The Story of Stuff Video responce

I didn't really find anything in that video particularly surprising. We have all been lectured to about the cost of living in a consumer culture since we were small. I remember watching videos in elementary school about how the packaging on toys would poison our water supply. However, I do think that the effect that our consumerism is having on third world countries was a little mellow dramatic. Don't get me wrong, I get how every time I buy, well, anything really, there is a whole chain of people working in hot, miserable environments for pennies to produce that product. However, I don't think that we are destroying their lives by creating a world where there are a great surplus of factory jobs. For many of these people, working in a factory is a welcome escape from their impoverished communities. If we followed the video's advice, and made an attempt to cut down our consumption to the point where these factories would no longer be needed, this would do far more harm than good. Rather than having a job that needed some improvements as far as worker's rights are concerned, they have nothing. Wouldn't you rather have a hard, dirty job than be on the streets, starving?

Instead of attempting to get rid of the current system, we should instead try to improve it. Don't close factories down, make them safe and clean for the environment. Don't stop creating consumer goods just because you are afraid they are going to end up in a landfill some time in the future, just make better quality products that will last longer, and thus cut down on the demand for more and more of the same stuff. Is our current production system abusive to the environment and workers? Yes. Does it need to be done away with and redone completely? No. We just need to focus our time and money on fixing the problems and that will be enough to ensure a better future.