Product Obsolescence & Our Right to Repair
Do you ever think that your new technology just isn’t lasting as long as it should? You’re not alone. An Italian consumer association is suing tech giant Apple, for 60 million Euros- around 95 million AUD- for the practice of planned obsolescence.
Planned obsolescence is when goods are produced so that they rapidly become obsolete by changes in design, the discontinuing of spare parts or designing parts to not last as long as they should, meaning things need to be replaced or upgraded more frequently and at a cost. Most of these items end up not being recycled properly and piling up in landfill as harmful e-waste.
Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design at UNSW, Dr Miles Park, joined Alex James on Breakfast.
