Things just don’t last like they used to. But is it our own fault or the manufacturers?
In the past five years I’ve gone through three telephones, two televisions, two computers and far too many household appliances (irons, kettles, etc) than I can remember. It was only when my most recent phone, a mid-priced number made by a leading brand, broke just after six months that I wondered, Dorothy Parker style, what fresh hell was this? What was next?
It’s not just household appliances though. A few years back British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman complained in her publication about the lack of quality she was noticing in her designer duds. Loose threads and buttons falling off after just a few wears. When you pay more, you expect quality. But why is “built to last” not a selling point any more for manufacturers?
I fondly remember the toaster, the waffle iron and the blender of my childhood, still going a quarter of a century after my parents had purchased them and (excluding the avocado coloured hand blender) still looking good. Or the vintage party dresses in my closet, surviving not only the ’60s but five years of me dancing the night away in them, looking as good as new.
But I am not immune. I remember wishing my bulky television would just break already so I could buy newer, more aesthetically pleasing flatscreen model. Or cursing my four-year-old iPod shuffle which plays on against the odds, denying me a new, upgraded version.
So perhaps the middle ground is doing your research for quality, saving your warranties, repairing and recycling when possible and buying things that you will love not just today, but years down the line. Like my rubbish bin. It’s been guaranteed for fifty years, and after all it has seen come and go, thank goodness for that.
