ABSTRACT
Durability is a characteristic of certain goods in the industrial economy, which is focused on producing goods for sale. Producers operating in saturated markets, however, may regard durability as an undesirable quality, as it represents an obstacle to replacement sales. In recessionary times they may even get support from governments who seek to overcome this problem by paying an allowance to owners of perfectly working old automobiles to scrap them and buy new ones. The result is an increase in resource throughput without an increase in wealth! Possible longevity is aborted. This chapter explores the potential for product durability and longevity as economic objectives in a 'functional service economy', which (by contrast with the traditional industrial economy) is focused on selling performance. In such an economy the supply side actors (i.e. producers) exploit the existing stock of goods in order to make more money with less resource input. As product ownership remains with these supply side actors, there is an economic incentive to prevent waste and loss. The consumer becomes a user; ownership is replaced by stewardship.
