The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change

This alarming fact drove Annie Leonard to create the Internet film sensation The Story of Stuff, which has been viewed over 10 million times. Now, in a landmark book in the tradition of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Leonard tracks the life of the Stuff we use every day—how it is produced, distributed, and consumed, and where it goes when we throw it out.

Leonard’s message is startlingly clear: we have too much Stuff, and too much of it is toxic. Outlining the five stages of our consumption-driven economy—from extraction through production, distribution, consumption, and disposal—she vividly illuminates its frightening repercussions. Leonard reveals the true story behind our possessions, and how we, as consumers, are compromising our health, safety, and quality of life. Meanwhile, all this Stuff isn’t even making us happier!

The drive for a “growth at all costs” economy fuels a system in crisis, but Annie Leonard shows us that this is not the way things have to be. Expansive, galvanizing, and sobering yet optimistic, The Story of Stuff transforms how we think about our lives and our relationship to the planet.