This has been around for a while, but I just came across it the other day. While this short (20 min) film doesn’t provide groundbreaking information, it does something many others have failed to do: Offers a succinct, simplified explanation of our consumer-driven economy, the interconnectedness of the entire process, and our place in it.

Through a brilliantly simple whiteboard-type animation, Annie Leonard takes the viewer through the entire process, explaining how at virtually every step we are running up against limits of the system. Whether it’s depletion of raw materials, unsustainable manufacturing processes, unhealthy buying habits, or poorly planned end-of-life processes, we’ve got a number of things wrong. This might be a good point to ask yourself or your management team at work “Where do we fit in this picture? What are we doing to be part of the solution?”

While the video itself is short on answers, the site is a gateway to a lot of information. Stop by and take a look around. Share the video The Story of Stuff with your family and friends. At the very least, it guarantees you’ll never look at a $4.99 radio the same way ever again.

ps. There’s also a book coming out this week, and you’ll find a lot more videos on the site besides the original Story of Stuff. Enjoy!

Tags: consumerism, green business, green retail, pollution, supply chain managment