Shocking Exposé on Where Our Stuff Comes From and Goes
We were going to do a post focusing on the “The Story of Change”–the latest video from the “The Story of Stuff” folks about building a movement around less stuff and responsible industrial practices. But then we realized that many people have not seen “The Story of Stuff.”
Directed by Annie Leonard in 2007, “The Story of Stuff” takes a deep and sobering look into the black hole that is our stuff. We talk a lot about the personal tax stuff takes on our lives, but Leonard goes much deeper into the global environmental and social tax our stuff takes. It’s not pretty or easy to watch, though Leonard’s jaunty tone and cartoon illustrations makes it somewhat palatable.
“The Story of Change” attempts to turn SOS’s message into a movement. SOC is not as hard-hitting as SOS, but it nonetheless shows possible pathways out of the consumer quagmire we find ourselves in, likening the call to action with the US Civil Rights Movement and Gandhi’s movement for Indian independence.
SOS.org features other stories about things like bottled water, cosmetics and electronics–all worth watching.
In creating new values and a new society–one that does not blindly adhere to the idea that more, newer and bigger is better–we need to cultivate awareness. Few people in the last decade have done more for bringing awareness to our Stuff-aholic tendencies than Leonard. If you haven’t watched “The Story of Stuff”, take some time to do so.
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