On this board and even in the larger world, many consumers are concerned over manufacturers that design appliances for planned obsolescence and use plastic way more than they need to. I am noticing more attentiveness to these concerns as more chip free appliance options are slowly beginning to appear and plastic free options are proliferating. The appliance options are still more expensive than they need to be and have yet to build track records of reliability and good service, but there seems to be a trickle coming through the dam. This morning as I flicked through Instagram I saw three plastic free coffee maker options. They were all too pricy, but the savvy manufacturer is clearly discerning a market is there. These things are still out of reach for many, but I do detect enough movement to cause a glimmer of hope. So far the appliances have been mainly stoves, but I am hopeful that chip free refrigerators and washers and dryers will make a comeback. As for coffee, the low cost pour over solution has always been there, but I imagine loads of consumers would welcome an automated drip coffee maker that was plastic free and did not cost $400.
In a world of chip shortage, I hope companies realize that no one needs a stupid “smart” refrigerator or quite frankly a smart toothbrush. Unless they are absolutely guaranteeing that it will have a 100% positive impact on my health or teeth health, I don’t want it.
I have noticed that small appliances I’ve looked at seem to have a higher end all metal option, but the bummer is the price point. Companies used to take pride in their durability, and now no one even has that as an objective in their quality statements anymore.
I’m sick of finding broken plastic (everything) on our cars.
How about these automobile manufacturers not use plastic clamps on any hoses. If we are supposed to serious about emissions, then lets make robust emissions systems that don’t utilize plastic hose clamps.
Sunshine’s car kept throwing an EVAP code for a small leak (long story – short), I eventually found the culprit hidden underneath. The PLASTIC hose clamps on the EVAP canister hoses had fatigued and broken. I replaced them with metal worm drive clamps – all of 20 cents. As much as these manufacturers charge for a car, why was it necessary to skimp & use plastic for a hose clamp.
Warning - I’m a cynic when it comes to “companies addressing consumers’ needs”, maybe not ironically, I’ve spent my professional career trying to help companies understand consumer needs. So that said . . .
I do wonder if this is more a response to business pressures that can be conveniently reframed as “consumer needs”. There are two business pressures that come to mind for these examples.
The first is the growing pushback on plastics (in general) in our food chain (read - microplastics). If that gains enough momentum our (the USA) laws on banned chemicals may change to mirror the EU. In which case, these companies may be trying to get ahead of this in image and start identifying supply chain needs.
The other is pushback on data privacy and data collection/ownership. Again the EU is ahead of the USA on these issues. I wonder if having chips in ovens/fridges/etc collecting all types of behavior data limits their distribution in other markets. There is also growing business and legal pressure to limit/control/restrict data collection here as well.
I’d love to say large manufacturers respond to “customer needs” but I have decades of experience across so many markets that make it hard for me to see things that way.
Either way - I hope both of these things happen!!! I don’t need a chip in my oven/fridge and I’m all for more durable, less plastic options!
It’s about fucking time that the use of plastic — or rather, overuse of it — is shifted from the consumers’ responsibility to the business side.
The tiny inroads I have seen are not coming from big manufacturers but smaller ones who have identified our niche preferences and are bought into the belief they will expand. Our church has an environmental ministry, and the growing list we share of nonplastic alternatives in daily life is pretty popular. My list is growing constantly, not including just the obvious things like water bottles but much less obvious things like salt.
I bought my Bluestar gas range precisely for this reason- no electronics of any sort to overheat and fail. No Wifi remote control. No clock. Built like a tank. All metal. It will outlast me, and I have plans to live for quite a while more.
