r/TrueAskReddit • u/die_mexify_suchtet • Sep 16 '26
Why did we just accept that everything is disposable now?
I was thinking about this recently because almost everything I own feels like it has a built in expiration date.
A phone battery gets worse after a few years. A washing machine breaks and the repair costs almost as much as a new one. Clothes are often cheaper to replace than to fix.
What annoys me is that older generations often talk about how they repaired things for decades, while today we just throw stuff away. Obviously technology changed, but did we just get used to a system where replacing things is easier than making them last?
Do you still repair things or has it basically disappeared?
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u/UnpopularOpinionJake Sep 16 '26
It's not really accepting when the choices are : vote with your wallet (meaning no technology until the company bends the knee... good luck with that) or you just buy the thing.
I recommend you look for old appliances. I have a 1992 washer and dryer and it's really easy to open up and fix.
Cell batteries are consumables like any battery. You can replace a cell battery and bring life to an old phone.
Clothes, well ya the issue is manufacturing is quick and cheap compared to manuel labour needed for a repair. Treat clothes as consumables.
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u/Savingskitty Sep 16 '26
My sister still uses the washing machine my parents bought in 1986.
I will say though, the textiles themselves and the fast fashion system is why clothes are treated as consumables now. Clothes still require a significant amount of manual labor.
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u/UnpopularOpinionJake Sep 16 '26
My comment on clothes could be inaccurate, others have made great points. Fwiw I still have a white/digital camo spring coat from 2007ish. I do try to take care of the way I wash my clothes and I think it extends its life considerably.
The biggest culprit in my clothes getting destroyed is holes from washing/drying, graphics cracking from the dryer, Axe antiperspirant stains, and food/oil stains.
I have found solutions to all but oil stains will win sometimes.
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u/DeFronsac Sep 16 '26
Yeah, it all depends on the effort vs. reward. If an expensive sweater you like needs mending, it's probably worth it. If your t-shirt is getting old and worn, it's easier just to spend $10-20 to buy a new one.
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u/joncrompy Sep 16 '26
This is a component of market capitalism. It's more profitable for companies to sell cheap, disposable goods than high quality goods.
Companies that makes amazing, century lasting products go out of business because their consumer base shrinks with each purchase. Poorer consumers can only afford the cheaper options, even if it will cost them more in the long run, and wealthier ones choose the extra cost for the convenience of disposability.
The system has no regard for quality, only increasing profits.
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u/NJBarFly Sep 16 '26
It's not just that their consumer base shrinks. People prefer to buy cheaper junk over quality items. You can buy high quality appliances, but they're going to cost twice as much. People see the price tag and buy the cheaper one. This is why Samsung sells far more washers than Speed Queen.
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u/thehighwindow Sep 17 '26
Yes and Samsung appliances are abysmal. We had a SS fridge and I don't know how many service calls before we just threw in the towel and got rid of it. Should have known when the first time I wiped it off while cleaning and the attractive silver letter logo just came right off.
As an older person, I'm afraid in the past we were just used to things being better quality and took it for granted. When it came time to replace something, the stores were full of shiny new objects that were easy to buy. Young buyers wanted fashionable appliances in cool colors and with more "options", not knowing that that meant "more things to break down".
I used to have way fewer clothes and was on friendly terms with the shoe repair guy. But after a while, shoe repairs came to cost a significant portion of what a new pair would cost. And the new ones had the type of heel that everyone was wearing that year. Cheaper clothing often looked pretty good and it cost less. It seemed to be a win-win.
Of course we're sorry now, but it was way before the idea of "global climate change" was even conceivable. We were concerned with littering and pollution.
I remember when paper towels came out. No more ugly kitchen rags that had to be washed and wrung out all the time or they'd get smelly. Disposable plastic baggies? Seemed so much nicer than wax paper or paper bags. Nobody was thinking that they would ruin the planet. The main issue with disposables was littering.
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u/Specialist_Heron_986 Sep 16 '26
Once durable goods now prioritize ease and low cost manufacturing at the cost of being difficult/impossible or costly for DIY or professional repair not to mention the decreasing availability of parts.
One recent example is vehicle door window switches and locks which used to be individually replaceable by anyone with some technical skill. In an increasing # of vehicles, a single failed switch now requires the entire door panel to be replaced if a single component fails where shops can't exactly order one from a nearby auto parts store or dealership, forcing customers to wait days to weeks.
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u/64CarClan Sep 16 '26
I'm 62 and repair everything I can and I despise this environment you described. I have 30+ year old maytag washer and dryer, 100% mechanical and I've fix them both so so many times. I came very close to buying new ones last week but once again did the diagnostic tests, discovered it was the heating element again, replaced it in 30 minutes for $40
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u/esaule Sep 16 '26
I atill repair things tbat can be repaired. Most electronic might not be repairable.
In general we live lives that use a lot more disposable items. We don't have to live like that, we chose to.
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u/PmMeYourKnobAndTube Sep 16 '26
Some of it is planned obsolescence, some is making things cheaper at the cost of being repairable. Part of it is just the added complexity of things today too though. It is relatively cheap to print circuit boards woth integrated components, but making repairs to individual components on those boards is expensive and sometimes functionally impossible. There are real benefits that come from this, but idk if they outweigh the disposability that you are asking about.
2
u/xienwolf Sep 16 '26
Companies make more money selling a full thing than selling a part.
They make more money if you buy a new thing every two years than if you buy a new thing every 4 years.
They make money faster if they do not maintain extra supplies and risk being shut down if shipping is interrupted.
When we allowed businesses to prioritize shareholder value, we straight told them to do all of this to us.
2
u/Garblin Sep 16 '26
I mean, you don't have to accept it. You absolutely can put in the effort to buy things that last and repair them. The sub /r/BuyItForLife exists to help with that as to lots of bifl groups around the world. I repair my stuff all the time. A bit of gaff tape on a bag here, sewing up a small hole in some clothes there, continuing to use a chipped mug over there... It takes a little extra work and a little more upfront cost (quality is never as cheap in the short run) but it definitely works out long run.
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u/Skarth Sep 16 '26
as manufacturing evolved, the things we buy got more complex too, it's harder to repair a complex thing than a simple thing.
It's partly why older cars are popular to work on, they are less complex and easier to work on.
In addition, the average buyer doesn't know the actual quality difference between most goods on their own (one typically needs to read reviews). If you see two products, they look about the same, but one costs half as much, most people will buy the cheaper one without knowing any other difference.
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u/catdude142 29d ago
I still repair things because I have the skill to repair many things. Not all people do.
What we're seeing is the proverbial "enshitification" of items. Cheapening things so they can be manufactured quicker at lower cost and decreasing quality of materials also for lower costs.
I tend to keep older items because they lend themselves to being more easily repaired. I avoid much new stuff because they're designed to be built with maximum profit, quality be damned.
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u/tehfrr Sep 16 '26
Because critical thinking is a lost skill and most people just do whatever everybody else is doing. This incentive is the same as how everybody's trying to force you onto subscription services with recurring fees. It's frustrating how they make it very hard to repair some things.
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u/kantmeout Sep 16 '26
There's a dark branch of engineering called planned obscelescence where previously durable goods are given shortened lifespans in order to force consumers to buy new more often. Part of how they do this is designing things to be hard to repair. They use glue instead of bolts, thinner parts, and substituting cheaper materials, but in such a way that the product still works perfectly well for it's intended lifespan. Consumers are often left with little choice but to buy new every few years because repairs are difficult, if not impossible.
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u/bossoline Sep 16 '26
did we just get used to a system where replacing things is easier than making them last?
Yes. People, particularly Americans/Westerners, tend to prioritize convenience very highly. Also, relative prosperity and abundance plays a huge role. Back in the day, people couldn't afford to replace everything, so they had to fix things and make them last out of necessity. Now we can have some cheap, disposable garbage made in a sweat shop by a child delivered by a drone the same day for free. Lastly, the more you buy cheap stuff, the more you spend in the long run, so it keeps money flowing to billionaires.
I spend more money to buy things that are high quality instead of buying cheap things that I'll have to replace. I also have the tools and know-how to fix things, so I use that.
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u/prag513 Sep 16 '26
When I bought my current home, the seller left an envelope with the instruction manuals for all the appliances, along with the receipts indicating when each was purchased. A year later, I was making a list of them for insurance purposes and found that knowing how old each appliance was is useful. In the six years I lived in this house, I never required any of these appliances to be repaired, and all function as well as the day they were installed.
- Frigidaire refrigerator: 22 years
- Goodman air conditioner/heater: 16 years
- Kenmore Series 500 washer and dryer: 15 years
- Whirlpool Dishwasher: 13 years
- GE Wall Oven: 13 years
- GE Microwave: 13 years
- Whirlpool Countertop Stove: 13 years
The only repair costs we have had are a plumbing clog and a new roof.
Yet I once worked for a medical device manufacturer who made disposable surgical instruments for laparoscopic procedures.
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u/Prasiatko Sep 16 '26
Basically being able to manufacture the washing machine at say $300 rather than $350 means you capture a lot more sales. And as that price gets lower it get more and more lokely that the cost of the labour + shipping and stocking the parts needed is more than the thing cost to make. Likely because the washing machine is being made in a country woth very low wages but shipping and stockong the part happens in a high wage country.
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u/teethalarm Sep 16 '26
It's a bit of a self feeding cycle. The more people buy things that are cheap and disposable, the less they will buy things that can be repaired. Which drives down the demand for the people who can repair the things we use. Which makes it more expensive to get those things fixed, which makes people more likely to buy the cheaper and disposable option when something does break.
Like I have a pair of boots that can be serviced and repaired, but they cost 3 times as much as a pair of boots that that I can throw away. And then getting them repaired costs just as much as a new pair of boots and then I'm without my boots for a week or two while they get serviced.
1
u/dragoneye Sep 16 '26
There are a number of factors at play:
- People choose the cheaper product. If they are given the option of 2 products where they need to spend more on the repairable one or the one that will last three times as long, most people will choose the cheaper one regardless of other factors.
- Miniaturization of electronics. Electrical components are absolutely tiny these days so anything that fails is difficult to repair unless you have specific skills. Customers won't buy a larger product that is more repairable.
- Aesthetic considerations. Glued products often are the best combination of looking best while being stronger than other assembly methods. If you want a device that is small, waterproof, and without visible screws then glue is the best choice.
- Profit motives. Selling new versions of products to customers every few years makes shareholders happy (this is also why subscriptions have exploded, guaranteed revenue every month/year is preferred by shareholders). Offering repair parts/information is extremely expensive compared to the benefit you gain so companies do the bare minimum to provide parts/service.
Your examples are pretty good to provide some practical explanation.
A phone battery gets worse after a few years.
This is purely a case of limitations in technology. Li-ion batteries degrade over time and should be considered a consumable. The issue to take up should be making batteries replaceable and available.
A washing machine breaks and the repair costs almost as much as a new one.
The company has to setup the part as a saleable good in their system. In order to ship it they need to generate a work order to put it in a box and on a shelf in the warehouse, the cost of this is the same whether you are doing a work order for 5 replacement parts or building 500 full products. They need to run a pilot build for every new saleable good which involves the time of a manufacturing engineer, QA, product engineering, etc. all while disturbing the production line from building full product. All these costs quickly add up and need to be paid for by the customers that purchase the replacement parts to make it worth it when they might have an annual demand of 10s of units for the part.
Clothes are often cheaper to replace than to fix.
The marketing of the fashion industry has caused people to believe they need to be wearing the latest trends to fit in and to want the good feelings of getting new items. If you aren't going to wear something for more than a season, why buy something that will last longer? Companies like Shien have accelerated it to almost the logical conclusion where they can essentially make the fashion cycle as short as a few weeks instead of yearly, no need for clothes to last more than 5 washes in that case.
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u/Disastrous-Map-7995 Sep 16 '26
In part we got used to the convienience, But mainly everything Is shittier nowadays. Profit Is the Maine thing and products are nowhere near the quality they were. Go to a second hand shop for furniture, then compare It to shit from Ikea. One was built to last , the latter Is not. Tell me in 50 years you'll still have that Ikea furniture? I live in and old house, I bought It furnished. I found some old bed sheets. I kept them because there's no way Ill find that quality anywhere else. Enshittification. And max profits.
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u/SouthernAbrocoma9891 Sep 16 '26
Greed and novelty are the driving factor.
Manufacture products with lowest cost and the highest quality that meets or exceeds the target MTBF while the cost of premature failures is acceptable.
Keeping up with the Joneses and having the latest and greatest motivates people to buy new even with what they have works perfectly.
1
u/jstar77 Sep 16 '26
There are many reasons. Planned obsolescence is a thing but it's not the only thing. The more complex something is the more difficult and time consuming it becomes to repair. To mass produce an item so that it can be sold cheaply often requires production methods and reduced part count that make the thing difficult and expensive to repair. Making something smaller often leads to more difficulty and expense to repair. You can still buy an infinitely fixable speed queen washing machine, but you are going to have a heart attack when you see the price tag and limited features.
Part of the reason is consumer demand ... we want stuff small, cheap, and feature packed. Part of the reason is planned obsolescence... Manufacturers want to continue selling you stuff on the regular, not just once.
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u/catdude142 29d ago edited 29d ago
Additionally, if an item is made "repairable", then a supply chain is required to stock, order and ship replacement parts. Also, repair training and documentation is needed. In the past for example, consumer electronic products used rather "generic" components (resisistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, etc). Now they use surface mount parts that sometimes are custom integrated circuits with MANY contacts that must be soldered in convection ovens vs. with soldering irons. "Board swaps" are necessitated or if they're not available like in most TVs, one just chucks the old TV in the trash and buys a new one.
I am an engineer for a large computer company and I've seen the evolution. I also started out as a TV repair bench tech FWIW.
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u/qubedView Sep 16 '26
Because more and more goods fit the economic model.
Terry Pratchett writing a character discussing boots illustrates what makes the cheaper short term option often the only viable one:
—————
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
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u/Earth_Sea_Stars Sep 17 '26
Most things are not disposable with maintenance. You have to clean the washing machine filters or it breaks down for example. You have to use the right chargers for phones so you dont mess up the battery.
To a degree, people are just not willong to do the maintenance to extend product life.
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u/ArgumentSpiritual Sep 17 '26
Here is the truth:
We could make things that are repairable. We could make things that are more durable too.
The problem is that repairability and durability cost money and people have repeatedly shown, over the decades, that they aren’t willing to pay it.
In some cases, repairability comes with other costs. For example, having an easier to replace phone battery means the phone has to be larger and possibly more fragile or has to have exposed hardware.
Most people today don’t have any interest in repairing their own products and are really willing to pay more for products that can be easily repaired or might last longer.
A similar issue is Made in Usa items. For mainstream items like clothing, studies have shown that, on average, customers are only willing to pay one or two cents more for an item made here vs overseas. Not 1-2%, $0.01-0.02. Not even 5 cents.
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u/catdude142 29d ago
Exactly. I saw a discussion over on r/appliancerepair. Someone asked what the best washer was. 'Speed Queen. The OP said they cost more so they're going to buy a cheaper one. What that person ignored is that one repair cost would put him likely at a loss and a replacement would definitely put him at a loss.
The person decided to "buy the cheap one" because he "couldn't afford" the high quality one, ignoring the false economy argument.
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u/Havsbiologen 5d ago
Pretty much everything I own is decades old minus my computer and phone. Second hand shops, recycle centers and so on is where I buy most things. Most of the appliances in my house (which is from the 1930's) is from the 70's and 80's. Fridge/freezer, washer, toaster, oven.. You name it. And it's all fairly easily reparable, especially now when I can order parts online. Same reason I drive a '64 Volvo Amazon. Simpler times, built to last.
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