Innovative approaches to optimising design and use of durable consumer goods

The classical market economy provided basis for emergence of a throwaway society that is based on economies of scale, planned obsolescence and growing demand for new products. This society is clearly unsustainable. An alternative model is the so-called circular economy based on optimised product life span, extended services and remanufacturing activities. The aim of this paper is to understand the complexity of the product durability discourse from environmental and economic perspectives and from the viewpoint of different stakeholders and to discuss innovative strategies for achieving product durability by maximising utilisation rate and improving value of durable products for users.