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The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

Posted on January 30, 2017February 12, 2025

‘How our obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our communities and our health – and a vision for change’. Yes, she immediately says the right thing, huh? This is what Annie Leonard says about ‘The Story of Stuff’, this line is written on the front of the book. I read the book during my holiday on Texel and I loved it! The book opened my eyes. Today I’ll tell you about The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard.

The Story of Stuff Book

The Story of Stuff is a book about our extreme consumerism. It explains everything you need to know about the life-cycle of the stuff we buy. How it was produced and how it came to us. Consequently, it makes you realize what an impact is has when someone buys something (and we buy a lot these days). But what struck me most was her vision on our lifestyle. Why is economic growth so important to us? What do we really measure when we talk about the GDP and is that even important? It basically means that we think that the more stuff we have, the happier we will be. News flash: we’re wrong there.

‘Those who know they have enough, are rich’

Tao To Ching

The Story of Stuff Film

The Story of Stuff is an addition to the internet-film made by Annie Leonard, which I would also recommend. It is a short film of 22 minutes, it basically is a short cut of the book. Good to watch, but surely good to read the book. The Story of Stuff Youtube page has a lot of ‘The Story of’-videos, like the The Story of Cosmetics or The Story of Bottles Water. Good to watch if you want to learn about a specific topic.

Annie Leonard

Annie Leonard is a big example to me. A great example of how just one person can make a huge change in the world. From a young age, Annie was intrigued by stuff and trash. Therefore, when she was older, she decided to travel the world and see what happens to the planet because of consumerism. Yet, more importantly: she went to see what the stuff does to us. Do we really get happier from buying stuff? Most people don’t even think about this. And a really, really good thing at the end of the book: activism. She explains how you can send letters to companies, letting them know you want things to change!

This book changed my perspective, on different levels. I hope it will change yours too. We don’t get happier by working all day long to buy stuff we don’t need. Happiness does not lie within stuff.

Yours sincerely,
Romee

3 thoughts on “The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard”

  1. Pingback: Lending things: The Book Library – When A Teen Goes Green
  2. Pingback: What’s wrong with fast and cheap fashion? – When A Teen Goes Green
  3. Pingback: Circular Economy: The Book Library – When A Teen Goes Green

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ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee and I live an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle with more positive than negative impact on beautiful planet earth. Compared to most people, I live extremely sustainable. I don’t fly, eat meat or animal products, buy only secondhand clothing, etc. On the other hand, I try to help others as much as I can by donating a big chunk of my income, donating plasma, donating poop (yes!), volunteering, etc. On this blog you can read all about my lifestyle with only positive impact. I also have a Dutch Youtube channel (@duurzaamleven) and Dutch Instagram (@duurzaamlevenro). If you have specific questions for me, feel free to ask me anything.

Yours sincerely,
Romee (she/her)

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