Annie Leonard. - The story of stuff:

Annie Leonard presents the story of stuff as a wholistic approach. She outlines the way things are made and consumed and shows the hidden story behind the manufacture of products and the way products we use affect our lives. Detailed in her presentation are many of the hidden processes required to create stuff and how people, resources and the environment, the world over are exploited in order to create this cheap stuff that many people in western civilizations take for granted and worse still actually feel entitled to. This cannot continue, too many toxic chemicals are employed in the manufacture of goods, many of which are neuro-toxic and systemic poisons that have endured no, or very little testing, on humans. The environment is under extreme stress and bio-systems are on the verge of collapse due to the nature of the one-way system  of production of stuff that is currently the standard mode of operation and the endemic mindset that is popular with manufacturing industries.

Leonard elaborates further, showing how the current model of consumer culture and planned obsolescence of the products that we use day to day has shaped our lives into one of servitude. This has happened as a result of working progressively harder year on year in order to get more money in which to buy more stuff, an endless cycle that is manifesting as wide spread dissatisfaction with our lives because of the pursuit of things that don’t necessarily make our lives any better and in many cases may actually cause us harm, in lieu of the things that do actually make our lives better, such as time spent with family and friends. In short more time for leisure and reflection and considered thought that can free us from the shackles of modern life.

Leonard proposes solutions that present us with a more realistic and sustainable model that involves closed loop production, this is a method of production where by the systems employed in manufacturing are mindful of the processes and how they impact on the people and environments in which they are produced. This is achieved through considering the total life of a product from “cradle to cradle’ and how the can dis-assembled broken apart and re used again and again.  These changes will end up being reflected in the price of the goods at the final point of sale where the user will get to understand the true cost of stuff.