My Stuff and other Sources of Consumption

The story of “stuff” video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8) produced by free range studios has definitely made me more aware of how our present consumption levels impact more than just the economy. They explore the story of extraction, production, distribution, and consumption and disposal, referred to as the materials economy.

The video points out that our current rates of resource extraction are non-sustainable. The United States has 5% of the world’s population but account for over 30% of resource extraction and waste disposal. As they run out of their own resources they move to third world countries to provide materials, where people were previously living in a sustainable way within their environment. As resources are depleted in the 3^rd world countries, the environment is no longer able to provide their basic needs and residents are unwillingly forced from their cultures and lifestyles to work towards creating our “stuff” in order to sustain themselves. Rich cultures are being lost to industrialization of indigenous areas and their inhabitants are not being compensated as they are forced out of their livelihoods into our society.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikaZDO_Rg2O3yAsBoTIZiw5iJpiCazoTbY-83Hh2TAHQWWYz3i_xCWAlmS_PxpwwZX1OoFaHSQPCUMhql6oMElG6LlCKZjrbX3dJLpo1uqHUjXqEyrU2lcwqMR813I1bO17EUbJGEvpQ4/s1600-h/Depletion+of+Natural+Resources+1.JPG

The world was not always like this. It is said that as North Americans we consume and produce twice as much waste as 50 years ago. Then, thriftiness and conservation were considered to be valued characteristics. Now people measure themselves by how much they can shop, buy, and consume. On average only 1% of products purchased are still in use after 6 months. The rest ends up in landfills. This is hardly sustainable, as we constantly search for more materials to mine and produce more goods; the environment and social wealth of people are compromised. This is all wasted because we are getting no real value from the materials we extract. 

http://cdin.us/blogsites/little-girl-in-a-dump/

This is not by accident. Producers have planned methods to increase consumption and disposal of goods to boost the economy. There is planned obsolesce where things are meant to be useless and thrown out after a certain period of use. Producers and designers for products plan for it to break down within a certain time frame, therefore costumers will have to buy more. This is normal with things like plastic bags, but bigger goods such as televisions, washing machines or computers have been targeted to have a limited lifespan to increase consumer purchasing. This has been observed by costumers when they may suggest that, “Things just aren’t made the ways they used to.” It’s true, they aren’t.  

There is also perceived obsolescence. This is where consumers are encouraged to throw out old goods that are still in good working order. This may be due to the image that what they have is old, out of fashion, or not as good as new objects. It’s all part of the image that shopping and buying new things means you’re happier and better off than others who don’t.  So people continue to buy new things to keep the image that they are happy and contributing to the economy, as they continue to dump things that are still in good condition or working order.

http://www.lockergnome.com/windows/2010/08/04/tips-for-users-of-ancient-technology/

Although we have more stuff than ever, happiness levels are at the lowest levels they have ever been. This is because we also have less leisure time than ever before. We spend all of our time at work trying to pay for the new stuff we want to buy, go home to watch TV and get bombarded by advertisements telling us that we need more stuff to be happy. So we continue to shop more, work more, dispose more. And the cycle continues.

http://bonggamom.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

A scary thought is how companies are beginning to zero in on targeting youth. There is a new reference of “cradle to grave” than traditionally speaking about the life cycle of products. The new reference refers to focusing marketing strategies from cradle to grave in our lives. Children have always been targeted in the past, but never as strongly as they are now. Instead of focusing on cognitive, social, spiritual, emotional development, society has begun targeting children to become “little consumers.” Children now have much more influence than ever before, and through media targeting they have developed into a trillion dollar market.