Buy It For Life in a Disposable World

The day begins all-too-early with a blaring alarm clock and an immediate need for caffeine.

The kitchen beckons, offering the convenience of a disposable K-cup coffee and a packaged frozen breakfast. The bathroom calls, where disposable razors and packaged toiletries offer a convenient way to look at least somewhat presentable for your workday.

Lunchtime lingers, offering tasty takeout food in multiple styrofoam containers. A bottled water washes down the meal, while a to-go coffee keeps you going through the afternoon slump.

The result? You’ve survived until noon - and created a small pile of near-immortal waste in the process.

The Disposable World

Many modern societies run on cheap, disposable products. Convenience and cost are paramount; sustainability an afterthought, at best.

The problem of packaging waste is staggering, accounting for roughly ⅓ of all waste in the United States.

Worse yet, this waste lasts forever. Estimates from the US National Parks Service state that a plastic bottle will likely take 450 years to decompose - and it may be even longer than that, depending on how it’s disposed of.

Single-use disposable items are a big problem, but they are just a symptom of a worldwide shift in perspective...

Disposable Everything, or “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To”

Have you ever noticed that products just don’t seem to last very long?

Even “durable” consumer goods, like clothing, accessories and technology, seem to have a fairly limited lifespan.

There are a number of factors at play here. Overseas manufacturing is partially to blame, as more and more companies move operations to cheap manufacturing hubs. These arrangements are often made to lower costs as much as possible, which typically results in lower-quality products. It’s not that products made overseas can’t be well made - it’s just that companies are usually more interested in lowering manufacturing costs than they are in producing durable products.

Another, perhaps more sinister concept is also part of the problem. It’s called planned obsolescence, and it’s a widespread practice in a variety of industries.

Planned obsolescence is a purposeful strategy to design products with an artificially limited useful lifespan. In other words, it’s the process of intentionally designing less durable products that will need to be replaced more often.

Unfortunately, the process is quite popular in many industries. From tech gadgets to clothing to accessories, manufacturers dedicate significant resources to ensure that their products don’t last very long.

If that seems backwards to you, we couldn’t agree more!

The Growing “Buy It For Life” Movement

Here’s the good news: A growing group of individuals, companies and  organizations are rebelling against the concept of “disposable everything”.

The “Buy It For Life” or “BIFL” concept could be called a trend, a community or a movement. Regardless, it’s moving in the right direction - towards a return to higher-quality, longer-lasting products.

The internet is abuzz with discussions of durable products. Reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/ boasts nearly 500,000 subscribers, eager to show their love for long-lasting items.

Online customer reviews are making it easier than ever to gauge the durability of products, while more retailers are making it easier to return or replace defective items.

And, increasingly, more manufacturers are committing themselves to the pursuit of durable, long-lasting and high-quality products. At Trayvax, we are proud to be a part of this community.

Trayvax and the Buy It For Life Wallet

From day one, Trayvax has been committed to producing long-lasting wallets. Our products are designed to last decades, not years. We are extremely proud to offer a 65-year heirloom warranty on all our wallets.

Like every other company, our goal is to sell our products and deliver a good experience to our customers. The difference is that we only want to sell you one wallet to last a lifetime (or more!)

If you are looking for a BIFL wallet, check out our collection of elegant and durable products. Don’t know where to start? The Trayvax Element is our most popular buy it for life wallet - check it out here.