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Environmental Ethics and Planned Obsolescence Author(S): Joseph Guiltinan Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol Creative Destruction and Destructive Creations: Environmental Ethics and Planned Obsolescence Author(s): Joseph Guiltinan Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 89, Supplement 1: 5th Annual Ethical Dimensions in Business: Reflections from the Business Academic Community (2009), pp. 19-28 Published by: Springer Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40295074 Accessed: 01-06-2020 11:54 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Business Ethics This content downloaded from 67.189.244.70 on Mon, 01 Jun 2020 11:54:03 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 89:19-28 © Springer 2008 DOI 10.1007A10551-008-9907-9 Creative Destruction and Destructive Creations: Environmental Ethics and Planned Obsolescence Joseph Guiltinan ABSTRACT. Three decades ago, planned obsolescence computers are discarded each year, and only was a widely discussed ethical issue in marketing 20,000 class- televisions are refurbished each year while rooms. Planned obsolescence is topical again 20 today million are sold, resulting in tremendous envi- because an increasing emphasis on continuous productronmental damage from lead, mercury, and toxic development promotes shorter durables replacement and glass (cf. Boland, 2001; Slade, 2006). Additionally, disposal cycles with troublesome environmental conse- when electronics are recycled, 50%-80% are shipped quences. This paper offers explanations of why product to third world nations where workers use dangerous, obsolescence is practiced and why it works. It then primitive processes for extracting recyclable materi- examines the ethical responsibilities of product developers and corporate strategists and their differing responses als, often to exposing themselves to toxic gases in the this problem. Pro-environment product design process and (Associated Press, 2007). So, while advances marketing practices and innovative government in policies technology and increasingly skillful industrial may alleviate the problem over time. However, givendesign the have enabled firms to develop innovative current lack of understanding about consumer products replace- in virtually every durable goods category, ment and disposal behavior, it is questionable the asnature to of the materials that are often required whether these practices and policies will be sufficiently and the rapid pace of product upgrading have informed to be effective. Thus, marketing scholars resulted have a in negative environmental consequences for significant opportunity to contribute to sustainable consumers dura- and society (cf. Calcott and Walls, 2005). bles product development. Per Figure 1, two aspects of new product devel- opment strategy drive these environmental problems. KEY WORDS: planned obsolescence, durable goods, First, frequent introductions of replacement products environment, product development increase the opportunities and motivation to replace functioning durables. Mindful of Schumpeter's theory that established firms are often replaced by innovators (through a "creative destruction" process), today's When I first started teaching marketing, strategists Vance focus on rapid new product development to Packard's (1960) criticisms of planned obsolescence defend their competitive space. Industrial designers were widely discussed by students and faculty. and engineersThe also drive replacement frequency by prevailing view was that it was unethical to incorporating design desirable benefits or styles into new products that would wear out "prematurely" products (i.e., (abetted by marketers who promote the have useful lives that were well below customer incremental value of these upgrades). Second, the expectations), particularly if they were costly to recyclability of new products is influenced by choices replace. Today, the mounting numbers of func- of components or materials made by designers and tioning durable goods ending up in landfills have ledengineers. Thus, environmental problems are exac- to renewed criticism of product obsolescence. erbated to the extent that corporate strategies Sources indicate that in North America over emphasizing continuous improvement and those 100 million cell phones and 300 million personal actually involved in creating and marketing new This content downloaded from 67.189.244.70 on Mon, 01 Jun 2020 11:54:03 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 20 Joseph Guiltinan /'corporate ^v • Limited functional life design (or u death dating"). f product ) In a recent book, Slade (2006) notes that in V^trategy^/ the 1950s and 1960s death dating was stan- dard practice for many appliances. (At one Frequency of product upgrades point portable radios were designed to last for only 3 years). I D Purchase Behavior • Design for limited repair. Disposable single-use Attributes designed cameras were designed to be non-repairable, into although a small recycling industry emerged for replacement products. a time until Fuji and Kodak took these firms to court for copyright violations (Adolphson, /Design and^X 2004). McCollough (2007). It suggests that the ( engineering ) Vpractices^y price of repair for consumer electronics encour- ages disposal, and household income correlates Figure 1. Product obsolescence positively with theand propensity the to dispose environment: of and decisions and influences. replace appliances rather than repair them.2 • Design aesthetics that lead to reduced satisfaction. Cooper (2005) shows how aesthetic charac- products are insensitive to the need for sustainable teristics can influence premature disposal. innovation and promote excessive consumerism.1 One example is the design of "faultless forms In this paper, I specify the set of product devel- and surfaces" on products like small appli- opment practices that are included under the ances which leave a pristine and polished umbrella of planned obsolescence, and I explain why appearance which, with everyday quickly planned obsolescence is so ubiquitous among dura- becomes damaged, engendering user dissatis- ble goods manufacturers. I then examine the eco- faction and premature disposal. logical responsibilities and responses of technical and managerial product development professionals. I Faster replacement can also be achieved through show that design practices (prodded by regulatory new product replacement strategies designed to initiatives) can be developed for assuring that "cre- foster technological obsolescence. Packard (1960) ations for consumers" will be less destructive to the termed this form of obsolescence "voluntary" be- environment in the future, but that cultural changes cause there was no reason that consumers could not at the product design level are likely to be somewhat continue to be satisfied with their existing products. constrained by corporate and marketing realities and perceptions. I conclude that the lack of under- • Design for fashion. Although comic detective standing of consumer behavior with respect to Dick Tracy kept his two-way wrist radio from replacement and disposal of durable goods is an 1946 until he retired in 1977, today fashion impediment to marketers and public policy makers influences many durables replacement deci- seeking this goal, creating an important opportunity sions. Increasingly designers have applied fash- for scholars in the field of marketing. ion thinking to watches, mp3 players, cell phones, and even laptop computers. Slade (2006) suggests that the rise of General Motors Planned obsolescence practices and its displacement of industry leader Ford was the first victory of fashion positioning The objective of planned obsolescence is to stimu- over durability positioning among "hard" late replacement buying by consumers. The most goods. direct way to speed replacement demand is to • Design for functional enhancement through adding shorten the usable life of a product through one or or upgrading product features. Technological more of the following physical obsolescence mecha- development frequently allows firms to nisms. expand the number of uses or benefits of a This content downloaded from 67.189.244.70 on Mon, 01 Jun 2020 11:54:03 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Creative Destruction 21 product (e.g., adding (Iizuka, 2007). Thus, a increasing camera the rate of replace- feature to a cell phone) or to ment throughimprove obsolescence will enablethe firms levelto: (1) of per- formance on existing stimulate revenues throughbenefits faster replacement; (as when a laptop maker increases (2) reduce competition memoryfrom any used good markets; and (3) speed or reduces weight). byNote virtue of making that used or ownedif goodsthere less com- are clearly stratified benefit petitive, segments increase prices for the replacement in aproduct. market, the early generation product may not have a high demand cross-elasticity with the new one because the new Competitive level pressure of for technological performance obsolescence may not be (at least initially) desired or needed by all customers. In While
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