Yes, they do not last very long now because people want to pay less. As a result all of the European light bulb manufacturers have closed down. Production is mostly in China now, due to lowere quality this had lead to a drop in overall efficiency. This of course is paralleled in the production of glassware and more recently art glass.
I am unaware of any research into the subject but would not be surprised if the 'real cost' in terms of energy use and replacement cost of the additional bulbs has increased as a result. That the perceived cost is lower is of course mere marketting and a consequence of the fact that 51 of the top 100 economies in the world are corporations and not countries.
There is no value in moaning about it as long as one supports it, but of course with the way that commerce moves today there are no options available for protest shopping.
If we take the example of target balls, is there a company anywhere that could produce a comparable item today within its local market community? The short answer is no and the only real alternative is to buy from the artists studios - yet I hear time and again that people would love to but cannot afford too. I would say that this is true because not enough people are willing to spend a little more. Thus the studio prices have to increase to meet the operational costs of the studio. In such a climate it is hardly surprising that companies like Caithness, which catered to a middle ground of quality collectibles and relied to a significant degree on department store sales, fail.