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Durability for Researchers and Product Innovators
Researchers and product innovators strive to develop materials and technologies that will maintain their strength, purpose, and appearance over time. It is often difficult to gauge these properties, because few measures exist for testing and evaluating materials and technologies over time. Even when a proven durable product has been identified, it is hard to sell because other groups can make false claims of the same result for a lesser product while charging less.
PATH develops means to measure how different brands of the same product compare in real-life conditions. In addition to PATH's work, trade associations provide further assistance for product innovators. Some of these organizations have developed measures of durability to ensure that builders and homeowners are not fooled into buying poor imitations that provide less long-term value.
Content updated on 10/29/2004