The Story of Stuff

Already getting swept up in the Christmas blitz of stuff, this morning I opened my email to find a message from a friend with this link to a short film that I thought was very relevent. I thought I would share it here. This is from the Story of Stuff website describing their intentions:

"The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns, with a special focus on the United States. All the stuff in our lives, beginning from the extraction of the resources to make it, through its production, sale, use and disposal, affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues and calls for all of us to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something. It'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

There is a definite trend in small business to try to lighten the carbon footprint, through the use of recycled products and materials, and in supporting local businesses generally. In a way, it is still pro-small business, pro-local business. The site also includes the section Another Way which is a list of actual steps we can all take to start to make a larger shift. What I enjoyed best is the explanation of planned obsolescence as an economic decision and how we can make a new decision now.