As you may be able to infer from the title of this post, I recently had an issue with a product that no longer works. It happened to be an electronic component - one day it was working and then it stopped. I don't know why it failed, and I don't really care why - I just wanted it to be fixed. And so the saga began.....
I made my way through the numerous automated, voice-activated customer service phone lines only to discover that the warranty for this item had expired. The warranty period was 90 days - which I didn't realize until I made my way through all of the friendly "listen carefully because our menu has changed" exchanges between myself and a computer. And not only do they not repair this particular item, it is no longer produced because the contract between company A and company B has ended. And at the end of the day, I spent money on something that stopped working a lot sooner then I thought it would have. Which made me ponder the very question at the title of this post - are warranties bad for the environment?
In general, most of us probably feel better buying something that has a warranty. It's a security blanket to protect us from the odd part failure the day after we buy something - here to protect the rights of the consumer. I'm not sure I see it that way.....
If I develop a product, I can have all of the pieces rigorously tested in a lab. And at the end of these tests, I can tell with some certainty how long most of these products will last. So if 95% of the things I make will last at least one year, I can put a one-year warranty on the product and still make money even if 5% of the products fail. And there is no penalty to me if every one of the products fails at the one year and two day mark. As long the consumer feels that they have received a good value out of the product, I can continue to sell things that only last one year. In other words, I can trade quality and reliability for price.
Which seems to be how our economy has been built - on inexpensive goods that fail rapidly; but that doesn't matter because the new model is out anyway and I wanted to upgrade. Meanwhile we continue to use up valuable resources and discharge pollution into our air, water and land. Instead of protecting consumers, I think warranties simply enable an unsustainable economic model.
What If -
What if, as consumers, we demanded more? What if each of us agreed not to trade quality and reliability for price? What if we said, "forget about the warranty, I want to use [product name here] for the rest of my life and I want you to fix it if it breaks before then"? What if manufacturers embraced this concept as a competitive advantage?
Things wear out and things break - nothing lasts forever. But you can design your product to be easily taken apart, with standardized wear parts that can be replaced simply and quickly. You can even use universal fittings so that products can be modified in the future.
But it starts with us - the consumers. Unless we hold out for quality and are willing to pay for it; unless we stop buying the hot new thing the minute it comes out; unless we stop shrugging off poorly made products as the price of a strong economy; unless we change our minds and out culture, things will continue on. Anyone up for a little revolution?
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