Yves Saint Laurent 307

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