Task 1c > Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff

After viewing Annie Leonard’s video, I think that people living in wealthier countries maybe happier because they can afford luxury, e.g. HD-TV, mp3, vehicles, etc. Whilst, populations in the third world and developing countries that cannot afford the luxury are working in factories established by local and foreign companies in these people’s home-country. These workers suffer the brunt of mass production, as mentioned in the video, the presence of toxic gas, wastes and materials can affect the people’s health who are surrounding these processes because they needed to earn for their ‘butter and bread’. 

A. Leonard goes on about this system is unequally distributed and procedures taken to produce products is unhealthy. I am agreeing to this as well as to say another reason why I think western companies re-locate and establish in developing nations, is because wastes-maintenance is well-enforced in their western country and are also expensive to dispose the wastes. After a video I watched in Past, Present & Future [lecture] in semester-1, where there is a display of an immense collection of wastes in a dump site area in Kenya. Disposed computers, plastics, metals and electronics from U.K. are left in a location to rot and the toxic from these materials are affecting the land and the civilians living near the dump site.

I think because environmental and waste management policies are not well enforced and regulated in countries like Kenya, and in addition to low labour costs, and so perhaps it is extremely inexpensive for massive [western] companies to dispose of their wastes and just leave the dump in areas of developing countries. Whilst, western countries such as Australia have effective regulations in enforcing and promoting waste management because heavy legal penalties are given for inappropriate waste managing.

Annie Leonard had noted significant facts and considerations about sustainable designs to maintain and preserve the integrity and respect of culture and people, and the natural environment. After hearing these I realise as a design student I am encouraged to process and design ways to promote sustainability in designs. Keeping a safe world is a happy world. A noteworthy awareness for designer to look after our earth and leave behind benefits for the future generation to come.

Annie Leonard speaks of products that are designed to have short-life and are disposed by the user as wastes, and so user will move on to buy another. Her implication is that this system contributes to more wastes to be produced and resources consumed to create the product are wasted. I want to think that using the short-life system and thinking of sustainable design, because our today's world are influenced by many things, and our tastes and preferences will change and we buy something, then throw away, and buy another [new one], then throw away, and so on. 

Because people’s taste change and so designer expect their products will not last forever in homes and will be thrown into the trash-can (because people will want new things), it is only sensible (I think) to make designs that are short-life, and also should be sustainable and recyclable, in way to help take off the load of harm we did to our world.

I have an unoriginal idea which I will ask, why not design or not make anything at all. Just don't make and don't produce anything. If no products are made, then no harmful gas and wastes are produced, so no materials will be used, no leading to contribution of waste-dump, and so no resource extraction from the natural environment will happen. Would this not maintain the survivability of the planet?
Because every designers design for their own different reasons and goals. Design to help and promote national economy; design to solve daily problems; design to save and keep lives; design to earn income; design to maintain the organisation; and daresay design for the better for humankind and earth. We also have things because we all want things for the better and enrichment for our life.

What is optimistic about this message from the video, is we are aware and there are those who will care and are interested in being realistic about a system that doesn't "waste energy, sustainability, equity..." [quote from the video].

It would be nice that industrial designers take note of the message delivered by this video clip. Designers are to understand that planet resources is finite and so create better understanding of sustainability and equity that may preserve all livelihoods of Earth.