Stuff

I read and think a lot about waste... side effect of the job. Today I ran across this video, and thought it was a captivating explanation of electronic waste. E-waste is a growing and tricky waste stream. This video is about 8 minutes:



This is part of a bigger project on the stuff we buy and the effects called The Story of Stuff. It definitely has an agenda...but I still like it. This video is about 20 minutes:



I think I like this mainly because I've been obsessively evaluating all of our purchases lately. I've been more sensitive to my own buying behavior since taking classes like Buyer Behavior and Consumer Psychology in grad school and realizing that we are conditioned to shop by brand and not necessarily quality. For example, do you know that Kroger brand instant oatmeal tastes EXACTLY like instant Quaker oatmeal but costs $2 less? I've tried it. I've also tried a Walgreens face wash that is identical to the Clean & Clear face wash that I use and costs almost $2 less (and yes I know I'm probably too old to be using Clean & Clear) and Kroger brand shampoo that is just like the one we buy and costs almost $5 less. In some cases, it likely is the same product, just dumped in different packaging.

And this isn't about being cheap. I'm still completely willing to spend money on going to dinner with Jay or on an overpriced cupcake because I place value on the experience in some way. But I'm indifferent towards my oatmeal, so I feel manipulated that someone else convinced me to pay more than the value I actually place on the product. It's about being a better, more responsible consumer.

[If you want to see the other videos in the series, go here. The bottled water and cosmetics ones are my favorite.]