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Is the US a throw-away Nation?July 28, 2008In my eight hour train ride from Winston-Salem, NC to Washington, DC this past weekend, I witnessed a view of America I had never paid attention to before. Rolling through people's backyards; voyeuristically staring at the boarded windows of once thriving small town businesses, their faded signs dangling from broken awnings, and peering through the dilapidated openings of enormous vacant factories, my father-in-law made a quiet observation: almost all the buildings we passed were built for a short life span.
Few structures—from the rusted, leaning metal storage sheds dotting backyards, to the plywood houses with vinyl siding, to the careless way people threw their possessions haphazardly around to rot in the blazing sun—were made to last for centuries to come. There were a few stone buildings and gates that whispered of times when people took great pains to build structures that could withstand the elements, not to mention Civil War, the Great Depression, and multiple children's playful destruction. The possessions owned during this time, now stored behind glass in the museums we visited, were lovingly maintained, mainly because things were harder to come by and people survived on less, regardless of their income.
Everywhere consumers turn there are ads for saving the environment, sustainable goods and organic products. The youth of our culture think this is new hip way to be. What people are missing is that we never had to leave this way of life in the first place. There are hundreds of books lamenting why this happened and its economic toll on the U.S. economy. But it seems nobody has approached it from a Vincent Bugliosi prospective: seeing what is happening instead of what we expect to be happening. Manufacturers create less expensive products with a shorter lifespan so consumers will buy more often, which fuels consumer demand for bigger, better, cheaper, MORE, so manufacturers dispense their assets—our people—to stay competitive. What a catch-22.
Consumers, and some businesses, expect the U.S. economy to continue thriving, so we can continue buying, but now we’re sitting at the crossroads of a possible great recession and the products we own don’t have a long shelf life. People are going to be hanging on to goods that were never meant to last, and the backlash will be an interesting test of our society’s sanity; rather like yanking candy from babies and reprimanding them each time they try to take candy from the child sitting next to them.
Nobody wants to be reminded that neighborhoods are floundering under foreclosures, banks are closing, and people have lost their jobs to cheaper labor overseas. Ironically, Germany is building manufacturing plants in Tennessee because the U.S. is now known to the E.U as the land of cheap labor. The so-called glory days are at a stand still.
I believe the next step involves a simple dose of common sense. When selecting the products to sell, purchase ones that make a difference: ones built to last, invests back into the community in which you reside, and aren’t harmful. This in turn will guide your consumers to make wiser purchasing decisions, which will force the manufacturers to make better products. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? That’s because demand creates supply and we’re reaching our tipping point. As gas prices rise and more and more people use trains as a mode of transportation, maybe they, too, will begin to understand what it all means. And maybe, just maybe, all those vacant buildings and junk piles that line the train tracks will slowly be reused, recycled, and built better. And then, one by one, our wish for a more attractive, sustainable landscape will become a reality. It all starts with a decision to change... Posted by Suze Bragg on July 28, 2008 | Comments (4) Industries: Retail
July 29, 2008
In response to: Is the US a throw-away Nation? Adam commented: WOW. Great article. Thanks for making me think and reflect on my own actions and how the small things I do can make a difference. You're right...it all starts with the first step: the decision to change, and everything else follows. I take the light rail to work every day and never paid attention to the scenery before. I will today.
July 29, 2008
In response to: Is the US a throw-away Nation? Barbara Hersh commented: Thank you for hitting home what many of us have been thinking the last few years.
August 1, 2008
In response to: Is the US a throw-away Nation? Eileen commented: I was thinking: when did we accept a lifestyle that made it more costly to repair an item than buy another one new?
March 8, 2010
In response to: Is the US a throw-away Nation? PCL commented: Interesting article, though I have to point out that looks can be quite deceiving when it comes to quality and longevity. Some of the most substantial stone buildings from earlier centuries were fatally flawed in one way or another and only lasted a few years. Although wood framed buildings are inherently prone to rotting, warping and fire damage, many have survived centuries due to regular maintenance and good luck. Tacky as they are, some of the shabby vinyl sided boxes built in recent years will probably have long lives if their owners are willing to keep them up and correct their most flagrant flaws (hopefully cleaning up their horrible aesthetics in the process). Even the sheetrock in today's houses, while more vulnerable to physical damage, lasts longer than most plaster based systems if properly protected. Today's consumer electronics devices are inherently more reliable than their apparently more substantial, tube based predecessors, though lack of available parts (mostly customized ICs) will probably shorten the lives of many. The point is that maintainability is just as important as the original quality of an item in predicting its longevity. Then again, if something is aesthetically hideous enough, its life could be shortened by the simple desire to be rid of it.
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