If you have a sense of how our society works, you have probably noticed that America has created an entire culture based on the idea of disposable, or junk, items. We make things that are to be shortly replaced and want everything to be as cheap as possible so that it won’t cost much to replace what is failing after only a year or two.
I’m not going to drone on about environmentalism or share my views on the status of America’s landfills. But as an employee of a financially responsible company, I want to examine this idea.
What makes this culture so popular, and how can we fight it?
Think about your last purchase: was it a cheap pair of headphones to replace the cheap pair that no longer works? Was it a fast food meal that left you bloated and unsatisfied? Did you buy a cheap set of dinnerware that you can only hope will stand up to your small child’s enthusiastic eating habits? Was it a 99-cent song that you will listen to twice and decide it wasn’t worth the dollar spent?
Whatever the case may be for you as an individual, it cannot be denied that America is in the midst of a disposable culture. It is more convenient to “buy a new one” than to have the old one repaired or serviced. Sometimes there is no one who knows how to service these disposable items, as they were never meant to be repaired. Corporate America has shifted its designs to match this culture, using cheap materials that cannot last more than a few years.
Now jump into the construction industry with that idea. What sort of homes are being built? What materials are being developed to go into those homes? Will they outlast the obligatory one-year home warranty?
When buying a roof, people often encounter a price with more zeros on the end of the price than they were expecting. As a buyer, it can be difficult to look at the value in the pricey roof system when you have an offer to install a minimalistic roof for a much lower price. Our disposable culture teaches us to place a lot of weight on the price of an item with the assumption that each will last approximately the same amount of time (which always seems to be less time than what is promised by the manufacturer).
At Lone-Star Roof Systems, we do our research. Through years of experience with various materials and certification programs that guarantee we know what we are doing, we are able to offer the highest-quality, longest-lasting materials on the market at competitive prices in Bryan, Houston, College Station, Dallas, Fort Worth, and the surrounding areas. As professional roofing contractors, we aim to offer our customers the very best. This is why we work so hard to show the value of upgraded roof systems – we offer roofs that are meant to last a lifetime! But often we encounter the “price issue.” While we understand the need to stay on a budget, we hope that you will click through some of our blogs, manufacturers’ websites, and customer reviews and see that we offer a product that is second to none. We offer quality lifetime roof systems that you can rely on.
What will you do to counter disposable culture?
Sources and inspiration: http://meloukhia.net/2012/12/countering_disposable_culture_one_repair_at_a_time.html
