My Stuff and Other Sources

 We all have way to much stuff myself included yet we continue to buy more! What’s the point and for what cause do we justify owning so much crap? We are all obsessed consumers, a product of our exposure to a lifetime of marketing campaigns which has convinced us that new is better. As was discussed in class, the average usage of a good purchased from a major box store is just a couple of months. Let’s think about that for a second. We are purposely destroying our planet, cashing in every last resource available, filling our landfills with toxic materials and spending our hard earned dollars on something we are only going to hold on to for a couple of months. Not to mention the excessive packaging that goes along with each good. That whole rationale doesn’t really seem to add up in my opinion. Then to add salt to the wound, the products we purchase with the intent of enjoying indefinitely are designed to have an expiry date built into the hardware or good in an effort to make us purchase the new model. Some may argue this tactic is marketing genus at its prime but at what cost, besides the price tag denoted to the item benefiting only the corporation.

Society today is so unpredictable in many different ways. For example, last year the notorious potato chip company Sunchips starting selling its tasty products in a 100% compostable bag. I remember the first time I saw the new bag at the grocers. I was so pleased with the notion that corporate America is finally waking up that I purchased two bags right then and there. To my amazement, within a few weeks of the release of this compostable bag, Americans across their country began to complain and complain about the excess noise that the compostable bag creates. In an effort to adhere to the consumer criticism, the compostable bag was removed from the shelves in multiple states. In all fairness, the bag is a tad noisy BUT honestly, who cares! What is wrong with society these days? Sometimes it appears as if the harder the environmental movement pushes forward, the more crying we hear from the overweight, lazy, corporate Americans. I lose sleep over this kind of ****. The whole world needs to suck it up, make the necessary changes, deal with the “growing pains” and get on with being more environmentally responsible and aware.

Another harsh reality of our consumer oriented society is the distances products travel in order for us to go and purchase them. Just looking around my room it’s ridiculous that most of my possessions came from places I’ve never visited. My computer was put together in Miami with its components coming from San Diego and China, I’ve been to SD but that’s not the point. The chair underneath me and the desk I’m sitting at came from China. My drum kit hails from Japan; the lamp beside me is from Taiwan, the clothes I’m wearing are from Indonesia, China and Canada! At least the beer I’m drinking while writing this was made here in Victoria by my own hands but who knows where the barley, hops and yeast came from. There comes a point where me must undertake the responsibility as the consumer to choose from right and wrong. Although as China’s economy continues to roll forward, it will someday soon surpass the U.S. as the world economic trade leader. A consequence of this reality is that more and more of our products are going to be manufactured overseas and shipped across the ocean. Followed by a 5,000 km drive across the continent to a distribution center and then shipped again to a giant box store before we pick it up from the shelves, drive it home and throw it away in six months because either it broke or because we just don’t “need” it anymore. I’m not sure exactly what we are supposed to do about any of this but at least reading this may influence your purchasing decisions next time you walk into Walmart. Here is a link to a great blog explaining some of the problems associated with outsourcing a majority of our good overseas and then shipping them here. LINK