The Story of Stuff

While I think this is an amazingly well-done video, I do have some hesitations, which I would like to share with you before giving it my explicit endorsement. This video points out numerous aspects of our economy that are necessary to rethink and remodel. The problem is that a handful of the points made in this video are rather extreme and can easily alienate those who are not otherwise convinced of the video's main theme (i.e. most everyone). Examples of this include her absolute position on many parts of the "economy," such as the fact that "all" manufacturing involves "toxics in, toxics out," or that the government does not protect us at all and serves at the whim of only large corporations ("all" of which are bad). Now, this is not to say her generalizations are not incorrect. In fact, to those who would say these views are too radical, I would counter that indeed they are–relative to mainstream thought–because mainstream thought has largely been misguided over the years. For example, most of our products contain far too many carcinogens, which go far too unregulated by the FDA, EPA, USDA, etc. Take, for instance, the fact that only 11% of the over 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products in the U.S. have ever been tested for safety, and none has been tested for synergistic effects (a figure indirectly referred in the film, no less). And, especially during the Bush years, government bent way too far backward for large corporate behemoths. Despite all of this, her all-or-nothing stance is still largely unfair and incorrect–there are many exceptions to the rule, which she barely alludes to in the last minute of the film.

With that being said, I encourage you to watch this and use it to reconsider how you live your life and what your role is in this too "linear" economy. But please use some common sense and take what is said with a grain of salt: Rather than take all her assertions at face value, let them plant question marks in the back of your mind. I think this video will be far more valuable when viewing it through the lens of mild skepticism.