The cell phone battery dies after two years, a computer after four, there are no spare parts for the fridge after eight years and suddenly, one fine day, the television says goodbye, just like that. “Nothing to do, it’s better to buy another one.” Does the diagnosis ring a bell? To Benito Muros, president of the SOP (Without Planned Obsolescence), it does ring a bell. And that’s why he’s threatened with death.
That SOP thing is scary.
No! It is a movement that denounces planned obsolescence. We fight for things to last as long as they have to last, but the manufacturers of electronic devices program them to last a certain time and thus force users to buy new ones. And the law allows it!
Do they die like that, all of a sudden?
The consumption of our society is based on products with an expiration date. Changing this would mean changing our production model and opting for a more sustainable system. Manufacturers must be aware that debt crises like the one we are experiencing are avoidable, and that we can stop ecological crime.
Whoops! My mother’s washing machine lasted 35 years, at least.
And now at six it already gives problems and it is better to throw it away. Also before there were unbreakable nylon stockings.
Weren’t there races? Where are they sold?
. They were discontinued, for this reason, because they lasted too long. But today there is still a light bulb that has been burning for 111 years in a fire station in Livermore (California). From there I got the idea to create, together with other engineers, a line of lighting that will last a lifetime.
Does it ever melt?
Never! It lasts more than a hundred years, but since we will not see it, we offer a guarantee of 25.
You don’t see it on the department store shelves…
No, because the distributors tell us that they live from those that merge. We have even had million-dollar offers not to put it on the market.
And how much does your bulb cost?
Bought online, about 37 euros. Manufacturers don’t care.
A genius or a madman?
Neither one nor the other. We only seek a more just society. Even if that means being threatened with death.
It looks like a science fiction movie.
(He shows us the complaint): “Mr. Muros, you cannot put your lighting systems on the market. You and your family will be annihilated.”
Is it worth being a hero for a light bulb?
It is worth fighting for a society where you do not live on throwaways, even if you are scared.
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