Product Lifetimes : The Current Research Landscape

In recent decades, the average lifespan of consumer goods has declined. This
accelerating turnover of material goods is environmentally unsustainable. As researchers, we are uniquely positioned to build knowledge, interrogate and reshape the systems that drive shorter product lifetimes and premature obsolescence. As the Circularity Gap Report 2024 starkly reminds us, the
urgency of this work cannot be overstated. Between 2016-2021 – in just six years – we have consumed 78% of the resources consumed in the entire 20th century (Fraser et al., 2024). At the same time, secondary material consumption has decreased from 9,1% in 2018 to 7,2% in 2023, which represents a 21% drop (Fraser et al., 2024). The environmental cost of this trajectory is staggering, and the circularity of material-use cannot keep up with the increase in global consumption.
The Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) conference brings together some of the leading researchers trying to address ways for us to align our consumption more realistically within our planetary means. Within the PLATE community, there is a shared recognition that the current patterns of production and consumption are unsustainable and that extending product lifetimes is a critical, though complex, strategy for reducing environmental impact. However, the mechanisms behind product lifetime extension may also come into question. Therefore, it is crucial to approach the topic of environmental impact caused by product consumption from different angles.