November 5th, 2009, posted by Annie Leonard
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Archive for the ‘Consumption’ Category8 Comments
September 24th, 2009, posted by Annie Leonard
We deeply appreciate the generous outpouring of support our Project has received over the past 48 hours in response to Glenn Beck’s continuing attack against the use of The Story of Stuff in classrooms across the country. We created The Story of Stuff to get people thinking and talking. The result over the past two years—not to mention the past two days—speaks for itself. The messages we’ve received from thousands of teachers and students who’ve seen the film—some of whom thoroughly disagreed with it—gives us confidence that young people are not only fully capable of engaging with the subject matter in the Story of Stuff, they’re asking for it. After all, they are the ones who will have to address climate change and the other environmental and social side effects of our throw away culture. Beck’s line of attack appears to be motivated by the release of his new book: Arguing with Idiots. But we have better things to do. We’re developing a two-week educational curriculum—aligned to national standards, with a strong focus on critical thinking—that provides teachers with a fuller set of tools to help students consider and debate the message of The Story of Stuff. In response to requests from thousands of faith-based institutions for more information, we’re field-testing a study program that helps people of faith explore how their religious beliefs connect with the message of The Story of Stuff. We’re also in production on a set of new short films, the first of which we’ll be releasing this November. We appreciate the new viewers, Facebook friends, contributions and other support that Beck has generated for us, but rather than respond to his outrageous claims, we’re going to stay focused on building the more sustainable, safe and just world our children, and all of us, deserve. Thanks, Annie Leonard and the Story of Stuff Project Team
September 22nd, 2009, posted by Annie Leonard
In May 2009, the New York Times called The Story of Stuff “a sleeper hit in classrooms across the country.” We’re honored that teachers from middle school through university are using our film to spark debate and engage students in critical thinking. While it may be hard for climate change deniers like Beck and his friends at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Evergreen Freedom Foundation to swallow, there is a real hunger in this country for a straightforward, honest discussion of our environmental future. Teachers have told us that The Story of Stuff has been a valuable supplement to textbooks that give short shrift to issues like climate change by creating spirited debate and inspiring students to look deeper into what are truly some of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Beck didn’t have the courtesy to contact The Story of Stuff Project for comment or offer a spot on his show to rebut the claims of his guests. While playing fast and loose with the facts is nothing new for Beck, we stand behind our presentation. Viewers are welcome to visit www.storyofstuff.org to watch the film and, as Fox News would put it, decide for themselves. While on the site, visitors can check out the annotated script, which provides references for all the facts used in the film. For those who would like to use The Story of Stuff to stimulate discussions in classrooms, living rooms, community meetings or other venues, there are a number of resources, including sample discussion questions and group exercise ideas, in the resources section of the Story of Stuff webpage.
April 1st, 2008, posted by Annie Leonard
Remember that battery-powered, light up shaving gel product, called NXT, that got me all riled up last month? Well, to be honest, it wasn’t just the sheer selfishness and cluelessness of putting an LED light and AAA batteries in a shave gel bottle that got me so freaked out. I mean, really, the stores are full of selfish, clueless products. The thing that got me about this bottle was that none of the articles I originally read about this packaging even hinted at any concern about the impact of the package once it entered the waste stream. The articles just gushed on about how “innovative” it was. I checked the product’s website and saw that all the comments on the blog were either about how cool it is to have light up bottles in the bathroom or tips on where to buy it for the lowest cost. (Walmart). I actually had a nightmare about it. I dreamt I was in a huge auditorium and some guy who invented the bottle was giving a speech and the audience was all politely clapping. In my dream, I stood up and objected that a shave gel bottle with an LED light and a pair of AAA batteries isn’t moving us in the right direction. In my dream, no one heard me although I began yelling louder and louder. I felt invisible. I woke up feeling totally depressed. Then I checked my emails and had dozens of emails from people all over the world for whom Story of Stuff resonnates and inspires. I had this overwhelming sense of not being alone. So I decided to blog about it. And in my blog, I shared the URL of the NXT shave gel blog. I checked the NXT blog the next day and there were a number of posts raising concerns about the wastefulness of the product’s packaging. (thanks everyone!) Then three more things happened that made me smile. One, the What’s NXT blog got taken down. Hmmmm, interesting coincidence, eh? Two, Cheryl Jones from the company that makes NXT emailed me directly and explained that the “The bottom cap is intended to be ‘reusable’ as a toy or other lighting device as the batteries are replaceable.” OH, I see…it’s not actually excessive shave gel packaging; it is a toy or flashlight that comes with some free shaving gel. I wonder why none of the PR material or articles I read explained these plans for future uses of the bottle. Three, some of you emailed me and took my critique even further, raising concerns about why we need to purchase mass produced shaving gel in the first place. Excellent point folks. The more I learn about personal care products, the emptier my bathroom shelves become. I’ve learned a lot about personal care products lately, thanks to my friend and office-mate Stacy Malkan, who you all know as the person in the Story of Stuff with the flat screen computer monitor. Among other things, Stacy works with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and she just wrote a book called: “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.” (www.notjustaprettyface.org) I’ve learned that personal care products – including cosmetics, shampoo, shave gel, lotion and more — are not regulated by the FDA. It is perfectly legal and common for companies to use ingredients that are known or suspected to be carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxins in the their products that we then put on our bodies! If you want to know how your favorite personal care products rate on toxicity scales, check out Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database at: cosmeticsdatabase.org. This database pairs ingredients in over 25,000 products against 50 toxics and regulatory databases, making it the largest publicly available database of its kind. My friend Stacy is about to go on a book tour to share information about toxics in personal care products and to enlist people to join the campaign to force these companies to phase out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems, and replace them with safer alternatives. Duh. We’re putting this stuff on our bodies! Here’s Stacy’s tour schedule. If you want to learn more, join one of Stacy’s events or contact the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at safecosmetics.org. And pass it on to friends in any of these town. ************************************ WALNUT CREEK, CA – Elephant Pharmacy BERKELEY, CA – Elephant Pharmacy SEATTLE, WA Green Festival OAKLAND, CA – Peralta Colleges’ Annual Conference on Urban Sustainability SAN RAFAEL, CA – Elephant Pharmacy BOSTON, MA – Border’s Books at Downtown Crossing CHICAGO, IL – Green Festival Buy the book at www.SafeCosmetics.org and a portion of proceeds benefit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics! |
On his radio and television programs today, Glenn Beck offered up a “critique” of The Story of Stuff—a 20-minute web-film that examines the underside of America’s production and consumption patterns. In Beck’s world, an honest exploration of the environmental and social challenges our children are inheriting is worthy of scorn and ridicule, not honest engagement.
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