RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #80 Style&Fresh

This week is RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge No. 80. The two word prompts are ‘style’ and ‘fresh’. By the way, 8 is an auspicious number (according to Chinese traditions) – it symbolises prosperity. 🙂

The two word prompts got me thinking about consumerism and planned obsolescence. If you have never heard of the word ‘obsolescence’ before, the Oxford Dictionary defines it as ‘the process of becoming obsolete or outdated and no longer used within a short time. As an extension to that, ‘planned obsolescence‘ refers to the modern manufacturing and design tricks that ensure that products only last a few short years, so that consumers will have to discard their broken products to buy new products. This translates into more sales and more revenue, but on the flip side, it generates too much waste that is filling up our landfills daily. I was also inspired by Max Gor’s photo of disposable plastic water bottles floating in the fountain at Trafalgar Square. He aptly named the photo ‘Human Impact’.

So the next time you want to buy something, think about its durability before you spend your money. It is to your advantage if you buy durable and high quality products that are made to last. Do not decide on buying something according to its look, attractiveness or based on fashion trends. Buy something that is robust, hardy and perhaps classic (transcends fleeting fashion trends).

However, now there is a new trend emerging – the rise of the ‘buy it once’ trend. It shows that consumers are smarter now, and businesses are thinking for the benefit of the consumers and the planet as well. I hope this trend will stay around for good.

 

Unsustainable

Fresh styles of fashion
Planned obsolescence be damned
Unsustainable

Khor Hui Min
22 January 2016