Actually by working in that field and having study consumer beavior, the problem is not with companies or government regulation. The problem is the mentality of people, always wanting to pay as cheap as possible. A refridgerator 30 years ago was 600$, and you can still purchase a fridge for 600$ today. Does anyone in their right mind really think it should last as long? But still, they purchase it instead of purchasing the one that is 1500$, and complains 3 years after that they have problems with it. The situation is really bad at the moment, because  even companies that offered reliable products in the past are starting to lower the quality so they can rival the price point of korean brand like samsung. They dont have much choice because if they dont do it, they will not sale their products. If the whole consumer mentality doesnt shift the earth and then us is in serious problems.

A real life example: you have the choice between 2 cars, its either the X brand or the Y brand. The 2 cars offers exactly the same features and looks as good, car X is said to last about 8 years/cost 30 K while car Y is said to last about 12 years/cost 40K. Well about 90% of the person in america will takes the X brand. This is why more and more companies lowers their quality. Usually, and its the case here, the demand comes before the offer. In this case theres demand for shitty products that offer lots of features and looks good while being cheap so companies are offering those.

Your right in what you said, but its everyone (all consumers and even more north american consumers) that need to step in soon.