Eternally yours

Abstract

Solutions for problems concerning the natural environment are often sought in either a change in technology or a change in behavior. However, a society that is inherently sustainable must be based on an integration of technological innovation and cultural change. The challenge is to shape both technology and culture in such a way as to bring a sustainable society a bit closer (Oele, 1995). Products play an important role, as they materialize current practices. Product life cycles sometimes have become so short that new models replace the old ones before they even reach the consumer market. More and more products are discarded because the user gets annoyed, not because the product fails in its primary function. The consequence is an enormous waste of material, energy, time, space, and real innovative potential. Green product design or recycling do not really solve these problems. More fundamental attention has to be paid to aspects like the meaning of products, provoking more sustainable patterns of behavior through shape and construction of products, combining a prolonged life with innovation, economic aspects of longer life spans, and the design of sustainable practices. The aim of the Eternally Yours Foundation, founded in November 1995, is "to generate and disseminate knowledge of the design, production and use of durable products, including related services, which through their quality and character, provoke eternal use". The initiators were motivated by the growing consumption of material goods that is unlikely to be continued in the future. Quickly-changing trends, fashion and hypes, supported by seductive commercials, reinforce the habit of discarding products faster and faster. This paper examines the different aspects of product longevity, the reasons for disposal, and strategies that can be followed to increase the psychological lifespan of consumer products. Attention is paid to the interplay of objects and the behavior of individuals, groups and societies, introducing the concept of sustainable practices. © 2006 Springer.