Читать книгу Products that Last - Conny Bakker - Страница 6

products that last – 5

FOREWORD

A throwaway culture has characterised and underpinned Industrial economies for more than half a century. Only recently, however, have governments and researchers begun to pay attention to the short lifespan of many consumer goods, prompted by concern at their wastefulness and a growing awareness that their embedded carbon has implications for climate change, demanding a slower throughput of materials in the economy.

Too many goods do not last as long as they could – or should. Some fail, others become unwanted. Certain types of product have declined in quality as companies have cut costs to remain competitive. All too often consumers’ purchasing decisions have prioritised style over substance. Poor design and high labour costs have caused repair and upgrading to be fringe activities.

Most businesses operating in our growth-dependent economic system, in which success is judged by ever-increasing sales volumes, have remained silent in this debate. They fear that if products were to last longer, sales (and thus profit) would inevitably decline. Such logic needs to be questioned: environmental sustainability does not require a decrease in the value of consumption, only in its volume, or weight.

It has become clear that many companies will need to change how they operate if they are to survive while the throughput of products in the economy is reduced. The ‘pile them high and sell them cheap’ business model is no longer credible. Profit must in future be generated through improvements in the intrinsic quality of goods and enhanced after-sales services.

This will be no easy task; it demands change in people’s mind-sets and a willingness to take risks. Products That Last makes a valuable contribution to understanding a vitally important debate and identifying the business opportunities ahead.

Tim Cooper

Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption, Nottingham Trent University

October 2014