The Story of Stuff: The Impact of Overconsumption on the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-And How We Can Make It Better

I was so looking forward to this book. But because it's 2023 and I've benefitted from modern discourse, this didn't end up being for me. I'm also not a fan of some of the logic or the overboard citations. At a certain point, I appreciate fewer examples in greater depth. I don't have time to read all these articles, but I suspect there's more nuance to some of the ones cited. That said, I may have liked this more if I'd read it closer to publication. I liked the last chapter and epilogue more than the other chapters. So it goes with books sometimes.Read the reviews that detail what people dislike. I'd say those are a good way to tell if this is for you.

A very polarizing book because it criticizes the very foundation of our American economy and way of life. It is like having your parents tell you that you were really adopted and your real father was a serial killer - you have to start all over with your asumptions about who you are, how you want to live and wonder if you have a future or if you are doomed by your past. Unfortunately most people would rather put their head in the sand than know that their way of life might come to an end, and that the way they are living now is depriving others of a decent life. The book is both thought provoking and guilt producing (for those who tend to those feelings.) Although most people say they don't trust the government, really they want to believe that the government is looking out for their best interests, health and well being. They hope to achieve the "American Dream" of owning an enormous house, having a huge wardrobe and owning a fleet of cars and being the envy of all they know because of it. Everyday they are bombarded with advertisements that tell them that they will be happier if they just buy more stuff. This book takes all the fun out of that- which is a good reason to hate it and find fault in it.I saw the terrific "Stuff" video which inspired me to read the book. The book is not perfect except to set out a case for more action by detailing the way our "stuff" is made and to "out" those who make it. Enough consumer pressure and public outcry and good old American ingenuity will force those perpetrators to come up with more sustainable solutions to providing the goods and services that Americans expect. No matter how smart Annie Leonard is, there is no way she can solve all these problems. I think her "Hope" tips are her way of saying that we are smart enough to fix things but really we (collectively) have to want to do it first. This book is a wake up call for all those who keep hitting the snooze alarm.

Did you ever wonder what happens to all that trash set out on your street on garbage day? Where does it go? While living in New York City, Annie Leonard wondered about that question and ended up studying Stuff for 20 years before writing this book. Other questions addressed include: "What is the real cost of Extraction (of raw materials), Production, Distribution, and Disposal of all that Stuff?" In the course of addressing such questions as these, Leonard invites us to consider the impact of toxic chemicals and ingredients of Stuff, and how those toxics affect the miners/extractors of raw materials, production workers, purchasers of the Stuff, AND how they affect the people who live in areas where the Stuff with its toxins (if any) are dumped. An overarching issue is our carbon footprint (individual, corporate, etc.) and Global Warming. Whether you believe global warming is a hoax or a real crisis, "The Story of Stuff" has something to say to you. If you believe your responsibility in the matter of global warming is only to recycle or reuse Stuff, this book has something to say to you. Leonard encourages recycling, among other things, as one action individuals can take. But she also warns that we must not let recycling keep us from becoming engaged in larger matters such as holding corporate polluters accountable. To read the book is to see how over-consumption, pollution, and similar actions affect not only the United States, but other nations as well. It will cause you to ask questions you haven't considered yet. If you are concerned about how you can better care for the earth, I highly recommend "The Story of Stuff."

This type of book usually suffers from the fact that environmentalists always exaggerate problems. I am not a believer in global warming, and I think that global warming is a distraction from important environmental issues. This book mostly stays with relevant environmental issues (e.g. solid waste). A major fault in the book's analysis is that it assumes that GDP is equivalent to resource use. She openly makes this assumption on page 177, calling high income countries the top resource users.. That is completely wrong. The worst environmental damage is in the developing, or emerging, countries. It is the high income countries (including the USA) that have the best environmental protections.

The condition was as advertised. Good deal.

Eye opening account of the process by which the stuff you purchase is extracted, produced, distributed, consumed, and disposed. After readying this you will be more aware of how purchasing another cotton t-shirt contributes to people in poor countries continuing to live in poor conditions. The book not only reveals the detrimental impact on the environment (carbon dioxide emissions is only a small portion) but also portrays the human impact and how our consumerism drives the poor treatment of individuals. The book is not a book of complete despair, however, as the author includes alternative ways of doing things and signs that some progress is being made. Enjoyable and very informative read.

It took me a long time to finish this book. I found the subject matter so distressing, that I would put it aside and read something else. But I always came back to it and the more I read the less distressed I was. This is a serious book about an extremely important subject and I recommend it to everyone.So many times you will hear someone rave "This book changed my life!" Usually they are referring to some sort of self help book.This isn't a self help book but it is a life changer for anyone who reads it.

Annie Leonard's "The Story Of Stuff" is an entertaining, informative and thought-provoking book. It makes you realise how much crap we have that we don't need and how much the crap we do have is harming our communities, health and the environment. Thought a cotton T-shirt was the healthy, eco-friendly option... think again. Even as I write I am being poisoned by toxins such as Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers used to prevent my laptop from spontaneously combusting (Pages 76,92). It shows how much our lives have changed in the past century with all these new compounds like PVC and polyester and how much damage these changes have done, are doing and will do with continued use. It's difficult to avoid this you might say but Annie Leonard offers tips on how to make your stuff, your home and your community safer for you and yours.

In the fantasy world of "The Matrix" energy from human beings is drained from their bodies to power the ruling machines. People are brainwashed to believe they have their own self-determined lifestyle - whilst in reality their "lives" are a fiction and they exist only in a bath of weird gloop. "The Story of Stuff" will make you wonder if you should sit up and wipe the gloop from your eyes!It may be fantastical to suggest that the "machine" is running things and we are the machine's energy supply, but in reality nobody doubts that without us the capitalist "machine" would grind to a halt. We DO power the machine. We make the machine work and with the money the machine pays us we buy the stuff the machine tells us we need. "Hang on" you say "I'm the consumer, not the consumed. I decide what I buy. I need all that stuff". Yeah right - all of it? Keep taking the pills (do you prefer the red pill or the blue pill?).Read this book and you'll see what I mean. Apologies to those who haven't seen the film. "The Matrix" analogy is my own (humorous) take on the book - its not what Anne Leonard says. What she says is based on years of research into the materials economy, supply chains and the way people live. It seems very factual, is a totally absorbing read and even if it turned out that 80% of those facts are wrong (and I don't believe they are), it is very clear that we need to change the way we are using and disposing of the planet's resources. This book will leave you in no doubt that what we're doing now is completely unsustainable.Don't worry, this is not a gloomy read. Anne Leonard writes with good humour and points to lots of positive examples where simple changes are making a real difference. Often these differences are MORE "profitable" for business not less. The book reveals some truly shocking facts about toxic chemicals hidden within everyday products. We aren't all chemists, so how could we know that this or that ingredient in shampoo, or make-up could harm us or our children? We would never imagine that manufacturers would be allowed to put harmful things in stuff they sell us. Or that we could unwittingly be harming other people by the stuff we buy.The good news is that we can change all of this. Our own individual actions on a day-to day basis can influence how the world develops and help to provide a safe, enjoyable and sustainable environment for our kids and future generations. This book does a good job of pointing us in the right direction with lots of practical advice.

It is very informative and brings to light many aspects of consumerism that constantly go unnoticed or are never considered. It has made me change my attitudes concerning the things I buy and dispose of. I have been aware for a long time about the environmental issues it discusses, but there are a lot of ethical issues involved along the entire production, manufacturing and distribution processes, which I hadn't previously considered. It missed five stars because I felt a little lost when considering the actions I could take to fight the problems it highlights as it seems that near enough every choice has some sort of negative consequence. Despite this, I think it should be a compulsory read for everyone across the globe. With this subject, ignorance should not be an excuse and this book will make you reconsider things which we have been taught to take for granted. For instance, the true ethical and environmental cost of upgrading your phone simply because you're old contract has run out even though the one you are replacing still works perfectly fine. Also the hidden costs to a cheap cotton t-shirt and the embodied energy it possesses.

Really intresting book to read. A must for anyone on a consumer consumption diet

It felt odd to buy a book to find out how we are all buying too much stuff, but it was well-worth it. It is well-written, detailed but not dull, and I learned a great deal from reading it. I hope I will put some of the recommendations into practice. And I will pass the book on for someone else to read.