Reflections: the story of stuff

i  used to get incredibly fired up about this kind of stuff, a regular little highschool activist =P. theres a magazine i used to read called the new internationalist about exploitation and all the stories you never seem to hear about through the regular media.

this video helped remind me about the important things, namely:

we as designers have an INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ROLE.

we can EFFECT CHANGE.

design objects of WORTH and SIGNIFICANCE.

actively reduce EXPLOITATION and POLLUTION through the CHOICES WE MAKE.

(just as an aside, in addition to the information presented on dioxins and other substances found in consumer products, i have a book at home called the chemical maze which lists all the additives found in our food by name and number. its really quite scary how much of what we eat is banned in various countries overseas because its just so darn poisonous and detrimental to our health.)

the statistic i found most disturbing was that in north america, only 1% of consumer goods are still being used 6 months after their purchase date.

lets do something about that. lets reduce the amount of landfill, the number of harmful chemicals used in production, the exploitation of workers in third world countries who have little choice in the matter. lets create change and work towards a sustainable future.