Shining a light on planned obsolescence 💡Plus, ways to green your Halloween

My human was transferring the thousands of photos of me to her new phone the other day.

Apparently, I have hundreds of photo-worthy sleeping poses, and our selfies must be on call to scroll at all times. She was super stressed she would lose them all when she smashed her screen whilst, you guessed it, taking a photo of me and dropping her phone accidentally. 

Turns out it was cheaper to buy a brand new phone than repair it. Talk about chasing your tail.
 
But I did some digging, and it turns out this is all a cunning plan by phone companies. Planned obsolescence is when businesses make sure you always need a new version of their product. That way, you bury your money in their pockets.

They do this by shortening the product’s lifespan, making it more expensive to repair than replace, or releasing regular upgrades so you constantly feel like you need the latest model.

And no bones about it; planned obsolescence is just planned waste. In ridiculous quantities.
 
The practice began in the 1920s when lightbulb manufacturers had a lightbulb moment. The shorter the bulb’s lifespan, the more they could sell and the more money they could make.

Despite outrage at the time, it’s since become widespread in the strategies of car, technology and fashion manufacturers.

Imagine if we doggos had an engineered shelf life. When we came to you as a puppy, on our dog tag was a date, just a year or two in the future, after which we'd become statues.

When that date arrived, you'd have no choice but to pay lots of money to repair us or simply replace us.

Planned obsolescence is no treat; it's a trick.

ANDRE HUNTS DOWN THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

‘Andre, I want to have less stuff, but my dog Rosie loves toys.  What can I do?'

Happy spooky season to you and Keith! Here's my take on greening Halloween:

Nothing beats saying, "I made it myself!". DIY trumps store-bought every time. It wags the tail of creativity, can be a fun family activity and guarantees no-one else will have your costume, decorations or treats.
 
1. Skip the plastic-wrapped treats and make your own. Popcorn and cookies always go down a storm. 
 
2. Carving a pumpkin? Make it count.  Pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie are the staples, but what about some pumpkin dog biscuits for your favourite cockapoo. They’re great for his digestion. And you can compost anything that remains after the festivities end.
 
3. If costumes are your thing, you don't need to buy anything new. Instead, get inspiration from raiding second-hand shops or get your scissors out and create your own from old clothes.
 
5. Swap your spooky costumes and decorations with your friends and family next year.  See if they can add a freaky twist to your DIY creations. 

THE DIRT WORTH ROLLING IN...

1. A is for Art, R is for Repair; a museum exhibit bucking consumer culture
2. Chef's special: Muppet style pumpkin pie 
3. Life after the fruit bowl: old bananas delight as vegan ice cream 

DID YOU KNOW...

Most expiry or use-by dates are completely useless when it comes to deciding whether the food in your kitchen should be chewed or trashed. According to the FDA, these dodgy dates account for up to 20% of food waste in the US, costing US$161 billion per year.
 
To reduce food waste in your home, take use-by dates with a pinch of sea salt (except for highly perishable foods like meat and milk). Make like us doggos and do the sniff test when deciding what’s for dinner.

HUMANS WHO PLAY NICE WITH THE PLANET ®

This month it’s a double bow down for Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, who’s showing us all what putting the planet first really looks like.
 
First off, he co-founded 1% for the Planet, an organisation that encourages businesses to donate a percentage of profits to support environmental solutions. To date, members have raised $280 million for non-profit partners. We’re proud to have contributed.
 
Last month, Chouinard hit headlines when he vowed to donate all future Patagonia profits to fight the climate and extinction crisis. His actions have raised the bar when it comes to purpose and given us all paws for thought. 

That's all for this month, I'm off to swap tricks for treats with the ghosts at my front door!

See you in November.

Howling out,
Andre

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