Read the paragraph below, and combine with the on-going pandemic, please discuss your idea on what would happen in the future (changes, sustainability, etc) in your opinion.

A Story of Stuff Summary

"The Story of Stuff" is a 20-minute video that was released by Annie Leonard and friends in December of 2007 detailing the lifecycle of our material goods.Since it's release the video's popularity skyrocketed, capturing over 30 million view across the world. While it is extremely enlightening to look at the lifecycle of our goods from start to finish, for the purpose of this blog I'll focus on the last two steps in the cycle: consumption and disposal. If you feel so moved to watch the length of the video please do so. I will also summarize below.

Annie explained that only 1% of the products we buy are still in use six months after their sale in North America. This leaves the other 99% of our stuff that is declared as waste after six months. The amount of products that a person consumes has doubled over the past 50 years. Annie also points to the shift in our thinking about consumption after World War II. In an effort to boost the economy, Victor Lebo, a retailing analyst, suggested we shift our culture to one that glorifies continually increasing consumption and the need for the next 'new thing' in order to give us the economic boost we needed. His plan worked as we can still see its lasting effects today.

The two methods that made this plan of increased consumerism successful are planned and perceived obsolesce. Planned obsolesce is when something is purposefully made to only last for a certain period of time. Products are made so that they will last for the shortest amount of time that will still leave you with faith in the product so you'll go buy another. Another great example of planned obsolescence is the shift in the charger port on iPhones. Changes like these force consumers to continually buy new products to match up with the very small alterations that are made. Perceived obsolescence is dependent of the shifting of cultural perceptions and trends, not the actually functionality of the product itself. One blatant example of this is the fashion industry where trends come and go with each season. Ads and media play a huge role in this.

The next step in the chain is disposal. In the U.S. the average person produces 4.5 pounds of waste each day. Our trash is either dumped in the ground or first burned and the remainder is dumped in the ground. Both of these create tons of pollution. Garbage incinerators release back into the air all the toxins we put into making the product in the first place and often even worse toxins are created. Recycling does help, but it is not enough. Annie points to a new future and way of consumerism. She highlights sustainability, green chemistry, zero waste, closed loop production, and renewable energy, as ways that we are already working to help turn our current linear cycle into a circular one.

Through Annie's story she not only educates people about the danger and downfalls of our current process, but she encourages viewers to do something to change it. "That old way didn't just happen. It's not like gravity that we've just got to live with. People created it and we're people too. So let's create something new."