Built to Last
Join us on our mission to reduce the mountain of broken appliances in New Zealand.
About the campaign
Our #BuiltToLast campaign is working to ensure fewer appliances end up at the landfill. You can help by choosing longer-lasting appliances and devices – we’ll help you do that. You can also encourage retailers and manufacturers to make more durable products.
We’re starting to introduce durability to our product performance testing, as part of a significant new focus on durable, reliable products. You’ll get our advice about which appliances last longer, so you can choose brands that make durable and repairable models.
We want manufacturers to test and disclose how long their appliances are expected to last. We’ll challenge manufacturers to make more durable and repairable appliances and to provide spare parts at a reasonable cost. We’ll congratulate good brands, call out bad ones and support those who try to improve.
Let’s aim for lasting change that puts durable products in the hands of consumers and gets non-durable products out of the market for good.
Tell us about your broken vac
Whether the fault is catastrophic or just annoying, we need your help. Take our two-minute survey to report what went wrong.
Waste Minimisation Fund
The Consumer campaign #BuiltToLast and associated e-waste project is made possible by partial funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF). Funding was approved by Eugenie Sage, Associate Minister for the Environment.
The funding of $190,000 over three years represents a 22% contribution to the #BuiltToLast project.
The purpose of the Waste Minimisation Fund is to boost New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation. The fund invests in infrastructure, services and educational activity throughout New Zealand. The fund is enabled through the waste disposal levy.
There is considerable scope in New Zealand to reduce waste and increase the recovery of useful resources from waste. Lifting our performance in recovering economic value from waste also provides environmental, social and cultural benefits and reduces the risks of harm from waste. More information about the fund can be found on the Ministry for the Environment website.
Survey of Kiwi consumers
A recent survey of consumers shows New Zealanders want better information on which products are built to last.
Help reduce e-waste
We can all do our bit. Our role is to fearlessly advocate for manufacturers and retailers to make and sell better products. We’ll also provide practical, expert advice so you don’t need to replace broken appliances so often. Can you help with a regular or one-off donation?
Built To Last in the media
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy & Consumer NZ head of testing Paul Smith - The Project, Three
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy - Magic Talk
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy - The Panel, RNZ
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy - Nine to Noon, RNZ
Consumer NZ head of testing Paul Smith - The DIY Experts, Magic Talk
Further reading
Get campaign updates
Get #BuiltToLast project updates to find out how we're getting on with reducing broken appliances in NZ. We'll also keep you up-to-date with our latest news, investigations and invitations to take part in surveys.