WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.990 align:middle line:90% 00:00:00.990 --> 00:00:03.381 align:middle line:84% Have you ever heard of planned obsolescence? 00:00:03.381 --> 00:00:06.720 align:middle line:84% If the answer is no, consider this an introductory lesson. 00:00:06.720 --> 00:00:09.800 align:middle line:84% Capitalist tricks 101, class is now in session. 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:13.540 align:middle line:84% In 1924, lightbulb companies formed a cynical cartel. 00:00:13.540 --> 00:00:16.115 align:middle line:84% They agreed to rules about what they can and can't sell. 00:00:16.115 --> 00:00:17.490 align:middle line:84% They cut the lifespan of products 00:00:17.490 --> 00:00:18.740 align:middle line:90% to get their profits to swell. 00:00:18.740 --> 00:00:22.020 align:middle line:84% And it worked so well that now, this underhand tactic is common 00:00:22.020 --> 00:00:23.319 align:middle line:90% industry practise. 00:00:23.319 --> 00:00:24.860 align:middle line:84% From your printed ink to your tablet, 00:00:24.860 --> 00:00:26.900 align:middle line:84% wealth is being extracted at your expense 00:00:26.900 --> 00:00:28.400 align:middle line:84% and you don't know where from whence 00:00:28.400 --> 00:00:31.160 align:middle line:84% to seek recompense because we are all bound in a system that 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:33.690 align:middle line:84% rewards thoughtless negligence as long as it makes 00:00:33.690 --> 00:00:35.680 align:middle line:84% a few extra pence, ignoring evidence 00:00:35.680 --> 00:00:39.480 align:middle line:84% of a growing environmental, ethical elephant in the room. 00:00:39.480 --> 00:00:41.640 align:middle line:84% Now I'm forced to be the harbinger of doom. 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:43.980 align:middle line:84% See, this world has provided all we will ever need 00:00:43.980 --> 00:00:46.360 align:middle line:84% and even now it caters for all our greed. 00:00:46.360 --> 00:00:48.350 align:middle line:84% But one day, its finite resources 00:00:48.350 --> 00:00:51.230 align:middle line:84% will finally be exhausted by unchecked market forces. 00:00:51.230 --> 00:00:53.296 align:middle line:90% The only question is how soon? 00:00:53.296 --> 00:00:54.670 align:middle line:84% There's a second meaning nowadays 00:00:54.670 --> 00:00:56.086 align:middle line:84% to the old phrase they used to say 00:00:56.086 --> 00:00:57.880 align:middle line:90% about consuming an apple a day. 00:00:57.880 --> 00:00:59.760 align:middle line:84% See, the fruit keeps the doctor at bay 00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:01.520 align:middle line:90% and will decay when thrown away. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.020 align:middle line:84% But we now develop hardware which 00:01:03.020 --> 00:01:06.350 align:middle line:84% is more there and once consumed should be here to stay. 00:01:06.350 --> 00:01:08.780 align:middle line:84% But once again, thanks to planned obsolescence 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:10.930 align:middle line:84% and advertisement's omnipresence, 00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:13.370 align:middle line:84% goods are often discarded before their natural end. 00:01:13.370 --> 00:01:14.910 align:middle line:84% From source to market to landfill, 00:01:14.910 --> 00:01:16.920 align:middle line:84% they are condemned as consumers try to keep up 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:18.380 align:middle line:90% with the latest trend. 00:01:18.380 --> 00:01:20.040 align:middle line:90% Take, make, dispose. 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:21.670 align:middle line:90% Take, make, dispose. 00:01:21.670 --> 00:01:23.190 align:middle line:90% Take, make, dispose. 00:01:23.190 --> 00:01:25.760 align:middle line:84% Take a look at any of the world's natural cycles 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.270 align:middle line:84% and rhythms-- the water cycle, the life cycles of a plethora 00:01:29.270 --> 00:01:31.770 align:middle line:84% of flora and organisms-- and realise how unnatural 00:01:31.770 --> 00:01:33.640 align:middle line:90% our society truly is. 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:35.550 align:middle line:84% Consume at all costs and then dump 00:01:35.550 --> 00:01:37.990 align:middle line:84% what we consume, no care for where it goes 00:01:37.990 --> 00:01:40.220 align:middle line:84% or if it will be renewed-- that's crude, 00:01:40.220 --> 00:01:41.755 align:middle line:90% but it's not your fault or mine. 00:01:41.755 --> 00:01:43.880 align:middle line:84% It's a flaw of the way the system has been designed 00:01:43.880 --> 00:01:47.820 align:middle line:84% and it's time for a shift of our collective economic mind. 00:01:47.820 --> 00:01:50.400 align:middle line:84% Some pause for thought in this world of sold and bought, 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.160 align:middle line:84% pause for consideration given to a more sustainable vision. 00:01:53.160 --> 00:01:55.880 align:middle line:84% Imagine for a second a company for whom profit is not 00:01:55.880 --> 00:01:57.940 align:middle line:84% an obsession so you can grow to an extent 00:01:57.940 --> 00:02:00.250 align:middle line:84% but not to the detriment of the environment-- 00:02:00.250 --> 00:02:03.120 align:middle line:84% a company whose motivation came from driving innovation 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:06.600 align:middle line:84% like Henry Ford and his Model T, built with integrity, 00:02:06.600 --> 00:02:09.850 align:middle line:84% designed for longevity, named car of the century, 00:02:09.850 --> 00:02:12.785 align:middle line:84% proving that durable design can still hit the bottom line. 00:02:12.785 --> 00:02:15.230 align:middle line:84% If it's quality designed, it stands the test of time. 00:02:15.230 --> 00:02:17.640 align:middle line:84% Now, imagine if this visionary entity was not one, 00:02:17.640 --> 00:02:20.760 align:middle line:84% but one of plenty, one of dozens or hundreds of companies 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:24.070 align:middle line:84% seeking to utilise the abundance of resources that are already 00:02:24.070 --> 00:02:26.120 align:middle line:84% in circulation, galvanising each other 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:29.750 align:middle line:84% to solve the complex equation, bringing social, technological, 00:02:29.750 --> 00:02:31.660 align:middle line:84% and green goes into harmony, following 00:02:31.660 --> 00:02:34.730 align:middle line:84% the principles of a circular economy, an economy which 00:02:34.730 --> 00:02:37.220 align:middle line:84% is restorative by design, keeping products 00:02:37.220 --> 00:02:39.200 align:middle line:84% at their highest utility over time, 00:02:39.200 --> 00:02:42.680 align:middle line:84% redefining value creation, refining operations, reducing 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.250 align:middle line:84% waste and emissions, rethinking product decisions, 00:02:45.250 --> 00:02:48.680 align:middle line:84% reusing components cleverly, recovering precious energy, 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:51.500 align:middle line:84% revolutionising design, responding to the times, 00:02:51.500 --> 00:02:54.480 align:middle line:84% recycling, repairing, refurbishing and sharing, 00:02:54.480 --> 00:02:57.360 align:middle line:84% caring, doing all of this, and therefore daring 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.800 align:middle line:84% to do what must be done for the benefit of everyone. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:03.450 align:middle line:84% Now imagine being a consumer of the future or a fully 00:03:03.450 --> 00:03:06.420 align:middle line:84% sustainable producer looking back to this era, 00:03:06.420 --> 00:03:08.150 align:middle line:84% being able to say that you brought us 00:03:08.150 --> 00:03:09.790 align:middle line:90% nearer to where we are today. 00:03:09.790 --> 00:03:11.550 align:middle line:84% Will we embrace and make real the ideal 00:03:11.550 --> 00:03:13.110 align:middle line:90% of circular economics? 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:15.490 align:middle line:84% or will we be the generation that conceived it but turned 00:03:15.490 --> 00:03:16.182 align:middle line:90% away from it? 00:03:16.182 --> 00:03:17.890 align:middle line:84% Thank you so much for watching the video. 00:03:17.890 --> 00:03:19.690 align:middle line:90% I really hope you enjoyed it. 00:03:19.690 --> 00:03:22.410 align:middle line:84% If you did, please consider liking or sharing the video 00:03:22.410 --> 00:03:24.020 align:middle line:90% and subscribing to our channel. 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:26.380 align:middle line:84% This video is just one of a series of five poems written 00:03:26.380 --> 00:03:29.270 align:middle line:84% about supply chains to try and educate and inspire people 00:03:29.270 --> 00:03:31.450 align:middle line:84% to notice and act on the supply chains that 00:03:31.450 --> 00:03:32.860 align:middle line:90% surround their lives. 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:35.115 align:middle line:84% The project as a whole is called My Chain Reaction 00:03:35.115 --> 00:03:38.840 align:middle line:84% and you can find out more about it at mychainreaction.org. 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:41.610 align:middle line:84% Crucially, that's also where you can submit your own stories 00:03:41.610 --> 00:03:44.560 align:middle line:84% about supply chains and read other people's stories, 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.950 align:middle line:84% educate yourselves, and have a bit of fun doing it. 00:03:46.950 --> 00:03:48.210 align:middle line:90% Check out the other poems. 00:03:48.210 --> 00:03:50.200 align:middle line:90% Have a great day.