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      products that last – 25

      products that last – 25

      My new Camera My digital camera is six years old.

      It still works pretty well, apart from the little flap that should open and close when the telescopic lens comes out and goes in. I have two batteries, one of which cannot be trusted. The optical quality is great. Resolution in new cameras, however, is considerably higher.

      However, I see a desirable camera of a different brand, with better zoom capacity, plus my income is improving and I’ll be going on holiday soon. That pushes me over.

      So I start looking at the newest cameras of my preferred brand and there is an even better one. I decide that I want. I can afford it, but I decide I’ll opt for the cheaper earlier version. Then I go to the camera shop. There I learn that there is only one left, at a different branch. And it is white. That does it: I purchase the latest camera.

      Utility Fashion During WW 2 materials became hard to come by. The UK government started a Utility Fashion scheme. ‘To save material, unnecessary pleats, double breasted jackets, and long socks for men were not allowed. Buttons, buckles, zippers, clasps and elastic were limited because metal and rubber were needed for the war industry. Skirts were knee-length, coats were shortened, and boys under thirteen were not allowed to wear long trousers. (..) Colours, however, were not restricted. Fabric prints for dresses for example were often small, busy patterns of colourful flowers that were easy to put together without having to waste fabric to make the motif connect. The Board of Trade estimated that millions of meters of cloth were saved by all of these regulations.’ (Marjanne van Helvert, The Responsible Object, Valiz Publishers, Amsterdam 2016).

      Her new instrument My eight-year-old granddaughter has been taking drum lessons for over a year now, so the choice for a birthday present was obvious. A musical instrument stimulates acquiring fine motor skills as well as knowledge and experiencing the joy of music.

      Ambition is the only limit apart from the budget. This last requirement led to choice for a second-hand. Was it going to be a colourful rock kit or a digital one? Browsing revealed that almost all rock kits are black. The world of rock-’n-roll was less colourful than imagined. A digital one is ideal for smaller apartments with thin walls, because it is compact and one uses headphones. Still, as soon as she masters this kit she’ll want an acoustic one, because it sounds so much richer and is more adventurous: pure magic. And it doesn’t need current!

      Some samples of what contemporary amateur photographers can afford. Do they need it? No. Do they want it? Yes.

      Drumming without a kit. Aerodrums works with reflectors, light, a camera and a computer to make them work. It was created for the musician who wants to be expressive and versatile while solving the problems of portability, space and noise associated with regular drum kits.

      Millions of choices and plenty of opportunities to get everything.

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      -1%

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      -2%

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      -3%

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      -9%

      -11%

      -15%

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      YEARS

      Median lifespan of a selection of household products, and change over time (2000 – 2005), based on Dutch data. Source: Bakker, C.A., Feng Wang, Jaco Huisman, Marcel den Hollander (2014) Products that go round: exploring product life extension through design. Journal of Cleaner Production, 69, 10-16.

      Lamps, compact fluorescent (CFL)

      Vacuum cleaners

      Wash dryers and centrifuges

      Refrigerators

      Dishwashers

      Small IT and accessories

      Tools

      Small toys

      Mobile phones

      Washing machines

      Laptop PCs

      Hot water and coffee

      Printing and imaging equipment

      Microwaves

      Small consumer electronics and accessories

      products that last – 27

      The first domain regards the ambiguous affinity of humans with their ‘stuff’. It depends on age and individual mentality, and even on situation and mood. Generally people crave for the new. They follow the latest fashions and acquire things for practical or symbolic reasons, or just for the fun of it. At the same time, however, they cherish the familiarity of objects and rituals, are interested in the past and may indulge in nostalgia. Irish comedian Dylan Moran said it simply, ‘there is too much of everything, and not enough.’

      The second domain concerns business people and designers who seek to learn how to make a positive contribution by taking up new challenges. This is not so much a preference for developing and producing objects, but rather an inclination to observe, evolve and apply their skills, and to make a point.

      The third and most important set of reasons emerges from awareness of the unintended side effects of what we have accomplished, as a rapidly expanding species that not so much adapts itself to living conditions, but rather continuously adapts its environment to what it figures it may need. Up until recently, little attention has been paid to the depletion of materials and the fact that so much is wasted as a result of the way production and consumption have developed.

      Let us start, rather philosophically, with the domain of human idiosyncrasies. Life is not easy. After birth we need maintenance and care to survive for a considerable amount of time before we become old age pensioners and, finally, die. Without this care and maintenance we wouldn’t be able to survive for the number of decades we almost seem to take for granted nowadays. Maximising our lifespan in a state of reasonably good health requires a great deal of dedication and loads of stuff. Excluding basics like food, family and clothing, here, in random order, is a list of a number of human resources and implements that a certain female X requires to help maximise her lifespan:

      Spectacles, nurses, scissors, buggies, band aids, painkillers, teachers, tweezers, blankets, oxygen, toothbrushes, ointments, internet access, sunglasses, crutches, counsellors, hearing aids, glasses of water, mouthguards, doctors, books, antibiotics, beds, thera-pists, splints, mobile phones, sneakers, dentures, pads, soap, dentists, walking sticks, serum, handkerchiefs, plaster, stairlifts and towels. This list illustrates that we consider it appropriate and go out of our way to single-mindedly protect, maintain and repair our bodies and minds.

      Our attitude towards products is far more ambiguous. Care is not obvious. On the one hand, we may feel it is

      A strong rationale underlies the extension of the lifespan of a product. There are three domains where we can find arguments in favour of long-life products. These stem from human characteristics and the observation that the reduction of the ongoing product lifespan

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