Planned obsolescence is a policy of designing products to have a limited useful life so that users will replace or update them more frequently. This practice stimulates demand for industries by encouraging more frequent purchases. Examples include using inferior materials that cause faster degradation, making repairs difficult, and imposing inefficiencies in design. A notable example is a 1924 cartel that artificially limited light bulb life to increase sales and prices. In contrast, sustainable design aims to reduce waste by using renewable materials, improving energy efficiency, and extending product lifespan through durability, repairability, and reuse or recycling.

2. Planned obsolescence
What is planned obsolescence?

3. Planned obsolescence
Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence
in industrial design is a policy of planning or
designing a product with a limited useful life, so
it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or
no longer functional after a certain period of
time.
Why?

4. For an industry, planned obsolescence
stimulates demand by encouraging purchasers
to buy sooner if they still want a functioning
product. Planned obsolescence is common in
many different products.

5. Origins of planned obsolescence go back at least
as far as 1932 with Bernard London's pamphlet
Ending the Depression Through Planned
Obsolescence. The essence of London's plan
would have the government impose a legal
obsolescence on consumer articles, to stimulate
and perpetuate consumption.

6. Phoebus cartel
The Phoebus cartel was a cartel of, among others, Osram,
Philips and General Electric from December 23, 1924 until
1939 that existed to control the manufacture and sale of
light bulbs.
The cartel was a convenient way to lower costs and
worked to standardise the life expectancy of light bulbs at
1000 hours (less than half of the norm at the time), while
at the same time raising prices without fear of
competition. Members' bulbs were regularly tested and
fines were levied for bulbs that lasted more than 1000
hours.

7. Types of obsolescence
• Technical of functional obsolescence
Inferior materials are used so products fail or
created to make servicing difficult
• Systemic obsolescence
Altering the system in which they are used to
make it’s continued use difficult
• Style obsolescence
• Obsolescence by depletion
Inbuilt inefficiencies in design

8. Sustainable Design
Sustainable design (also called environmental
design, environmentally sustainable design,
environmentally conscious design, etc.) is the
philosophy of designing physical objects, the built
environment, and services to comply with the
principles of social, economic, and ecological
sustainability.

9. Sustainable design principles
• Low-impact materials: choose non-toxic,
sustainably produced or recycled materials
which require little energy to process

10. Sustainable design principles
• Energy efficiency: use manufacturing
processes and produce products which
require less energy

11. Sustainable design principles
• Extending the product’s life
– Increased durability
– Easy repair and maintenance

12. Sustainable design principles
• Emotionally Durable Design: reducing
consumption and waste of resources by
increasing the durability of relationships
between people and products, through design

13. Sustainable design principles
• Design for reuse and recycling: "Products,
processes, and systems should be designed for
performance in a commercial 'afterlife'.

14. Sustainable design principles
• Reduce transportation distances