雅思阅读

📖 Reading Passage

The concept of 'planned obsolescence' has been a subject of intense debate among economists and environmentalists. While manufacturers argue that deliberately designing products with a limited lifespan encourages innovation and drives economic growth by stimulating consumer demand, critics contend that this practice leads to unsustainable resource consumption and exacerbates electronic waste. A recent study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology suggests that the environmental impact of frequent product replacement often outweighs the benefits of technological advancements, particularly in the electronics sector. The authors propose a shift towards modular design and repairability, which could extend product lifecycles and reduce the ecological footprint. However, they acknowledge that such a transition requires significant changes in corporate business models and consumer behavior, posing substantial challenges in a market driven by short-term profit motives.