Planned obsolescence: gain or loss to the consumer?

Planned obsolescence is one of a company’s strategies in relation to its product. It happens in three ways: (1) the company shortens the life span of the product; (2) the repair of the product is made too expensive, and therefore the consumer decides to buy a new one; and (3) the company introduces better models. Planned obsolescence is often assessed as unethical behavior, contrary to the idea of sustainable development. In this article, I present the problem of planned obsolescence and then explain that this phenomenon brings not only losses to the consumer, but also benefits.