Features

How to End Planned Obsolescence

By Oliver Wetter

Posted on November 21, 2017

(Originally published in 10/18/2012 )

This post is quite a fantabulous vision, not art related, but important to everyone who ever has bought an electronic
device.
But even more important to the ones who can take this idea to change the world, but most likely they have no interest in hearing that, which is kind of silly, as it bears, even more, customer loyalty than apple can imagine to have anytime soon.

The problem is at hand: The print industry is slowly dying, while this is good for trees and the environment, on the other hand, more e-readers and tablet / palm-pcs are being produced.

This is all great and nice for the industry, but no one can foresee the waste that will result from all this. As if we haven’t electronic waste enough.

My idea to end all this is simple and graceful. Please forgive me if I mention just the two global players here, Samsung and Apple, but they have the biggest following and money to reinvent business right now.

Take the money and invent a way to recycle every consumer electronic device in a way that it will have less than 10% waste of its original material, I know it´s possible, so don´t get too much into the technical matter.

From a marketing perspective, the result of such a simple thing can change customer loyalty and turnovers greatly, as right now every business just makes money when they deliver a product, but no one makes money by taking the products back, and this is just plain spelled: shortsighted.

Not only would a model that allows a “take-back” plan allow for better pricing and raise environmental awareness, it even creates a cycle, the seller is not just a seller, it is a responsible seller!
Imagine how a brand new manufacturer gains trust if they guarantee to take the product back once it fails or stopped working?

The benefits are simply awesome:

Generate environment responsibility on customers
Have customers not only buy products but also keeping them from resale secondhand and eBay
Responsible concentration on resources will keep the most innovative companies on saving money
The recycle process not just optimizes profits, it will also create workplaces
It wouldn´t be necessary to pay for foreign production (ie: China)

I know it a silly idea, but once China and other production “lands” have enough knowledge and market share, apple and all other companies will look really bad if they haven’t yet prepared for the future market.

And it is silly to count on a loyal customer base that just went for the best price, you have to offer something more to keep that customer…again, just a thought.

I always have ideas like that and it´s nice having people laughing about it, later when it has become reality, now at least I have a proof, that I posted this when it is not a reality.