The Story of Stuff
“Less than 1 percent of all the consumer goods bought and sold during the holiday season will be in use six months from now,” says Annie Leonard in “The Story of Stuff,” a short film produced by Free Range Films and available free online at www.storyofstuff.com .
“The Story of Stuff” chronicles the life of consumer goods from the “cradle to the grave,” and offers an alternative vision to our consumerist culture. Leonard points out that we have lost our identities as “mothers, farmers, firemen, teachers, and become consumers.”
Indeed we are defined by what we consume, and are targeted demographically by stuff-peddlers from infancy to old age. In our culture, we feel awkward if we don’t have “the right stuff,” fashionable clothes, flashy “bling,” and the newest techno-gadget. What we don’t often see is the consequences of our national addiction to stuff.
We see more advertisements in one year than our grandparents did in their whole lifetimes. We consume twice as much as they did as a result. Our houses are twice as big, our waistlines are bigger, and our savings accounts are considerably smaller.
Melissa Everett, executive director of Sustainable Hudson Valley defines “sustainable living” as “not filling a spiritual need with a material thing.”People buy stuff for many reasons, but for a substantial segment of our population, shopping is an addiction.
“Compulsive shopping or spending can be a seasonal balm for the depression, anxiety and loneliness during the December holiday season,” says Professor Ruth Engs of Indiana State University.
If living simpler is one of your new year’s resolutions, here are a few suggestions:
— Author and therapist April Lane Benson who wrote “I Shop, Therefore I Am,” recommends that before you make an impulse purchase, ask yourself “Why am I here?,” “How do I feel?,” “Do I need this?,” “What if I wait?,” “How will I pay for it?” and “Where will I put it?”
— Buy used or borrow things from friends and neighbors before buying new.
— Repair and mend rather than replace, upgrade computers rather than buying new ones.
— Develop habits of zero waste; use both sides of the paper, carry your own mugs and shopping bags, get printer cartridges refilled instead of replaced, compost food scraps, avoid bottled water and other over packaged products.
— “The average person in the U.S. watches TV for more than four hours a day,” notes the Story of Stuff, “Four hours each day are filled with messages about stuff we should buy. Those are four hours that could be spent with family, friends and in our community.”
Turn off the TV, let go of stuff, and step outside and embrace our local community.
Shawn can be eached at shawn@zestoforange.com.
Tags: Shawn Dell
