Disposing of items with defects has become the de facto standard as opposed to fixing whatever ailment the product might have. Throwing away and buying new is the postmodern mantra and seems to be a manifestation of a philosophy steeped in hyper capitalism. It was not always like this – items of various functionalities, be it shoes, televisions or furniture, would get repaired and usually would last a rather long product life.
As foreshadowed earlier, I believe that our current form of capitalism is to blame to a large extent for our throw-away culture. There is an overabundance of supplies that exhibit diminished product quality and are not built to last. Even worse, products are planned in such a way that they break after a certain time and are built accordingly.
This is in contrast to just a few decades ago, where consumables would seem to last for a life time. Not surprisingly, the age of unprecedented global trade had not yet entered the world stage and correspondingly, the relative scarcity of products would ensure that manufacturers put emphasis on quality, whereas trade nowadays is focused on quantity and, even more importantly, on novelty.
Nonetheless, there seems to be an ever-growing counter movement emerging that tries to raise awareness of the problems associated with our throw-away culture. For example, it has become increasingly unpopular to use plastic bags and also plastic product packaging as a result of the efforts by this counter movement. Plastic bags even got banned in the majority of Australia and other countries. This kind of approach is at the heart of the solution to the throw-away culture and educating people of the aftermath of increasing garbage piles will change the behaviour of consumers, which in turn forces manufacturers to also change their approach to doing business.
In conclusion, I believe that raising awareness of the dangers associated with environmental pollution due to increasing waste, lies at the centre of tackling the throw-away culture we live in. This will lead to changes in behaviour of both, consumers and businesses, resulting in more durable products and a more sustainable economy.
Disposing of items with defects has become the de facto standard as opposed to fixing whatever ailment the
product
might have. Throwing away and buying new is the postmodern mantra and seems to be a manifestation of a philosophy steeped in hyper capitalism. It was not always like this
–
items of various functionalities, be it shoes, televisions or furniture, would
get
repaired and
usually would last
a
rather
long
product
life.
As foreshadowed earlier, I believe that our
current
form of capitalism is to blame to a large extent for our throw-away
culture
. There is an overabundance of supplies that exhibit diminished
product
quality and are not built to last. Even worse,
products
are planned
in such a way that they break after a certain time and
are built
accordingly
.
This is
in contrast
to
just
a few decades ago, where consumables would seem to last for a
life time
. Not
surprisingly
, the age of unprecedented global trade had not
yet
entered the world stage and
correspondingly
, the relative scarcity of
products
would ensure that manufacturers put emphasis on quality, whereas trade nowadays
is focused
on quantity and, even more
importantly
, on novelty.
Nonetheless, there seems to be an ever-growing counter movement emerging that tries to raise awareness of the problems associated with our throw-away
culture
.
For example
, it has become
increasingly
unpopular to
use
plastic bags and
also
plastic
product
packaging
as a result
of the efforts by this counter movement. Plastic bags even
got
banned in the majority of Australia and other countries. This kind of approach is at the heart of the solution to the throw-away
culture
and educating
people
of the aftermath of increasing garbage piles will
change
the
behaviour
of consumers, which in turn forces manufacturers to
also
change
their approach to doing business.
In conclusion
, I believe that raising awareness of the
dangers
associated with environmental pollution due to increasing waste, lies at the
centre
of tackling the throw-away
culture
we
live
in. This will lead to
changes
in
behaviour
of both, consumers and businesses, resulting in more durable
products
and a more sustainable economy.