The Story of Stuff 2

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard is about overconsumption on our planet and the effects it is having on the environment and our health. Leonard explores firsthand factories and communities around the world to find out intricate processes and stories of what’s behind simple products in our lives. One chapter explains how industries created a huge consumer class to keep up with the revolution of mass production. Leonard summarizes in two sections how industry did this: “Planned Obsolescence,” which describes how consumers are persuaded to buy many of the same item, and “Advertising,” which explains how companies use effective tricks to get people to buy from them. These “tricks” are surprising in that they are so present in our lives that we consider them normal.

Leonard describes how companies get people to buy products in great quantities. With a new load of products coming from factories, the industry needed a lot of consumers, so the architects of the system came up with a strategy called planned obsolescence, or “designed for the dump. ” She includes a quote from American industrial designer Brook Stevens, who popularized the term in the 1950s: “Instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, and a little sooner than necessary.” That summarizes what the scheme is about, enticing people buy new things, faster. Leonard uses the example of our cell phones. “Today’s cell phones, for example, which have an average lifespan of only about a year, are pretty much never technologically obsolete when we throw them away and replace them with new ones.” People are constantly replacing their phones even though each new one is little better than the last one. To get people to do this the industry did several things. One, it made the cost of repairing products equal to or more expensive than buying new ones. Two, it made replacement parts and service very hard to get. Three, it made upgrades and accessories that were incompatible with older models. Lastly, the look of products had to keep changing to “provide an incentive to toss the older model.” So by making repair a hassle and new products look more desirable, the industry got consumption to a new level.

The book’s second section is called "Advertising." This is the second major reason the industry was able to expand its consumer class to keep pace with its mass-producing factories. Leonard starts by explaining just how many advertisements we see: “By the time she is twenty, the average American has been exposed to nearly a million advertising messages.” Children can identify company logos before they even begin school. Clearly, advertising has always been in the background of our lives. At one time, advertisements expressed simple messages like “Just imported" or “Now in stock.” Today, advertising is on a whole new scale. It involves psychologists, neuroscientists, and actual consumers to find out ways to influence people. Modern ads make us feel bad about what we don't have, and push us to buy more. Brands use image to try to convince us, and often associate their product with a person, lifestyle, or social status. Tiger Woods is under contract from Nike, and his gear is never swoosh-less. To provide an example of what advertisements can do, Leonard writes of her daughter’s infatuation with the popular television character, Dora the Explorer: “Dora popped up everywhere¾on TV, toothbrushes, shampoo, backpacks, electronic games, pencil sets, underwear, bikes, sweatshirts, birthday party goodie bags, pillow cases, beach pails, ice cream, and even breakfast cereal.” Leonard says whenever her daughter sees Dora on a product she squeals, even if it’s something like toothpaste¾not something otherwise inviting for a pre-kindergartener. She writes that buying that toothpaste was like gaining a friend for her daughter. “Despite my best efforts, it’s been impossible to keep ads from influencing her,” Leonard explains. Clearly ads are very effective in getting people to purchase loads of stuff.

It is scary how well planned obsolescence and advertising has worked, and after reading that section I see what the industry does more clearly. I see gadget after gadget come out, like the iPhone and its many generations. I have witnessed clothing trends become old within weeks and have watched my family struggle to repair things, such as wristwatches, and end up replacing them. It is also frightening how many ads there are; Tiger Woods is basically a walking commercial. The book has really opened my eyes to everything that makes us buy more, and I’ll definitely pay more attention to the effects of the techniques used by companies on me.

Annie Leonard explains in depth how the consumer class expanded so much and she provides examples to help us see what she means. Anyone who reads her book will probably have the same reaction as I did¾shock at how effective industry’s plan was.