Buy, throw away, repeat!
Nowadays, the objects we buy for our home have an increasingly short life span. It seems that their aesthetic appearance in stores is constantly changing.
A beautiful stand mixer (whose brand I won’t mention) that I paid a lot of money for not so long ago, already has no more parts available for repair: the suppliers have changed the attachment.
And this is only one example among many others… Who hasn’t decided one day to buy a beautiful “leather” chair, at a time when it was popular, only to see it slowly but surely peel off? As if a huge sunburn had finally burned him!
I recently did some research on this topical phenomenon, which I want to share with you today.
The industrial revolution
During the industrial revolution of the 1920s, the invention of the machine and the automated assembly line allowed for more intensive production of the object at a much lower cost. Good news, you may say?
For the consumer, it obviously sounds perfect! But for the producer, it is different. In fact, these machines are much more efficient and produce more than we can consume. The market solution: programmed obsolescence. In other words, a limited life span, controlled in order to force the new purchase, the replacement of the product.
Creating the need by obligation remains the only way to get a guaranteed sale, it seems. A decisive turning point occurs with the application of this principle. The objective of consumption is no longer to meet a need, but to “create” the need for the object produced. Grow to grow, create to justify a need. This results in economic damage.
Consume more!
From now on, we only work to consume more, which seems an impossibility… until credit is available!
Initially, this policy applied to light bulbs, but we can now see its impact in all modern spheres of consumption. The most obvious example is in electronics: computers, smart phones, televisions, etc.
Even if you want to keep your computer as long as possible, it will become inexorably obsolete, and unable to connect to the Internet. It will be a simple electronic typist, until there is no more compatible printer available.
The bad news is that with nearly a century under this regime, we now face a major environmental consequence: waste is accumulating too quickly.
We claim to recycle, but in reality, only a tiny percentage of what we use is actually recycled. The rest is simply thrown away, stacked or sent to developing countries.
Mountains and mountains of unusable garbage! With the terrible impact of plastic on our oceans, it is high time to change our consumption habits.
Do you know the purpose for which a consumer product is now designed? Not according to its usefulness or longevity but according to its aestheticism and its power of seduction! According to the fashion of the moment, its quality of being able to arouse envy and desire, with the ultimate goal of creating the need to buy.
Because as soon as the fashion passes, the object will appear to us “old” or “out of fashion”, no matter how useful it is. We will then feel like we MUST replace him. A vicious cycle has crept into our lives: ” BUY / THROW / REPEAT! ”
Investing in sustainability
But we can do something about it by investing in sustainability, consuming less, doing maintenance and saving money. At the beginning of the last century, a couple starting out in life would equip themselves with a “household” without thinking about replacing everything in the short term. Since then, desire has replaced need. It’s time to take back control of our consumption and change our lifestyle for the future.
At SGL Furniture, we are fully aware of these issues and are committed to countering this unhealthy and damaging dynamic. In order to build a better world for the next generation, it is essential to change our behaviors now!
To do so, we decided to build solid and attractive furniture with recycled materials and designed in an environmentally responsible way. We meet with you individually to learn about your needs and tastes in order to offer you a personalized product adapted to your lifestyle.
The intelligent use of the environment is important to us! The manufacturing of your furniture is done without excess or unnecessary waste, with the intention of satisfying you fully and for a very long time. Come and see us! We firmly believe that we have the beginnings of a solution to present to you.
Together we can really make a difference!
With SGL Furniture… towards responsible consumption!
Thank you for reading! We hope this article has helped you!
To find out more about our products, contact us at 581-990-3635 or by e-mail at [email protected]. We’ll be happy to advise you and, above all, create your project.
See you in our next article!
