On 23 December 1924, top light bulb executives gathered in Geneva—not to improve bulbs, but to limit their lifespan.
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The meeting led to the creation of the Phoebus cartel—designed to enforce a global plan to reduce bulb lifespan.
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Major players included Osram, Philips, Compagnie des Lampes, and General Electric’s global arms.
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Instead of innovation, the companies focused on shortening the life of light bulbs to 1,000 hours.
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Bulbs once lasted over 2,000 hours. After the cartel's plan, life was capped at just 1,000 hours.
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Factories were penalized if bulbs lasted too long. Samples were tested in Switzerland.
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Companies worldwide, from Brazil to Japan, joined the cartel and followed its rules.
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Once aimed at making better bulbs, R&D now focused on making them fail faster.
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WWII broke up the cartel, but the shortened bulb life continued for decades after.
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The Phoebus cartel became a textbook case of planned obsolescence—a strategy still used today.
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Today, energy-efficient and long-lasting LED bulbs have replaced most incandescent bulbs.
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The scam shows how industries can sacrifice innovation for profit—and why transparency matters.
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