Scheduled obsolescence is a factor of increase of waste which contributes to the deterioration of our planet and obliges us to replace more often products which become unusable or difficult to repair.
Between the deliberate intention to create products with components whose lifetime is limited and the constraints of the production cost for mass consumption involving poor durability of the products, find real examples of planned obsolescence seems a challenge.
I'm looking it with a narrow field of vision
But before you reveal the subject of my disappointment, let's talk a little about rubber.
"Natural" rubber is an elastic material made from latex, a natural and renewable product secreted by plants.
Synthetic rubber, however, is derived from fossil fuels such as hydrocarbons. As it is a product that ages badly and is not recyclable, protective additives are added to it against ozone, heat, solar ultraviolet, etc.
Rubber to elastic, there is only an intermingling of threads that lead to my subject of the day.
I notice in recent months that a significant portion of the elastic of my underwear are stretched to the point that I have to replace them while they are also in very good condition and absolutely not worn.
The sudden and concomitant loss of their elasticity questions me ...
In recent years, I have reduced the frequency of purchase of my underwear by taking advantage of the most often sales to renew batch of different brands.
So recently I noticed the degradation of some of my underwear whose frequency of use and the number of washes were very different depending on the model (we still have our favorites) but were probably bought on a same and short period, about 3 years ago.
The common point of my underwears being distended is their age,
was the obsolescence of their elastic band programmed?
It is known that natural rubber can degrade after a great number of years, but the elastics of underwear that are not subject to extreme conditions seem less and less durable.
Do manufacturers deliberately use an elastic material that they know will have a limited life expectancy regardless of how it is used and then force us to throw out unworn products?
My observation seems to go unfortunately in this direction but it would take a scientific study to prove it.
There are now applications that allow us to check the quality of food products so when can we have information to find durable garments and underwear?
