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The charm of novelty, driven by the incentive to renew solely for the sake of change, allowed the carefree consumer to replace a product without hesitation even if it was in good condition or repairable. After-sales policies, orchestrated by distribution, with exorbitant costs of spare parts and labor always contribute a lot to pushing for replacement.
But the mechanism is gradually stalling, these policies are themselves obsolete! We repair, resell and buy used; E bay and the bon coins are for many, especially among the younger ones, the first shops frequented for a large number of investment goods. Extending life is becoming a “trend”, the development of recycling centers, fablabs and 3D printer applications are all stimulating factors! The exes of irresponsible consumption just have to prove their arguments!
Alain Tripier, CEO SEREHO and member of the scientific council of Adetem.
Planned obsolescence is a plague at all levels, especially economic and ecological.
Fortunately, the unbridled destruction of value corresponds to consumption models that seem to be progressively losing ground, especially among the younger generations, who rush to look for the products and objects they need on Bon Coins or on E-bay rather than to rush to the corresponding store or to Amazon. Many sectors are affected, starting from furniture, through household appliances, clothing and many other consumer items. There is also timid progress in repairs, especially of household appliances, including in the cycle sector.
Other sectors, however, such as mobile telephony, are still largely characterized by a race for novelty, real or presumed.
First catastrophic example :
According to ADEME, around 25 million mobile phones are sold in France every year, with almost 90% of the replaced devices functioning. The ecological damage is enormous: again according to ADEME “The environmental footprint of smartphones is mainly due to the extraction of minerals present in the form of metals in phones. The exploitation of mines leads in particular to the destruction of ecosystems: for a few grams of mineral, for example, it is necessary to extract 200 kg of materials”
Renovation is a solution, but ADEME insists on the risk of making the renovation market a guarantee for excessive consumption. In 2020, the refurbished smartphone market accounted for 14% of sales, in 2021, the refurbished smartphone market reached 16% of total smartphone sales in France.
Revenue from the sale of smartphones in France is estimated at 6.9 billion euros in 2021, an increase of 3%. Source : GFK Market Intelligence 2022
- According to a study published by IFOP in November 2022, the French are increasingly inclined to equip themselves with a refurbished smartphone.
- 62% of respondents say they have purchased or intend to purchase a second-hand smartphone (compared to 56% in 2021),
- 41% indicate that price is the main reason for purchasing a refurbished cell phone,
- 10% are motivated by environmental protection,
- However, 33% fear a shorter lifespan of a refurbished appliance.
Sources : ARCEP-Credoc / Digital barometer 2021
Second example:
Fast fashion, with the very rapid renewal of collections, cannot escape the inflation of sales volumes. In total, 827,000 tons of clothing and shoes, or 3.3 billion pieces, were placed on the market in 2022.
According to OXFAM » Between 2005 and 2019, consumption of shoes and clothing has almost doubled. The result is that today the textile industry is the fifth highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. This unbridled consumption of clothing pushes major ready-to-wear brands to produce more and more garments to the detriment of nature and man. For example, for a t-shirt sold for 30 euros in shops, the worker’s salary is only 18 cents” somewhere in Asia. According to the IFM, French Fashion Institute, the French turnover of the sector is estimated at around 89 billion euros, for clothing and shoes!
According to data collected by Fashion United, the French population spends on average 39 billion euros on the purchase of clothing (in stores, online, in private sales, etc.) and 9 billion on the purchase of shoes. More generally, French consumers spend around 64 billion euros in the fashion market, the second largest market after food.
To try to make us forget as best we can what lies behind our labels, “the fast fashion brands increase the number of discounts, sales and other advertising and push us to consume more and more… and faster”.
- 50% of the clothes are now on sale. In reality, some brands do not hesitate to produce clothing specifically for sale. And since the clothing is sold at a lower price, the quality is also lower. This is what sociologist Madjouline Sbai, author of the book ‘Ethical fashion is possible’, explains in an interview for Natura-Sciences.
- Inflating prices: Some brands inflate the price of clothes just before sales, before offering a discount on the product. In the end, we purchase the product at the initial price.
- Lately we’ve been talking more and more about emergency marketing; technique that fast fashion uses massively. We are bombarded with advertising messages reminding us that we have very little time to buy before the good deals disappear! The objective is once again to encourage purchases.
The observation is overwhelming! And these two sectors are not the only ones to have seriously gone adrift supported by “wild” marketing actions, both are emblematic of planned obsolescence..
How can we lay the foundations for sustainable marketing in this overwhelming context?
The commonly accepted definition: approach linked to the principles of sustainable development, value creation on three combined levels, value for the company, value for the consumer and environmental and social values.
Although almost all decision makers feel more or less worried, the obstacles are formidable! At the forefront is the pervasiveness of the ongoing business model and the obsession with short-term profitability.
According to the University of LAVAL (Québec), marketing is a discipline that aims to satisfy consumer needs. Responsible marketing is an approach that considers societal reactions, whether explicit (e.g. laws), implicit (e.g. public opinion) or likely (e.g. activism). In a nutshell and without going into trendy verbiage, the foundations are laid, marketing acts in a complex social and social ecosystem!
The 4Ps of marketing, certainly essential, (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) could be completed systematically from theThe 3Ps of sustainable development:
P for the reason: You need to ask yourself “what will an effective marketing strategy do”? First of all, the satisfaction of the target as well as standing out from the competition. If the approach revolves around differentiation, it now seems essential to think upstream about the reasons for the company’s existence and its objectives.
P per person: Digital communication habits and procedures risk distracting from the essential: selling products and services to human beings. The brand must above all tell a credible, sincere, transparent and honest story. Interactions with the target cannot be limited to a one-to-one pseudo advertising bombardment
P for planet: undoubtedly the most worrying! By continuing to work, produce and consume according to current trends, we cause irreversible damage, in particular by accelerating climate change. The hope lies in the fact that many consumers, especially among the younger generations, will opt for responsible, ecological consumption models, more transparent and more ethical products.
The image of marketing is catastrophic among the French.
The AFM KANTAR study of March 2023 shows that between 2/3 and 3/4 of those interviewed criticize marketing because it only serves the interests of the company, because it is invasive, encourages useless purchases and waste, sells products at prices higher than the real value…
Informative and transformative functions, such as the simple fact of keeping up to date on brand news, reach at best 50% of favorable opinions. According to the same study, careers in marketing are unattractive!
This overwhelming observation inevitably leads to the revision of marketing by extracting it from its silo. Once established, this imperative need requires considerable efforts on the part of companies!
Differentiation, essential for the success of the products and services offered, cannot under any circumstances be implemented according to the old standards. The key word is, and will be, globalization of the approach.
Internally, convincing finance that short-sighted profitability is not the solution, motivating and training teams, from research and development to commercial services, that a coherent approach can only bring us back to the fundamentals, that is, satisfying consumer needs, but not just any ones. manner, respecting global and systemic coherence.
Educational action and leverage effects upstream, in suppliers and subcontractors are essential to respect the values of sustainability. Carbon footprints throughout the production chain and life cycle analyses, which are not always easy to perceive, can however go a long way in raising awareness among marketers. But, as always, it is the consumer who votes!
Unfortunately, in the trend towards impoverishment of entire sectors of our societies, characterized by growing inequality, the relentless verdict of purchasing power does not favor ethical products that respect the global ecosystem, but are often more expensive in external terms.
In conclusion, the effort to be undertaken is immense and the marketing skills in the company are often reduced to a minimum! At that time….
Manifesto of the Scientific Council / 36 tests for tomorrow.
To discover the eleventh test of the Posters, click on the links below:
