I'm not sure if this is covered in the documentary, but I read something very interesting about planned obsolescence...or at least, lousy quality...from China. The cheap products which fail from China is a planned strategy, because China has no social security program for its massive poverty problem -- by some estimates, close to a billion citizens. The shift of the world to buying all things Chinese-made has allowed China to keep its economic engine running, because of the constant failures requiring repurchases and at least maintaining a source of income for workers. If the U.S. began building its own appliances again, for example, and/or electronics, it would be enough to tip China over the edge to disaster.