Hi, there! The Green Letter is here again. For those who recently joined , The Green Letter is a weekly-newsletter where we discuss all things around nature, environment, sustainability and lot more. 😎
This time around we are going to learn about an interesting topic - Planned obsolescence and its impact on our economy.
So what’s Planned obsolescence?
the Wiki goes something like this:
“Planned obsolescence , or built-in obsolescence in industrial design and economics is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so hat it becomes obsolete (i.e., unfashionable, or no longer functional) after a certain period of time.”
What’s wrong with that?
Planned obsolescence is a serious environmental problem for the planet. Every year, up to 50 million tons of electronic waste are generated, a very high percentage of which – around 85% - is usually discarded randomly, ending up in waste tips in developing countries, creating a risk for the environment and the health of people, animals and plants.
To combat planned obsolescence, which is also costly to consumers who have to renew their products more often, several initiatives exist, including a European Union directive, certification for the prolongation of product lifetimes, and specific NGO programs. Active Sustainability
Has this really been happening at a large scale?
YES. 🙃
It’s widely held that certain gadgets, cars and other tech have deliberately short lifespans, to make you shell out to replace them. What’s the reality?
French prosecutors have launched a probe over allegations of "planned obsolescence" in Apple's iPhone.📲
Under French law it is a crime to intentionally shorten lifespan of a product with the aim of making customers replace it.
In December 2018, Apple admitted that older iPhone models were deliberately slowed down through software updates. BBC
On the flip side..
Apple’s stance against planned obsolescence is bearing fruit. B-Stock, which claims the title of world’s largest business-to-business marketplace for trade-in phones, announced on Tuesday that the iPhone X had overtaken the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as the most sold used model. Inverse
Till now we have been following “take-make-dispose” kind of linear economy and as a result we are facing biggest waste management challenges of all times.
That’s when CIRCULAR ECONOMY comes into picture, with 3R approach- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Looking beyond the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. It is based on three principles:
Design out waste and pollution
Keep products and materials in use
Regenerate natural systems
Also, What about CIRCULAR DESIGN?
In 2014, Anna Brismar, a global expert in circularity and sustainability coined the term ‘circular fashion’, and defined it later as “Clothes, shoes or accessories that are designed, sourced, produced and provided with the intention to be used and circulate responsibly (towards humans, living beings and the planet) and effectively in society for as long as possible, in their most valuable form, and hereafter return safely to the biosphere when no longer of human use.” Circular Design Challenge
Meanwhile in India,
I WAS A SARI Wins the ‘Circular Design Challenge Award’, India’s first award for Sustainable Fashion
The Circular Design Challenge, launched in August at the Winter Festive 2018 edition of Lakme Fashion Week in collaboration with the UN Environment as a part of R Elan’s ‘Fashion for Earth’ initiative, received 900 entries from over 30 cities in India. In November 2018, a shortlist of 8 designers was announced who presented their collection at LFW summer resort 2019, today, and the eminent jury has selected the winner.
IKEA India launches first online store in Mumbai !
IKEA India said the online store is part of its new multichannel approach to reach 100 million customers in the next three years. The online store will offer 1,000 products priced below Rs 200, with uniform across India, both in the offline and online stores
How IKEA, the swedish innovative giant since 1943 keeps up with sustainability in it’s core concept :
Check out PEOPLE AND PLANET for more.
Your Favorite Fashion Brands making wave with these new recycling incentives MSN
‘cuz why not? 🤓
Anyone for Rental jeans and Recycled swimsuits ? Check out these 6 revolutionary fashion brands The Guardian
Time for some music 🎧
Let’s Connect!
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