The stuff in our lives affects our communities at home and abroad

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view.

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.

The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Dan and George, the brewers at Bison Organic Beer, are particularly interested in Planned Obsolescence and how our current consumption patterns are unsustainable. When we shop for organic beer, pots and pans, backpacks, whatever, we should make small choices to buy the least damaging product available which are affordable, and durable (won't end up in a landfill in 6 months).

However, our choices at the supermarkets are predetermined and limited by political and institutional forces beyond the store. To change these, we need to step beyond our role as consumers and reclaim our identity as engaged citizens in a democracy.