A generally good idea. My concern is that previous modular products I've bought in the past have tended to be useless because the company selling them quickly goes out of business. The subscription model mentioned here might help that, but I don't really want to feel that I'm renting something either (it's not quite the same, but similar). To make this sustainable, there would need to be industry-wide standards maintained indefinitely. Not easy. And I'd worry that something a la risk compensation would come into play : if something is easy to fix, components might be designed to fail in order to make future sales. Something that's easy to take apart so that it can be repaired rather than replace, now that might make a difference.
While the approach - known broadly as "design for disassembly" - has been around for years, it isn't much in evidence when you browse the shop shelves for toasters and blenders. But it could now finally be ready to go mainstream, at least according to circular economy expert Sophie Thomas.
A handful of small companies are putting the concept into practice. Mr Galama and Mr Leenders set up a firm that sells fully modular headphone kits. You pay a monthly fee and if any component breaks, you order a replacement part. At first consumers were wary of getting locked into a subscription model, but they are now "getting used to the idea", he says.
Gerrard Street is in its early days, but they have fellow Dutch pioneers Fairphone to look up to. The first mobile phone Amsterdam-based Fairphone produced focused on using ethically-sourced materials. But the second iteration was also modular - to ensure customers could change parts that failed or ones they just wanted to upgrade.
Furniture-maker Orangebox, based in Wales, designed its modular "Do" office chair to be easy to put together, with snap-on and -off parts including the seat cushion, arms and fabric back. Orangebox maintains the chairs, changing damaged parts, and they're also much easier to transport.
Dualit jug kettle is sadly destined for the crusher, when I call to check what to do with it, I find the firm does take seriously the idea of designing for disassembly. Dualit has been making repairable toasters since 1952. Customers can take them apart and slot in a new element when required. One customer reported they'd kept theirs working for 40 years - which is just as well, as it costs four times as much as an ordinary toaster. More recently Dualit has started selling what it says is the only patented repairable kettle on the market. (The repair does need to be done by qualified technicians, however - it's not a DIY job).
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45969676
It's an interesting problem that brings me back to the old adage "they don't build them like they used to" I'm sure we all know someone who has device X that's 20-30+ years old that hasn't skipped a beat. You can pretty much guarantee it's going to be simpler, heavier and not very energy efficient and probably less attractive.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how big a factor style plays in the engineering behind a product, if the design is going to unfashionable in 2 years is there any effort to make it last much longer than that?