Planned Obsolescence

The practice dates to the 1920s — a famous example is the Phoebus cartel (1925), which limited light bulb lifespan to 1,000 hours. Bernard London proposed it as economic policy in 1932. Industrial designer Brooks Stevens popularized the phrase in the 1950s, defining it as “instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary.” The concept now extends from smartphone design to fast fashion.