It’s a warranty that lasts forever! You can always get the product repaired affordably. Sometimes just paying postage, and other times paying a fair fee.
No matter how old it is. No matter what happened. No need for proof of purchase.
Do you have any goods like this?
We’ve coined this term as we want products, and their constituent materials, to be useful from cradle to death.
Why does this matter? Because most products today are built to fail.
This infinity warranty avoids built-in obsolescence. Or planned obsolescence. Where products are built to break or fall apart.
Products need to be repairable by design. Being modular and easy to service helps too.
Like Altberg, whose hiking boots are easy to repair thanks to their modular design. These boots will last you 20-25 years.
I think consumer goods fail because it’s profitable. Corporations know consumers will just buy another item from them.
But an infinity warranty realigns incentives. The corporation will design like engineers, not marketers. And the products will be designed to be repaired.
However, UK consumers have a part to play too. An unbelievable half don’t realise brands offer repair services 1. And yet 95% of damaged clothing can be repaired 2.
So what do you do?
You should pay for premium products that offer high quality, long life, and genuine repairability.
And when it breaks, get it fixed! Only when you’ve got a moment, of course. I’ve still got a pile of clothes that needs repairing.
A £200 backpack that lasts 20-30 years and is endlessly repairable is cheaper than a £50 backpack that dies every two years.
Buy cheap, buy twice — as the saying goes! Otherwise, you’ll end up with T-shirts where the collar rolls, jackets where the zip breaks, or hiking boots that let in water.
Have learned this one the hard way. I’ve got at least 10 collar-rolled T-shirts in my wardrobe! And, from that experience, I know my next T-shirt purchase has got to be from Sunspel.
Umbrellas are a fantastic example. In the UK, 18 million are thrown away every year 3. Most break after 6-12 months. Davek’s infinity warranty tackles this directly. If it ever fails to function, they will repair or replace it.
Well then, which brands offer this super-duper infinity warranty?
- Patagonia is pretty sweet. They offer lifetime defect repairs, and low-cost wear fixes. They’ve got a repair centre in London, and they’ll cover the return postage fee. You can check out multiple Patagonia products on our list.
- Nudie Jeans is up there too. They offer free repairs for life. So there is no time limit! Plus they’ve got UK repair centres.
- Osprey bags are awesome. They repair any damage to their packs, regardless of the cause or owner. And they prioritise repairing over replacing, plus will replace if the bag is beyond repair. Their ‘All Mighty Guarantee’ is the gold standard.
Maybe one of these should be on your Christmas wishlist!
So, here at Forever Goods we seek a world where nothing goes to landfill before its time. Perhaps you’ll think twice about throwing out that sweater — and pass it on to a friend instead.
Interestingly, when we all demand goods that last forever, we stop being consumers and start being caretakers.
Personally, I won’t stop demanding! Will you join me?
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