Planned obsolescence is a capitalist strategy where companies design and produce things with a limited useful lifespan — on purpose. The intention is to encourage new purchases, when none would be necessary. This tactic emerged in the early 20th century and has become common across all industries and especially in electronics, fashion, and home appliances. Companies implement obsolescence through various approaches.

Planned obsolescence means dealing with things that will not last as long as they actually would allow. This practice has environmental implications, contributing to increased waste when functional or repairable items are discarded. Some of many responses to these issues are the "right to ?repair" initiatives, ?maintenance and ?care discourses, ?degrowth and of course permacomputing.