What does "Built in obsolescence" mean?

Question

What does "Built in obsolescence" when referring to environmental issues.

thanks

Answer 1

Something that is designed to break or become out of date after a period of time so that it has to be replaced (ie you have to buy a new one).

Answer 2

You already received a couple of good answers.  I just wanted to state "built in, or planned obsolescence" is in all kinds of products.

I purchased one of those steamers for clothes...looks a bit like one of those old vacuum cleaners with a hose.  Eventually the heating element developed a crust of calcium on it, because of our well water.

Handed it to my husband, so he could take it apart and clean it.  No way to do so, without destroying the plastic bladder of the product.  They want you to have to toss it out, and purchase a new one.

So now I have a rack hanging by our wood stove, with a cast iron teapot of steaming water aimed at the clothes.  Takes longer, but virtually zero work on my part, and it's completely free of anything that will break.

I purchased plastic lawn chairs a few years ago, in the cloudy Pacific Northwest.  Despite all of our rain, and clouds, and the shade my yard had most of the day due to trees, the chairs splintered and cracked all to pieces, because of the limited sunlight they received.  They didn't even make it all the way through one summer.  Without a doubt in my mind, they were designed/made with plastics that quickly deteriorate in sunlight.

I have a crock pot.  If I break the actual ceramic pot portion, I can spend $35.95 to buy a new ceramic pot.  Or, I can spend $29.95 and buy a whole new crock pot, which is exactly the same as my other one, and then send the electric base to the landfill.  The company would rather have you purchase an entire new unit, and not just the one part that breaks.

If you buy a new electric car, you will pay between $30-$40 thousand for it.  You can drive it around for 5-10 years (depending on number of miles you put on it) and need to replace the huge battery in it.  A new battery costs between $10-$15 thousand dollars.  The car companies well know that most people are just going to buy a new car.  They can finance a new car, but not a new battery.

Planned obsolenscence is everywhere in todays consumer driven market.  The fashion industry is the worst.  Your clothes will be in style 3 months maxium.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 3

Take your computer for example,many manufacturers are making computers that cannot be upgraded simply by inserting new hardware so when the computer becomes a bit dated and does not have the latest bells and whistles it is replaced entirely and so ends up in landfill. Pointlessly wasted resources in order to fuel company profits.