Have prospects for product life-spans improved?

A comparison of trends in household appliances and electronic goods over 25 years

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10391

Keywords:

Electronic goods, Product life-times, Obsolescence, Historical trends, WEEE

Author Biography

Tim Cooper, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom

Tim Cooper is Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption at Nottingham Trent University. He was Contributing Editor of Longer Lasting Products (Routledge, 2010) and instigated the biennial PLATE (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) series of conferences in 2015.

References

Bakker C., Wang F., Huisman J. & den Hollander M. (2014). Products that go round: Exploring product life extension through design. Journal of Cleaner Production, 69, 10-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.028

Baldé, C.P. et al. (2024). Global E-waste Monitor 2024. Geneva/Bonn: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Retrieved from https://ewastemonitor.info/the-global-e-waste-monitor-2024/

Cooper, T. (2004). Inadequate life? Evidence of consumer attitudes to product obsolescence. Journal of Consumer Policy, 27(4), 421–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-004-2284-6

Cooper, T. & Mayers, K. (2000). Prospects for Household Appliances. Halifax Urban Mines. Retrieved from https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6671/

Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

Environmental Audit Committee. (2020). Electronic waste and the Circular Economy. First Report of Session 2019–21, HC 220. Retrieved from https://committees.parliament.uk/work/170/electronic-waste-and-the-circular-economy/publications/

German Environment Agency. (2017). Strategies against Obsolescence: Ensuring a minimum product lifetime and improving product service life as well as consumer information. Retrieved from https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/publikationen/strategies-against-obsolescence-ensuring-a-minimum

OECD. (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). (1982). Product Durability and Product-Life Extension: Their contribution to solid waste management. Paris: OECD.

Oguchi, M. & Daigo, I. (2017). Measuring the historical change in the actual lifetimes of consumer durables. PLATE (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) conference. (pp.319-323). Delft, Netherlands. DOI: 10.3233/978-1-61499-820-4-319

Oguchi, M., Murakami, S., Tasaki, T., Daigo, I. & Hashimoto, S. (2010). Lifespan of commodities, Part II: Methodologies for estimating lifespan distribution of commodities. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 14(4), 613–626. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00251.x

Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, amending Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC

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Published

24-06-2025

How to Cite

Cooper, T., Watkins, M., Bathaei Javareshk, M., & Baguley, T. (2025). Have prospects for product life-spans improved? A comparison of trends in household appliances and electronic goods over 25 years. Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025), (6). https://doi.org/10.54337/plate2025-10391

Issue

Section

Track 2: Enduring Consumption – Extended Abstracts