Library

The Story of Stuff

As consumers, we vote with our wallets. Most of the items we buy are made from a combination of many different materials and natural resources from around the world. By learning where product ingredients come from and how things are made, we can make educated choices about the environmental impact we want to have when we shop. The organizations and videos shared below help illustrate the full story of some of the things we buy.

Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention

• Consume this! Buying that Matters

 

Annie Leonard | The Story of Stuff Project

• The Story of Stuff

• Electronics

• Cosmetics

• Bottled Water

 

INFORM Videos

• Secret Life of Cell Phones

• Secret Life of Paper

 

Chris Jordan

• Running the Numbers: An American Self Portrait

• Running the Numbers II: Portraits of Global Mass Culture

• Midway: Message from the Gyre

• Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption

 

Environmental Protection Agency | Life Cycle Assessment Fact Sheets

• CDs & DVDs

• Cell Phones

• Soccer Balls

 

Washington Post

•  Paper or Plastic?