ABSTRACT
With some products, consumers develop an emotional bond. These products are judged to be important to consumers and are often among their favourites. If designers were able to stimulate emotional bonding between consumers and their products, producers might increase the lifespan of products, because consumers might hang on to their products for a longer time, and consumers would be more likely to repair products that no longer functioned properly. Therefore, stimulating consumer-product attachment may result in a decrease of unnecessary waste, in a decreased use of limited resources of energy and materials, and thus may contribute to a more sustainable society. It is unclear, however, why people become attached to products.
