Planned obsolescence and the vicious circle of waste

Osborne Computer
My first computer
Things become useless and unwanted so quickly. Purging your closet means tossing jeans that are now too skinny, shirts with yesterday's colors and shoes that were never quite "you." And, of course, kids grow out of their clothes almost as soon as they put them on.


Technology has an even shorter half-life. Thrift store shelves are filled with film cameras, VHS video players, scanners, printers, and boxy TV and computer monitors. Old record albums are treasured not for the vinyl disk itself, but its kitschy cardboard cover. 
Cool in always in.
I've certainly made the most of all this waste. I didn't foresee that planned obsolescence would infect my creations. But it has, in the form of bigger Kindles and smaller iPads. My large stock of Kindle cases and iPad bags may shortly be useless! Ironically, in my attempt to reduce waste, I'll be creating more.

Avoiding obsolescence

I've come up with 3 potential solutions:

  1. Adjustable cases. The pad that holds the device would attach to the book cover with velcro instead of glue, so I could swap out the wrong size pad for the new one.  But there would still be waste and lots more work.
  2. Create "on demand." I'd wait until someone actually wanted a case (based on the book cover or fabric), and then make it to order, so it would fit whatever version of the device the customer has.
  3. Redesign the cases so that size doesn't matter. This design, from Chica and Jo, looks like it may fit a range of sizes.
  4. Abandon making the cases altogether and switch to something else.

Blank books never go out of style

Option #4 is the easiest to try, so I'm starting there. I used the same process for prepping the books (instructions to come). I covered 2 mat boards with fabric (no padding) and stitched blank paper to them. (I used Coptic stitching, the same technique I learned to make books out of game boards.) Then I glued the boards to the inside of the book, creating blank books.



I'm not sure I'm happy with the fabric on the inside. I may experiment with duct tape (oops, not upcycling). Or I could take apart the covers themselves and only use the front and back, not the spine (more waste?)

 Thoughts?