The Story of Stuff has been one of those cool things that everyone knows about on the internet for quite some time now, so I’m a little late jumping on the bandwagon. But as they say, better late than never.
Under the link above you’ll find a 20 minute video made by Annie Leonard about “stuff”: where raw materials come from, how stuff is manufactured and produced, and where it goes, plus more about the people who work at various places in this system, and the role of government and corporations. Basically, it’s an overview of our capitalist consumerist economy today. With only 20 minutes, it’s pretty simplistic, but Annie is a very good speaker (with entertaining pictures too) and hits on a lot of really good points in a manner that’s accessible to all. It will really get you thinking.
The great part of the site comes after the video, when you browse around all the sources and links they’ve compiled together, plus citations for the statistics mentioned in the video. There’s even a blog. A lot of the links are to coalitions for different movements; hopefully some of the 2 million viewers of the Story of Stuff are joining in to find local opportunities for more sustainable consumption.
