The 'end of life' stage in a product's life cycle involves what process?

The 'end of life' stage in a product's life cycle primarily focuses on what happens to a product when it is no longer useful or has reached the end of its usable life. During this phase, the product must be dealt with in a sustainable manner, which typically involves recycling or properly disposing of the product.

Recycling allows valuable materials to be recovered and repurposed into new products, thereby reducing waste and minimizing the demand for new raw materials. On the other hand, responsible disposal ensures that hazardous materials do not harm the environment. This stage is crucial for promoting a circular economy, where products are designed with their end of life in mind, aiming to keep resources in use for as long as possible and reduce environmental impact.

In contrast, the other options involve stages that occur before the end of a product's life or processes that are not relevant to dealing with products that are no longer serviceable. Transporting a product to a store pertains to the distribution phase before the consumer obtains it, while manufacturing new products and extracting new raw materials are processes that come into play at the beginning of a product’s life cycle.