Buy Durable

When my family (well, really my parents with me in tow) was escaping communist Hungary in 1986, my dad pawned his very hard-earned gold watch, allowing us to have enough money to bribe the border guards to let us out. If he had had a cheap, plastic watch, I would still be living in Budapest, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this book.

Imagine if we valued durability like we did in the past. Because major consumer product companies are in the service of what the majority wants, they would shift from making high volumes of disposable, low-cost products to lower volumes of durable, high-cost products. With no market for cheaply made goods that break easily, the idea of planned obsolescence could potentially come to an end—at least the kind based on the lifespan of products rather than fashion. We would also consume less—purchasing durable products would be more costly—but the economy would not suffer because we would probably still spend the same amount of money.

But seeing value in higher-quality goods would not just mean a world in which light bulbs lasted longer. Buying durable would be a sign that we have really shifted our outlook to long-term thinking; in a way, we would acknowledge that our decisions have long-term impacts. We would be making fewer but more-important buying decisions. Because our workforce would be making more-complex, higher-end objects, we would need better education, and our standard of living would increase, perhaps even faster than it does today. The epidemic of morbid obesity would decline, as people would eat less but better food. Birth rates would decline, as it would be more expensive to have lots and lots of kids.

All we have to do is change our purchasing preferences from disposable to durable goods. The amazing thing about capitalism is that it is in the service of our wants and needs, not the other way around. If we change our purchasing habits, manufacturers will change their products and services. The more we spend, the more power we have to change what the market produces. It’s been said that “the customer is always right.” While there is some truth to that statement as it is, when it comes to shifting market priorities we can confidently add, “but the more they spend, the more right they are.”

Practically speaking, prioritizing durability and quality over affordability in the products we buy may mean that we can’t buy everything we desire right this second; we may need to save up our money to buy that beautiful, durable pen instead of a cheap, disposable one. Even though the ability to own that pen is a bit farther off, the experience of writing with a durable pen may be better than with the disposable one, and you may never have to replace it. You may even be able to give it to your children, and they to theirs.

The concept of prioritizing the purchase of durable goods over disposable ones can be applied to all products except consumables like food and cleaning products. When you buy clothing, consider buying well-made, timeless pieces that will last and stay in fashion instead of cheap garments that you may not ever wear. In the end this change in shopping behavior and the resulting reduction in useless outputs may increase overall well-being and happiness of both you and our planet.