Fabricados para no durar (Comprar, tirar, comprar) SUB
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0:27 - 0:30This is Marcos from Barcelona,
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0:30 - 0:34but he could be anyone... anywhere.
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0:35 - 0:36What is about to happen to him,
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0:36 - 0:41occures daily in offices and homes
all over the world. -
1:00 - 1:02A part inside the printer has failed.
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1:02 - 1:05And the fanufactures sends Marcos
to technical support. -
1:07 - 1:10A technician can make a diagnosis
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1:10 - 1:12but it costs 15 euros plus VAT.
-
1:13 - 1:16It has become difficult
to find parts for this. -
1:16 - 1:19It's not worth repairing.
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1:19 - 1:22Repair will cost 110-120 euros.
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1:22 - 1:24Printers cost as low as 39 euros.
-
1:24 - 1:27I would advise you buy a new printer.
-
1:27 - 1:30It's best to buy a new one.
-
1:30 - 1:35It's no coincidence that all three
shop keepers suggest buying a new printer. -
1:36 - 1:40If he agrees, Marcos will become
yet another victim -
1:40 - 1:42of the planned obsolescence,
-
1:42 - 1:45the secret mechanism at the heart
of our consumer's society. -
1:48 - 1:50...
-
1:50 - 1:54....
-
1:55 - 2:00We live in a society
ruled by economic growth. -
2:00 - 2:04We not only grow to meet demand,
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2:04 - 2:06but grow for the sake of growth.
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2:07 - 2:12...
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2:14 - 2:16...
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2:16 - 2:19...
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2:19 - 2:25...
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2:27 - 2:31This film will reveal
how planned obsolescence -
2:31 - 2:34has defined our lifes ever
since the 1920s, -
2:34 - 2:38when fanufacturers started
shortening lifes of products -
2:38 - 2:40to increase the consumer's demand.
-
2:40 - 2:44They decided to shorten
the lifespan to 1000 hours. -
2:47 - 2:50We will find out
how designers and engineers -
2:50 - 2:53were made to adopt
new values and objectives. -
2:53 - 2:58...
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2:58 - 3:01...
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3:01 - 3:03...
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3:03 - 3:05...
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3:07 - 3:09A new generation of consumers
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3:09 - 3:13has started challenging
the manufacturers. -
3:15 - 3:16Is it possible to imagine
-
3:16 - 3:18a viable economy
without planned obsolescence? -
3:18 - 3:21Without its impact on the environment?
-
3:22 - 3:24The posteriority will never forget us.
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3:24 - 3:28....
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3:28 - 3:30....
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3:37 - 3:41...
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3:43 - 3:46Wellcome to Livermore, Colifornia,
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3:46 - 3:48home of the longest burning light bulb.
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3:50 - 3:51I am Lynn Owens,
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3:51 - 3:54and I am chairman
of the lightbulb committee. -
3:56 - 4:00In 1972, we discovered
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4:00 - 4:04that the lightbulb
that was hanging in the fire station -
4:04 - 4:07was a significant light bulb.
-
4:14 - 4:16The light bulb
over the Livermore fire station -
4:16 - 4:19has been burning continously
since 1901. -
4:20 - 4:20Ironically,
-
4:20 - 4:24the bulb is already outlasted
two webcams. -
4:32 - 4:35In 2001,
when the bulb was 100 years old, -
4:35 - 4:39the people of Livermore
threw up a big birthday party. -
4:39 - 4:40American style.
-
4:42 - 4:45We were hoping to get 200 people
-
4:45 - 4:49but finally, we ended up
with 800 or 900 people showing up.. -
4:53 - 4:58You can imagine to sing
a birthday song to a light bulb? -
4:58 - 5:00We didn't think they would.
But they did. -
5:14 - 5:16The origin of the bulb,
-
5:16 - 5:19it was produced
in a town called Shelby, Ohio, -
5:19 - 5:22back around 1895.
-
5:22 - 5:25They were put together
by some very interesting ladies -
5:25 - 5:29and some gentlemen of the company.
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5:30 - 5:33The filament was invented
by Adolphe Chaillet. -
5:33 - 5:36He invented his filament to last.
-
5:42 - 5:45Why does this filament last?
I don't know. -
5:45 - 5:48It's a secret that died with him.
-
5:48 - 5:51Chaillet's formula for a long lasting filament
-
5:51 - 5:54is not the only mistery in the history of light bulbs.
-
5:54 - 5:56A much bigger secret is
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5:56 - 5:59how the light bulb became
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5:59 - 6:03the first victim
of planned obsolescence. -
6:04 - 6:07Christmas Eve 1924 was a special day.
-
6:08 - 6:11In a backroom at Geneve
-
6:11 - 6:15suit wearing men
met to create a secret plan. -
6:15 - 6:19They established
the first worldwide cartel. -
6:20 - 6:23Their goal was to control
the production of lightbulbs -
6:24 - 6:28and to divide the world market
between them. -
6:29 - 6:32The cartel was called Phoebus.
-
6:33 - 6:38Phoebos included the main lightbulb
manufacturers in Europe and USA, -
6:38 - 6:42and even far away colonies
like in Asia and Africa. -
6:43 - 6:48They would change the patents,
control the production - -
6:48 - 6:51- and above all
control consumption. -
6:51 - 6:58It is better for the companies that
bulbs must be changed more often. -
6:58 - 7:02Lasting lights are an
economic disadvantage. -
7:02 - 7:08Initially, manufacturers striked
for a long life span of their bulbs. -
7:08 - 7:11On October twenty-first 1871,
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7:11 - 7:16numerous experiments resulted
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7:16 - 7:19in the production of a small unit lamp
of comparatively enormous resistance. -
7:19 - 7:24The filament being under conditions
of great stability after this result... -
7:25 - 7:29Tomas Edison's first commercial bulb
on sell by 1881... -
7:29 - 7:32lasted 1500 hours.
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7:33 - 7:37By 1924,
when the Phoebus cartel was founded, -
7:37 - 7:41manufacturers proudly advertised
life spans up to 2500 hours -
7:41 - 7:45and stressed the longevity of their bulbs.
-
7:45 - 7:48The members of Phoebus thought:
-
7:48 - 7:54"Let's limit the lifespan of
a light bulb to 1000 hours." -
7:58 - 8:01In 1925 they appointed a group called
-
8:01 - 8:04"The 1000 Hour Life Committee",
-
8:04 - 8:12- that would technically reduce the time
an incandescent lamp could burn. -
8:14 - 8:1680 years later,
-
8:16 - 8:18Helmut Höge, an historiant from Berlin,
-
8:18 - 8:21uncoveres proves
of the committee's activities -
8:21 - 8:24hidden in the internal documents
of the founding members of the cartel: -
8:25 - 8:27such as Phillips in Holland,
-
8:27 - 8:28Osram in Germany,
-
8:28 - 8:31and Compagnie des Lampes in France.
-
8:31 - 8:34Here we have a cartel document:
-
8:34 - 8:39"The average life of lamps for
General Lighting Service", - -
8:39 - 8:42"must not be guatanteed,
published or offered", - -
8:42 - 8:44"for another value than 1000 hours."
-
8:49 - 8:51Under pressure from the cartel,
-
8:51 - 8:55the member companies conducted experiments
to create a more fragil lightbulb, -
8:55 - 8:58that would conform
with the new 1000 hours norm. -
9:09 - 9:12All production was managered rigorously
-
9:12 - 9:15to make sure cartel members cumplied.
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9:17 - 9:20One measure was to set up
-
9:20 - 9:25a stand with many shelves -
-
9:25 - 9:30- to which different types
of lightbulbs were connected to - -
9:30 - 9:33So the Company Osram
was abled to register -
9:33 - 9:36how long they lasted.
-
9:39 - 9:43Phoebus enforced its rules
through an elaborated burocracy: -
9:43 - 9:49Members were fined heavily if their
monthly life reports were off the mark. -
9:55 - 10:00Here we have a list of fines from 1929.
-
10:00 - 10:06It shows how many Swiss francs
companies had to pay - -
10:06 - 10:14- for example, here when the life
of a bulb was about 1500 hours. -
10:20 - 10:23As planned obsolescence took effect,
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10:23 - 10:25lifespans fell steadily.
-
10:25 - 10:28in just 2 years,
they dropped from 2500 hours... -
10:28 - 10:30to less than 1500 hours.
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10:34 - 10:38By the 1940s,
the cartel had reached its goal. -
10:38 - 10:421000 hours had become the standard lifespan for bulbs.
-
10:43 - 10:47I can see how this was
very atempting in 1932. -
10:47 - 10:51....
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10:51 - 10:53...
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10:53 - 10:56...
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10:56 - 10:59...
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11:02 - 11:05...
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11:05 - 11:07...
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11:07 - 11:12...
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11:16 - 11:17...
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11:17 - 11:20...
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11:20 - 11:22...
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11:24 - 11:27...
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11:29 - 11:31Officially, Phoebus never existed,
-
11:31 - 11:34although it's tracks
have always been there. -
11:35 - 11:40The strategy has been
to constantly change names. -
11:40 - 11:45They used the name "The International
Energy Cartel" and others. -
11:45 - 11:51The point is that this idea
as an institution still exists. -
11:57 - 11:58In Barcelona,
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11:58 - 12:03Marcos hasn't followed the advise
of the shopkeepers to replace his printer. -
12:03 - 12:04He is determined to repair it,
-
12:04 - 12:06and he has found somebody
on the internet -
12:06 - 12:10who discovered
what actually happened to his printer. -
12:13 - 12:15The dirty little secret
of the inkjet printers. -
12:15 - 12:20I tried to print a document and it said
"parts of the printer requiere replacement". -
12:20 - 12:23So I decided to do
a little servicing of my own. -
12:25 - 12:27Hello, Marcos, I received your message.
-
12:27 - 12:29Marcos has contacted
the author of the video. -
12:30 - 12:36I looked into the printer and there was a sponge
-
12:36 - 12:40:::
-
12:40 - 12:42:::
-
12:42 - 12:44:::
-
12:44 - 12:49....
-
12:49 - 12:54and it won't function anymore.
-
12:54 - 12:57Their justification is they don't
wanna dirty your desk with ink. -
12:57 - 12:59But I think the problem goes
deeper than that. -
12:59 - 13:02It's the way technology works:
it is just designed to fail. -
13:12 - 13:16Planned obsolescence merged
at the same time -
13:16 - 13:19as the mass production
and the consumers society. -
13:20 - 13:25The whole issue with products
being made to last less long -
13:25 - 13:29is part of a whole pattern
that began in the Industrial Revolution -
13:29 - 13:33when the new machines were producing
goods so much more cheaply -
13:33 - 13:36which was a great thing for consumers.
-
13:36 - 13:39But consumers couldn't keep up
with the machines. -
13:39 - 13:41There was so much production.
-
13:42 - 13:47As early as 1928,
an influential advertising magazine warned: -
13:47 - 13:52" an article that refuses to wear out
is a tragedy of business." -
13:54 - 13:56In fact, mass production made many goods
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13:56 - 13:59widely available, the prices dropped
-
13:59 - 14:01and many people started shopping for fun
-
14:01 - 14:03rather than for need.
-
14:03 - 14:05The economy was booming.
-
14:26 - 14:32In 1929, the emergent consumer society
came to a full stop, -
14:32 - 14:36when the Wall Street crashes the USA
into a deep economic ressetion. -
14:36 - 14:39...
-
14:40 - 14:44In 1933, the 25% was unemployed.
-
14:44 - 14:47People no longer queued for goods,
-
14:47 - 14:50but for work and for food.
-
14:53 - 14:58From New York came a radical proposal
on how to kick start the economy again. -
15:00 - 15:04Bernard London, a prominent broker,
-
15:04 - 15:05suggested ending the depression
-
15:05 - 15:09by making planned obsolescence
composery by law. -
15:09 - 15:13It was the first time
the concept was put into writing. -
15:14 - 15:18Under Bernard London's proposal,
all products was given a leace of life -
15:18 - 15:20set with a expiry date,
-
15:20 - 15:23after which they
would considered legally dead. -
15:23 - 15:27Consumers would turn them over
to a government agency -
15:27 - 15:28where they would be destroyed.
-
15:30 - 15:34He was trying to achieve a balance
between capital and labor -
15:34 - 15:36where there would be always
a market for new goods. -
15:36 - 15:38So there would be always need for labor,
-
15:38 - 15:41and there would always be
a reward for capital. -
15:44 - 15:48Bernard London believed that
with compostery planned obsolescence -
15:48 - 15:50the wheels of industry would keep turning,
-
15:50 - 15:52people would keep consuming
-
15:52 - 15:54and everyone would have a job.
-
16:00 - 16:05Giles Slade has come to New York
to investigate the person behind the idea. -
16:05 - 16:07He wants to find out
if for Bernard London -
16:07 - 16:10the planned obsolescence
was purely about profits -
16:10 - 16:13or about helping the unemployed.
-
16:16 - 16:20Dorothea Weitzner remembers
meeting Bernard London in the 30s -
16:20 - 16:22during a family outing.
-
16:22 - 16:24Don't tell me which one he is..
-
16:26 - 16:28Isn't that interesting!
-
16:29 - 16:32Definitely intellectual looking...
-
16:32 - 16:35-You met Bernard London in 1933...
-
16:35 - 16:38-When I was 16 or 17 years old...
-
16:39 - 16:41my Dad had a big Cadillac car,
-
16:41 - 16:43which was the size of a Zepellin.
-
16:43 - 16:48Mother was driving, and Dad in the front,
-
16:48 - 16:50and the Londons
were sitting in the back. -
16:50 - 16:56Dad said that Mr. London
should explain his philosophy to me. -
16:56 - 16:59He was an interesting man
and he just told me in a few words -
16:59 - 17:03that this was his idea
to reduce the depression. -
17:03 - 17:08We were an economic mess,
worth than today even. -
17:08 - 17:09He was obsessed with this idea,
-
17:09 - 17:14like an artist is obsessed
with his paintings. -
17:14 - 17:16He actually whispered to me,
-
17:16 - 17:22that he was afraid that his theory
was maybe to radical. -
17:23 - 17:27In fact, Bernard London's proposal
was ignored -
17:27 - 17:31and obsolescence by legal obligation
was never put into practice. -
17:36 - 17:3920 years later, in the 1950s,
-
17:39 - 17:41the idea resurfaced,
-
17:41 - 17:43but with a crucial twist:
-
17:43 - 17:46instead of forcing planned obsolescence
on the consumers -
17:46 - 17:48they would be seduced by it.
-
17:48 - 17:50Planned Obsolescence:
-
17:50 - 17:53the desire on the part of the consumer
-
17:53 - 17:55to own something
-
17:55 - 17:57a little newer, a little better,
-
17:57 - 18:00a little sooner than is necessary.
-
18:02 - 18:04This is the voice of Brook Stevens,
-
18:04 - 18:08the apostol of planned obsolescence
in postwar America. -
18:08 - 18:11This industrial designer
-
18:11 - 18:14created everything from household
appliances to cars and trains -
18:14 - 18:17always with planned obsolescence in mind.
-
18:20 - 18:22In spirit with the times,
-
18:22 - 18:26Brook Stevens' designs
convades speed and modernity. -
18:26 - 18:28Even the house, he lived in, was inusual.
-
18:29 - 18:32This is the house
my father designed and I grew up in. -
18:32 - 18:34When it was being build,
-
18:34 - 18:37everyone thought
it would be the new bus station -
18:37 - 18:40because it was not looking
like a traditional home. -
18:43 - 18:47The most important for my father was
-
18:47 - 18:48when designing a product was
-
18:49 - 18:52He detested bland productos,
-
18:52 - 18:55that didn't create any desire
within the consumer -
18:55 - 18:59to inspire the purchase.
-
19:01 - 19:03Unlike the European approach in the past,
-
19:03 - 19:07where they tryed to make the very
best product and make it last forever -
19:07 - 19:13....
-
19:13 - 19:14....
-
19:15 - 19:17The approach in America is one
-
19:17 - 19:20of making the American consumer unhappy
-
19:20 - 19:23with the product that he has enjoyed,
-
19:23 - 19:26having passed it on
to the second hand market -
19:26 - 19:30and obtain the newest product
with the newest possible look. -
19:31 - 19:35Brook Stevens travelled all over the US
-
19:35 - 19:38to promote planned obsolescence
in speech after speech. -
19:38 - 19:42His approach
became the gospel of the time. -
19:47 - 19:52...
-
19:53 - 19:54....
-
19:54 - 19:57...
-
20:02 - 20:04Design and marketing
-
20:04 - 20:08seduced consumers into always
desiring the latest model. -
20:08 - 20:10My father never designed a product
-
20:10 - 20:12to intentionally fail
-
20:12 - 20:17or become obsolete for some functional
reason in a short periode of time. -
20:17 - 20:21Planned obsolescence is absolutely
on the consumer's discretion. -
20:22 - 20:28Nobody is forcing the consumer to go
into the store and purchase a product. -
20:28 - 20:30They go in under their own free will,
-
20:30 - 20:32It's their choice.
-
20:37 - 20:41Freedom and happiness
through unlimited consumption: -
20:41 - 20:43the American way of life in the 1950s
-
20:43 - 20:47became the foundation of the
consumers society as we know it today. -
21:02 - 21:05Without planned obsolescence
-
21:05 - 21:07these places wouldn't exist.
-
21:09 - 21:13There wouldn't be any products,
there wouln't be any industry, -
21:13 - 21:16there wouldn't be any designers,
any architects, -
21:16 - 21:19there wouldn't be any servants, cleaners
-
21:19 - 21:21there wouldn't be any security guards,
-
21:21 - 21:23all the jobs would go.
-
21:23 - 21:25So, how often you change your mobiles?
-
21:26 - 21:28-Every 18 month.
- Once a year. -
21:29 - 21:32These days, planned obsolescence
-
21:32 - 21:35is an integral part of the curricula
of design and engineering schools. -
21:35 - 21:39Boris Knuv lections on the concept
of product's life circle: -
21:39 - 21:42a modern eufemism for
"planned obsolescence". -
21:43 - 21:46I went shopping for you.
-
21:46 - 21:48I bought a couple of things:
-
21:48 - 21:49a pan,
-
21:50 - 21:53salt, a shirt, another shirt...
-
21:54 - 21:56Students are taught
-
21:56 - 21:58how to design for a business world
-
21:58 - 22:00dominated by one single goal:
-
22:00 - 22:02frequent repeated purchase.
-
22:02 - 22:06I pass this around and you tell me
-
22:06 - 22:08how long it takes untill they fail.
-
22:11 - 22:15Designers have to understand
what company they work for. -
22:15 - 22:18The company decides on a business model
-
22:18 - 22:22how often they want
to renew their products. -
22:22 - 22:26This information is given to designers
-
22:26 - 22:31...
-
22:31 - 22:34...
-
22:37 - 22:39Planned obsolescence
-
22:39 - 22:42is at the root of the substantial
economic growth -
22:42 - 22:45that the Western world
is experienced since the 1950s. -
22:48 - 22:49Ever since,
-
22:49 - 22:53growth is the holy grale of our economy.
-
22:56 - 22:59Growth Society's logic is not
only -
22:59 - 23:02to grow to meet demand -
-
23:02 - 23:05- but to grow for the sake of growth;
unbounded growth in production - -
23:05 - 23:08- that is justified through
the boundless growth in consumption. -
23:08 - 23:13The three crucial factors are advertising,
planned obsolescence and credit. -
23:15 - 23:19Serge Latouche is a noted critic
of the growth society -
23:19 - 23:22and has written extensively about its mechanisms.
-
23:23 - 23:27The three crucial factors are:
-
23:27 - 23:32advertising, planned obsolescence and credit.
-
23:38 - 23:40Since the last generation,
-
23:40 - 23:43our role in life seems to be just
to consume things with credits -
23:43 - 23:45to borrow money
to buy things we don't need. -
23:45 - 23:47That makes no real sense to me at all.
-
23:50 - 23:52Critics of the growth society
-
23:52 - 23:55point out that it's unsustainable
on a long run -
23:55 - 23:58because it's based
on a flagrant contadiction. -
23:59 - 24:04Anyone who thinks that infinite growth
is consistent with a finite planet - -
24:04 - 24:07- is either crazy, or an economist.
-
24:07 - 24:11The problem is that now
we've all become economists. -
24:13 - 24:17Why a product is produced
every 3 minutes? -
24:17 - 24:19Is this necessary?
-
24:20 - 24:24Many people has realized
that there was a need to change -
24:24 - 24:27when they were told by politicians
to go shopping -
24:27 - 24:30as the best way to restart the economy.
-
24:30 - 24:34With this Growth Society
-
24:34 - 24:37we are sitting in a racing car
-
24:37 - 24:41-- that no longer has a driver,
running at full speed -- -
24:41 - 24:46and that will end up
-
24:46 - 24:51crashing into
a wall or run off a cliff. -
25:08 - 25:10Looking at the service manuals
of different printers, -
25:10 - 25:13Marcos realizes
that the lifespan of many printers -
25:13 - 25:17is set up by the engineers
right from the start. -
25:25 - 25:30They achieve this by placing a chip
deep inside the printer. -
25:42 - 25:46I have found the chip called EEPROM,
-
25:46 - 25:48which stores the number of prints.
-
25:48 - 25:50And when the user reaches
a preset number of prints, -
25:50 - 25:53the printer locks up.
-
26:02 - 26:04How do engineers feel
-
26:04 - 26:06about designing products to fail?
-
26:06 - 26:11The dilema is captiured
in a British film from 1951, -
26:11 - 26:15where a young chemist invents
an everlasting thread. -
26:15 - 26:19He believes that great progress
had been made. -
26:27 - 26:30But not everyone is happy
with his discovery. -
26:30 - 26:34And soon he finds himself on the run-
not only from the factory owners, -
26:34 - 26:37but also from the workers,
all fearing for their jobs. -
26:38 - 26:41Well, that's really interesting,
it reminds me of something -
26:41 - 26:44that actually really happened
in the textil industry. -
26:46 - 26:50In 1940, the chemical giant DuPont
-
26:50 - 26:53anounced the arrival
of a revolutionary synthetic fiber: -
26:53 - 26:54nylon!
-
26:58 - 27:03Girls celebrated the new longlasting stockings.
-
27:03 - 27:05But the joy was short lived.
-
27:05 - 27:08My father worked for Dupont
-
27:08 - 27:11before and after the war,
in the nylon division -
27:11 - 27:16and he told me a story
when nylon first came out -
27:16 - 27:19and they were trying it out
for stockings -
27:19 - 27:24the men of his division were asked
to take these stockings home -
27:24 - 27:27for their wifes and girlfriends
to try out. -
27:27 - 27:29My father brought them home
to my mother, -
27:29 - 27:34and she was delited with the first products
because they were so sturdy. -
27:38 - 27:42The Dupont chemists had every reason
to be proud of their achievement, -
27:42 - 27:46as even the men towded
the strength of the nylon stockings. -
27:47 - 27:49The problem was, they lasted too long,
-
27:49 - 27:53the women were very happy with the fact
that they didn't get runners in them, -
27:53 - 27:57unfortunately this meant that
the companies producing the stockings -
27:57 - 27:59were not going to sell very many.
-
28:02 - 28:06Dupont gave new instructions
to Nicole Fox's father and his colegues. -
28:09 - 28:12The men in his division had to go back
to the drawing board -
28:12 - 28:14to try to make the fibers weaker,
-
28:14 - 28:19and come out with something
that was more fragil and would run, -
28:19 - 28:22and so that the stockings
wouldn't last as long. -
28:25 - 28:29The same chemists who applied
their skills to make durable nylons, -
28:29 - 28:34went with the spirit of the times
and made them more fragile. -
28:34 - 28:37This everylasting thread
disappeared from the factories, -
28:37 - 28:39just like in the cinema.
-
28:39 - 28:42We need control of this discovery.
-
28:42 - 28:45If you want the twice the ammount
of the contract, we will pay it. -
28:45 - 28:46a cuarter of a million...
-
28:48 - 28:50...
-
28:50 - 28:52What did the Dupont chemists feel
-
28:52 - 28:56about reducing the life of the products?
-
28:56 - 28:59Must have been
frustating for the engineers -
28:59 - 29:03to have to use their skills
to make an inferior product, -
29:03 - 29:06after they tried so hard
to make a good product. -
29:07 - 29:12But I suppose
that is the outsider's view. -
29:12 - 29:14Probably they just had a job to do.
-
29:14 - 29:18Make it strong, make it weak-
that was their job. -
29:20 - 29:23For engineers,
it was a complicated ethical time. -
29:24 - 29:26This confrontation
with planned obsolescence -
29:26 - 29:30provoked them to examine
their most basic ethical concepts. -
29:32 - 29:35There was an old school of engineers
that believed -
29:35 - 29:38that they should make prominent usable
products that will never break. -
29:38 - 29:41And there was a new school of engineers
that were driven by the market, -
29:41 - 29:44they were clearly interested in
-
29:44 - 29:45making the most disposable
products that they could. -
29:45 - 29:48This debate resolved itself
-
29:48 - 29:52by the new school of engineers
taking over. -
29:56 - 30:00Planned obsolescence
did not only afect engineers, -
30:00 - 30:02the frustation of ordinary consumers
-
30:02 - 30:05is reflected
in Arthur Miller's classic play -
30:05 - 30:06"Death of a Salesman".
-
30:06 - 30:07Just like Willie Lomax,
-
30:07 - 30:10all what consumers could do
was complain powerlessly. -
30:10 - 30:13...
-
30:13 - 30:16....
-
30:16 - 30:19...
-
30:19 - 30:23...
-
30:23 - 30:25...
-
30:25 - 30:28...
-
30:31 - 30:35Little consumers know that
on the other side of the Iron Curtine- -
30:35 - 30:38in the countries of the Eastern block-
-
30:38 - 30:42there was a whole economy
without planned obsolescence. -
30:48 - 30:51The communist economy
wasn't ruled by the free market, -
30:51 - 30:54but centrally planned by the state.
-
30:54 - 30:58It was inefficient and plagued
by a chronic shortage of resources. -
30:58 - 31:00In such a system,
-
31:00 - 31:04planned obsolescence
did not make any sense. -
31:07 - 31:10In former east Germany,
-
31:10 - 31:13the most efficient communist economy,
-
31:13 - 31:16official regulations estipulated
that fridges and washing machines -
31:16 - 31:20should work for 25 years.
-
31:22 - 31:27I bought this DDR-fridge in 1985.
-
31:27 - 31:32It is 24 years old.
-
31:32 - 31:36The light bulb is the same age,
I have never changed it. -
31:36 - 31:38It is 25 years old.
-
31:42 - 31:46In 1981,
a lighting factory in East Germany -
31:46 - 31:48launched a long life bulb.
-
31:48 - 31:51They took it to an
international ligthting fair -
31:51 - 31:54looking for buyers from the West.
-
31:54 - 31:58When the East Germans in 1981
-
31:58 - 32:00presented the bulb
-
32:00 - 32:03at a fair in Hanover, -
-
32:03 - 32:07- colleagues in the West said:
"You will make yourselves unemployed." -
32:07 - 32:10East Germans engineers replied:
-
32:10 - 32:12"On the contrary." -
-
32:12 - 32:16- "By saving resources
and not wasting tungsten" - -
32:16 - 32:19- "we will keep our jobs."
-
32:22 - 32:26The Western buyers rejected the bulb.
-
32:27 - 32:30In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.
-
32:30 - 32:32The factory was closed
-
32:32 - 32:36and the Eastern German longlife bulb
went to out of production. -
32:38 - 32:41Now, it only can be found
in exhibitions and museums. -
32:51 - 32:5420 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall,
-
32:54 - 33:00consumerism is as rampened
in the West as in the East. -
33:06 - 33:09But there is one difference:
in the age of the internet, -
33:09 - 33:14the consumers are ready to fight
against planned obsolescence. -
33:14 - 33:17The first me made
that really broke through -
33:17 - 33:20was a movie about the iPod.
-
33:20 - 33:23I was completely broke
when I bought this iPod -
33:23 - 33:25which costs about 400 or 500 dollars.
-
33:25 - 33:31About 8 months later- or 12-
the battery died. -
33:31 - 33:36I called Apple to replace the battery
-
33:36 - 33:38and their policy at the time
-
33:38 - 33:41was to tell their consumers
to buy a new iPod. -
33:41 - 33:42- Better buy a new one.
-
33:42 - 33:44- Aplle doesn't offer...
-No. -
33:44 - 33:49- Apple doesn't offer a new battery?
-No. -
33:49 - 33:51I wasn't that the battery died
that was annoying.. -
33:51 - 33:54in my Nokia cell phone,
-
33:54 - 33:56the battery dies and I buy a new one.
-
33:56 - 33:58Even in my Apple laptop
when the battery would die -
33:58 - 34:00you would replace the battery.
-
34:01 - 34:03But in the iPod,
this expensive piece of hardware, -
34:03 - 34:07when the battery died,
you had to replace the entiry unit. -
34:10 - 34:14My brother had the idea
to make a movie just about that. -
34:14 - 34:17We went around with a stencil
-
34:17 - 34:20spray painting over advertising of iPod.
-
34:20 - 34:24"iPod's unreplaceable battery
lasts only 18 months." -
34:27 - 34:31We put the video in our own site,
www. ipodsdirtysecret. com. -
34:31 - 34:33In the first month,
-
34:33 - 34:35there were 6 million views
-
34:35 - 34:38and the site went absolutely bananas.
-
34:41 - 34:44A lawyer in San Francisco,
Elizabeth Pritzkar, -
34:44 - 34:46heard about the video,
-
34:46 - 34:49and together with her associated decided
to sew Apple over the lifespan of the iPod. -
34:50 - 34:52Half century after the lightbulb case,
-
34:52 - 34:56planned obsolescence was in court again.
-
34:58 - 35:00When we brought this litigation,
-
35:00 - 35:03about 2 years after the iPod
was introduced, -
35:03 - 35:08Apple had sold about 3 million iPods,
nationwide in the US. -
35:09 - 35:13Many of the 3 million iPod owners
had having battery problems, -
35:13 - 35:16and were willing to sew.
-
35:17 - 35:20One of them was Andrew Westley.
-
35:21 - 35:25We selected from among
the consumers who had called us -
35:25 - 35:29individuals who would serve
as representants in a class action. -
35:33 - 35:35A class action
-
35:35 - 35:38is a particular mechanism of the USA.
-
35:38 - 35:44where a small group of persons
stand for a large group -
35:44 - 35:46to bring a claim before a court.
-
35:48 - 35:53My role in that case
was to represent 1000 of people, -
35:53 - 35:55maybe tens of thousands of people.
-
35:55 - 35:59The case became to be known
as "Westley vs. Apple". -
36:02 - 36:07When my friends learned
that this was a major case -
36:07 - 36:10they thought I was becoming a radical.
-
36:10 - 36:13....
-
36:16 - 36:18In December 2003,
-
36:18 - 36:22Elizabeth Pritzker filed the case
at the San Mateo County Court, -
36:22 - 36:26just a few blocks
from the Apple headquarters. -
36:29 - 36:33We asked Apple
for a number of technical documents -
36:33 - 36:35regarding the battery life in the iPod,
-
36:35 - 36:39and we received a lot a technical data
-
36:39 - 36:42about the battery design,
about the testing of the battery. -
36:42 - 36:44We discovered that
-
36:44 - 36:48the battery in the iPod
-
36:48 - 36:53was designed from the beginning
to have a really short life. -
36:58 - 37:01I do think
that the development of the iPod -
37:01 - 37:04was intended to be
one of planned obsolescence. -
37:06 - 37:08After a tense few months,
-
37:08 - 37:10both parts hammered out a settlement:
-
37:10 - 37:13Apple put a replacement service
for the batteries, -
37:13 - 37:15and extended the guaranty for 2 ańos.
-
37:16 - 37:19The claiments were offered compensation.
-
37:21 - 37:23One thing that really bothers
me personally, is that -
37:23 - 37:27Apple promotes itself
-
37:27 - 37:31as a young, hip,
forward thinking company. -
37:31 - 37:35And for a company like that,
not to have a good environment policy -
37:36 - 37:39that allows consumers to return products
-
37:39 - 37:41for proper recycling
-
37:41 - 37:46is in contra to their message.
-
37:53 - 37:58Planned obsolescence produces
a constant stream of waste -
37:58 - 38:02which is shipped to 3rd world countries,
such as Ghana in Africa. -
38:03 - 38:06It's between 8 or 9 years now,
-
38:06 - 38:10when I noticed
that a lot of containers came to Ghana -
38:10 - 38:11with electronic waste.
-
38:12 - 38:16We are talking
about end-of-life computers -
38:16 - 38:17about end-of-life televisions
-
38:17 - 38:20which nobody wants
in the developed countries. -
38:22 - 38:23Shipping electronic waste
to 3rd world countries -
38:23 - 38:27is forbidden by international law.
-
38:27 - 38:30But the merciants use a simple trick:
-
38:30 - 38:33they declare the waste
as second-hand goods. -
38:39 - 38:43More than 80% of the electronic waste
that arrives in Ghana -
38:43 - 38:45is totally be unrepair
-
38:45 - 38:48and whole container are abandoned
in the dumbsides all around the country. -
38:49 - 38:52We are here
at the dumbside of Agbogbloshie. -
38:52 - 38:56In the past, we had this beautiful river
called Odaw river, -
38:56 - 39:00...
-
39:00 - 39:03It had so much fish.
-
39:04 - 39:07After the school,
actually not very far from here, -
39:07 - 39:10we came to play football
and hang around the river. -
39:10 - 39:13The fishermen would organize boat rides.
-
39:13 - 39:16But now it's all finished,
it's all gone. -
39:16 - 39:20And that makes me really really sad
and it makes me angry. -
39:25 - 39:29These days, there are no school kids
playing here after class. -
39:29 - 39:34Instead, youngsters from poor families
come here looking for scrapmetal. -
39:34 - 39:39They burn the plastic covered cables
to salvage the metal inside. -
39:47 - 39:49What is left,
-
39:49 - 39:53is picked up from the younger children
looking for any tiny pieces of metal -
39:53 - 39:55which the older boys may have missed.
-
40:12 - 40:14Those behind the shipments say:
-
40:14 - 40:17"well, we try to break the digital divide...
-
40:17 - 40:21between Europe, America and
then the rest as Africa, like Ghana. -
40:21 - 40:24But the reality is that
the computers that arrive here -
40:24 - 40:26does not work.
-
40:29 - 40:32It makes no sense to receive
-
40:32 - 40:34if you cannot deal with it
-
40:34 - 40:38and the country is used
as the world's trash bin. -
40:46 - 40:51The trash that has been
so long hidden from view -
40:51 - 40:53is now coming in our life
-
40:53 - 40:55and we have no longer reason
to avoid it. -
40:55 - 40:58The waste economy
is reaching its last legs -
40:58 - 41:01because fisically there is no space
to put the waste. -
41:01 - 41:05In the course of time,
we've come to realize -
41:05 - 41:09that the planet we're living on
cannot sustain that forever. -
41:09 - 41:12There is a limit of natural resources
-
41:12 - 41:14and there is a limit to energy resources.
-
41:15 - 41:18Posterity will never forgive us.
-
41:18 - 41:22...the throw-away attitudes
-
41:22 - 41:26the throw-away life styles of people
in the advanced countries. -
41:28 - 41:30People all over the world
-
41:30 - 41:33have started acting
against planned obsolescence. -
41:35 - 41:39Mike Anane is fighting against it
from receiving it. -
41:39 - 41:42He has started
by collecting information. -
41:42 - 41:47This is where I keep the waste
which have property targets. -
41:47 - 41:52This says "AMU Centre, North-West Sjaelland",
it's from Denmark. -
41:52 - 41:56This is from Germany,
send here just to be damned. -
41:57 - 41:58Westminster college,
-
41:58 - 42:02Apple should know better:
Apple is a company that says to be ecologic -
42:01 - 42:05There are a lot of Apple products
that are being damned here. -
42:07 - 42:13We have a data base with the asset targets
and contacts -
42:13 - 42:15and telephone numbers of the companies
that owned -
42:15 - 42:18the electronic waste damned in Ghana.
-
42:20 - 42:22Mike Anane plannes
to turn this information -
42:22 - 42:26into evidence in a Court case.
-
42:30 - 42:33We need to take some action,
some punitive measure. -
42:33 - 42:35We need to process people,
-
42:35 - 42:38so they stop dumping e-waste in Ghana.
-
42:49 - 42:52Marcos is on the internet again
-
42:52 - 42:54looking for a way
to extend the life of his printer. -
42:57 - 43:01He has discovered a Russian website
who offers a free software -
43:01 - 43:04for printers with a counter chip.
-
43:05 - 43:08The programmer has even
gone to the trouble -
43:08 - 43:10of explaining his personal motivation:
-
43:10 - 43:13This happens due of a bad construction,
-
43:13 - 43:15this is their business model,
-
43:15 - 43:18not a good one for users
and the environment. -
43:18 - 43:22So I found the way to create
a userfriendly software -
43:22 - 43:28to allow the reset of the counter.
-
43:28 - 43:30Marcos doesn't know what to expect,
-
43:30 - 43:33but downloads the software anyway.
-
43:36 - 43:38From a small village in France,
-
43:38 - 43:41John Thackara fights planned obsolescence
-
43:41 - 43:43by helping share
business and design ideas, -
43:43 - 43:45ideas which come from all over the globe.
-
43:46 - 43:50In the poorer countries,
the things are repaired automatically. -
43:50 - 43:53The idea to throw away a product
because it breaks -
43:53 - 43:58is unthinkable for somebody
in the South. -
43:59 - 44:02In India, there is actually a word,
"jugaad", -
44:02 - 44:05that describes the tradition
of being able to fix things, -
44:05 - 44:09pretty much regardless
of the complexity of it. -
44:12 - 44:15We try to find people
who are actively doing projects -
44:15 - 44:20rather than making abstract statements
-
44:20 - 44:23about how awful things are
or that it has to be changed. -
44:28 - 44:30One of these people is Warner Phillips,
-
44:30 - 44:34descendent of the dynasty
of lightbulb manufacturers. -
44:38 - 44:40I remember my grandfather taking me to
-
44:40 - 44:42the Phillips' factories
-
44:42 - 44:46to show me
how lightbulbs were mass manufactured -
44:46 - 44:48which is very cool.
-
44:53 - 44:56Nearly a 100 years after the creation
of the lightbulb cartel, -
44:56 - 44:59Warner Philips follows the family tradition,
-
44:59 - 45:01but with a different approach:
-
45:01 - 45:05he produces a LED-bulb
which lasts 25 years. -
45:09 - 45:14It's not like there is a green world
and there is a business world. -
45:16 - 45:19Business and sustaintibility
is going hand in hand. -
45:19 - 45:21Actually, it's the best basis
to build the business on. -
45:22 - 45:24The only way to do this
-
45:24 - 45:27is to consider the true cost
-
45:27 - 45:30of the resources that have been used.
-
45:30 - 45:31Also look at the energy consumption,
-
45:31 - 45:35also the indirect consumption
of transportation. -
45:35 - 45:40The transport sector would pay
the actual costs of shipping, - -
45:40 - 45:46- not to mention the fact
that oil is unrenewable, - -
45:46 - 45:51- if the current price was
multiplied by 20 or 30. -
45:52 - 45:55...
-
45:55 - 45:59...
-
45:59 - 46:03...
-
46:05 - 46:09Fighting against planned obsolescence
-
46:09 - 46:13can also be achieved by rethinking the
engineering and the production of the goods. -
46:13 - 46:17A new concept called "cradle to cradle",
-
46:17 - 46:20claims that if the factories
works as nature -
46:20 - 46:24planned obsolescence itself
would become obsolete. -
46:28 - 46:32saving, reduction, zero waste, etc.
-
46:33 - 46:36But nature doesn't save anything,
eg. when a cherry blossoms... -
46:36 - 46:39...
-
46:43 - 46:46Nature produces abundanly,
-
46:46 - 46:51but fallen blossoms, dead leafs
and other discarded materials are not waste. -
46:51 - 46:54They become nutrients for other organisms.
-
46:56 - 47:00Nature produces no waste,
only nutrients. -
47:02 - 47:07Braungart believes that industry can
imitate this virtuous circle of nature. -
47:08 - 47:12He proved that this is possible
when he redesigned the production process -
47:12 - 47:14of a Swiss textile company.
-
47:16 - 47:23Imagine a sofa or a chair
with a fabric like this; - -
47:23 - 47:26- it's decorations are so toxic that
-
47:26 - 47:29it must be handled as hazardous waste.
-
47:32 - 47:35Braungart found that hundreds
of highly toxic chemicals -
47:35 - 47:39were used at the factory.
-
47:40 - 47:42For the production of the new fabrics,
-
47:42 - 47:45Braungart and his team reduced the list
-
47:45 - 47:50at 36 sustances,
all of them biodegradable. -
47:51 - 47:54Now we select edible materials.
-
47:54 - 47:58You should be able
to have this with your muesli. -
47:59 - 48:00In a waste-based society,
-
48:00 - 48:03short-life products
will cause problems of waste. -
48:03 - 48:06But if manufactureres use nutrients,
-
48:06 - 48:10the products can become something new.
-
48:10 - 48:14For the more radical critics
of planned obsolescence, -
48:14 - 48:17reforming production is not enough:
-
48:17 - 48:21they want to rethink our
entiry economic system and our values. -
48:22 - 48:26A true revolution
requires a cultural change, - -
48:26 - 48:29- a paradigm shift and
a change in mentality. -
48:30 - 48:33This revolution is called "De-growth".
-
48:33 - 48:36Serge Latouche travels
from conference to conference -
48:36 - 48:41explaining how to get out
of the growth society alltogether. -
48:42 - 48:45Anti-Growth is a provocative
slogan that will break - -
48:45 - 48:50the way of thought
-
48:50 - 48:56that considers infine growth
to be possible and sustainable. -
48:56 - 49:01It marks the necessity
to change our logic. -
49:03 - 49:06The main message of anti-growth is
-
49:06 - 49:10to reduce our environmental footprint, -
-
49:10 - 49:15- our waste, overproduction
and overconsumption. -
49:16 - 49:22By reducing production and consumption
we get more free time - -
49:22 - 49:25- to develop other forms of wealth
-
49:25 - 49:30that can't be exhausted, -
-
49:30 - 49:32- for example
friendship and learning. -
49:35 - 49:37...
-
49:37 - 49:40...
-
49:40 - 49:43...
-
49:43 - 49:45....
-
49:45 - 49:48...
-
49:48 - 49:51...
-
49:51 - 49:53...
-
49:58 - 50:02If happiness was dependent
on our consumption level, - -
50:02 - 50:06we should be 100% content.
-
50:06 - 50:11We consume 26 times more
than in Marx's time. -
50:11 - 50:13But all studies show
-
50:13 - 50:15that people are not 20 times happier.
-
50:15 - 50:18Because happiness is always subjective.
-
50:22 - 50:27Critics of degrowth say that
it will destroy our modern economy -
50:27 - 50:30and would take us straight
back to the Stone Age. -
50:32 - 50:34To return to a society
of sustainable development - -
50:34 - 50:39To return to a society
of sustainable development - -
50:39 - 50:43- is not to go back to the
Stone Age, but to the 1960s. -
50:43 - 50:46- is not to go back to the
Stone Age, but to the 1960s. -
50:46 - 50:49It is far from the Stone Age.
-
50:52 - 50:57Anti-Growth Society meets
Ghandi's vision: -
50:57 - 51:00"The world is big enough
-
51:00 - 51:02to satisfy everyone's needs," -
-
51:02 - 51:04- "but will always be too small
-
51:04 - 51:06to satisfy individual greed."
-
51:33 - 51:38Marcos is installing
the russian freeware on his computer. -
51:42 - 51:43The new software allowes him
-
51:43 - 51:47to reset the counter chip
inside his printer back to zero. -
51:49 - 51:54The printer inmediately unlocks.
- Title:
- Fabricados para no durar (Comprar, tirar, comprar) SUB
- Description:
-
http://www.rtve.es/television/documentales/comprar-tirar-comprar/
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-documental/documental-comprar-tirar-comprar/983391/
"Baterías que se 'mueren' a los 18 meses de ser estrenadas, impresoras que se bloquean al llegar a un número determinado de impresiones, bombillas que se funden a las mil horas... ¿Por qué, pese a los avances tecnológicos, los productos de consumo duran cada vez menos? ¿Quieres saber dónde terminan?"
"Comprar, tirar, comprar"; un documental que nos revela el secreto: obsolescencia programada, el motor de la economía moderna. Rodado en España, Francia, Alemania, Estados Unidos y Ghana hace un recorrido por la historia de una práctica empresarial que consiste en la reducción deliberada de la vida de un producto para incrementar su consumo porque, como ya publicaba en 1928 una influyente revista de publicidad norteamericana, "un artículo que no se desgasta es una tragedia para los negocios". - Video Language:
- Spanish
- Duration:
- 52:18
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enteka6 edited English subtitles for Fabricados para no durar (Comprar, tirar, comprar) SUB | ||
enteka6 edited English subtitles for Fabricados para no durar (Comprar, tirar, comprar) SUB | ||
enteka6 added a translation |