Story Of Stuff

This is a very very interesting video that really got me into it. I must admit, I am addicted to shopping, I just love it, and from this video, this addiction is deteriorating this world.  Annie Leonard who is the narrator is known for her videos about sustainability, recycling and excessive consumerism issues. 

In this video Annie talks about the ‘stuff’ we buy isn’t really what you think. Picking up one thing from the shops, so much has come from it, and the price you’re paying at, isn’t it’s actually worth. Watching this video, it actually made me really sad, disappointed and sick. I had no idea that consumerism was a major impact on society, on the environment, on the world!

The fact that products we buy has an sad ending by dumping and polluting the air, when the other end of the line, the beginning of products, it destroying forests and animals. Because of this, we are using way too much of the natural resources, and using it up so quickly and so much that we are losing the earth is losing its ability for people to even live! I am so disgusted by this.

So after taking up natural resources that we can’t give back to the earth, we use these natural resources, use up electricity (which also uses up natural resources as well) and make products out of them with toxics, which is slowly killing us. So not only we’re killing the earth, we’re killing the ourselves!

So after products are made, there transported for distribution – retail. This is where shops try and sell so much, so quickly so they can just get rid of the products, have a low inventory, to make more products to sell. They have it at low prices, so more people can buy it, so they can get rid of more. But how to do you get for people to keep buying? You make your products only last for so long, designer have intentionally designed their products can break, get thrown out, so you have to buy a new one! It’s crazy! Another thing is the media, it’s a horrible thing. It brainwashes us to keep telling us to buy buy buy, because we’re not cool enough unless we get the new trends. It’s slowly turning us materialistic people.

Today our society is so crazed up into keeping up with the new trends, having a new iPhone come out every year, or getting the new flat screen, it’s so important, that governments put consumerism as their first priority. They stated we make consumption our way of life and that buying of good becomes a ritual, is this not crazy talk?! But it was the only way back then after WWII to boost the economy up again.

As a designer, this really made me think deeper about products. As a designer, we have a major responsibility in making sure that our products will last long, have a proper purpose and it’s recyclable and made for disassemble with also have proper work ethics.