The Story of Stuff

Did you know that corporations in this country have the same rights as individuals? This means that they are essentially considered "people" in the eyes of the law. They have the same rights as you and I, but often not the same responsibilities (example: taxes). With this new "corporate person-hood", corporations are now able to contribute to political campaigns in the same way, and with as few limits as individuals.
This could explain why our laws allow the mass production and promotion of low quality, throw away stuff. Despite the rhetoric to the contrary, corporate interest lies first and foremost in the bottom line. Their primary purpose is to sell more stuff, at higher prices, with minimal overhead cost. This does not naturally lead to well made, last a lifetime, easier to repair than replace goods.
The problem is, we accept this. We continue to buy tons of stuff with out considering the long term economic, environmental and social impact of the stuff. Then when it breaks, is worn out or we are tired of it, we throw it away. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "away". All that stuff goes somewhere and we are adding more all the time. Even worse, we allow corporations to continue to use sweat shop labor and low quality, unsafe materials to make more stuff, then spend twice what it cost to manufacture in advertising and lobbying to ensure that we are thoroughly convinced to buy said stuff.
Now is the time to break the chain. Become a contributer, not a consumer. Explore the politics of shopping and get outraged. Citizens have rights that go beyond low prices!

http://storyofstuff.org/index.php