A Different Look at Your Stuff

June 28, 2010

by Athena Serapio, Itsabelly Baby Planner - San Jose

Today was an amazing accomplishment because I left the mall with no bags.  I visited A Pea in the Pod, stopped by BabyGap, said hello to an old friend, and then I left without reaching for my wallet.  Why is this amazing?  I recently finished watching “The Story of Stuff,” which is an enlightening online video that has been viewed over ten million times since being released in March 2009.  It takes away our blinders and shows the full story on production and consumption of our things.  If you have not seen this intriguing 20 minute video presentation by Annie Leonard, then you must see it now:  www.storyofstuff.org.

She captures our attention with her cartoon, simplistic stick figure drawings, but the social and environmental problems are not at all simple.  We know these problems - global warming, forest destruction, plastics flooding the ocean,  rising health problems, etc. - but we have to put it all together and find out how we are involved as consumers.  This is exactly what Leonard does in the duration of the video.  Critics have described the video as unpatriotic and anti-capitalistic, but is trying to create a safer environment for our future babies anti-anything?

I have to admit that my family of 3 has a lot of stuff.  I am starting to run out of places to put everything I own.  For the past five years, I have been more mindful of what I purchase.  I always ask myself the following questions:

• Is this a green product?  (Make sure you read labels carefully & know what they mean)
• How long can I use this product?
• What are the materials made out of?
• What will happen to it when I do not need this product?

Even with all my attempts to buy green, it is not enough.  According to an interview on May 26, 2010 with Planet Green “Questions for Annie Leonard Part 1: The Problem with Greensumption”, Leonard indicates that green buying is not a solution.  Instead, the collective action to change our production and consumption processes will make a difference.

Do you want to learn more than what is presented in the video?  Just our luck, Leonard decided to write a book with more information, The Story of Stuff book , and it was released in March 2010.

Annie Leonard who is also a Bay Area resident, is the creator and director of The Story of Stuff Project.  She traveled all around the world for twenty years investigating environmental health issues.  Note that many of her quoted statistics are noted in the manuscript, which you can download from the website.