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