The Story of Stuff

Over six million viewers have watched Story of Stuff since it was released in December 2007. It is narrated by writer and activist, Annie Leonard, who spent 10 years travelling and tracking where stuff originates and ends. She follows the life cycle of consumer goods from extraction to production to distribution to consumption and to disposal.

Throughout this short online film, she provides alarming statistics about a linear system which can no longer exist in a finite world. Here are a few of them:

• 80% of the world's original forests are gone.

• Over 100,000 synthetic chemicals are used in production.

• Only 1% of the stuff we buy is still in use six months after we purchase it. The remaining 99% is trashed.

• 70 garbage cans of waste are produced during the manufacturing process for ever 1 garbage can of trash we put on the curb.

• In the United States, the national happiness peak was reached in the 1950s.

So, before you go on your next shopping spree, take 20 minutes to watch Story of Stuff.