EXCITING NEWS

Dear Toby,

This morning, we released our newest Story of Stuff Project movie - The Story of Electronics - a look at the 'design for the dump' mentality so prevalent in the electronics industry.

This movie couldn't come at a better time: this November, Americans are expected to spend over $8.5 billion on consumer electronics, motivated by enticements to buy gizmos we don't really need or to replace gadgets that are still working with slightly newer versions.

The thing is, making all these devices takes an enormous environmental and public health toll: mining the metals trashes communities from Congo to Indonesia; assembling them uses huge amounts of water and energy and exposes workers to a host of toxic chemicals; and getting rid of them when we're on to the next, newer, better model creates mountains of e-waste.

The good news is that while the production, consumption and disposal of short-lived, toxics laden electronics are a really big problem, the solution is pretty simple: Make 'em Safe, Make 'em Last, and Take 'em Back.

We're releasing The Story of Electronics today to send a clear message to the electronics industry: it's time to send that design for the dump mentality to the dump where it belongs and start making less toxic, longer lasting and more easily recyclable products.

Our goal is to get a quarter of a million people to watch The Story of Electronics by Black Friday, just over two weeks from now.

You can help us reach this goal by:

Watching The Story of Electronics;

Sharing the movie with your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students and anyone else you think might be interested;

Reading Annie's Huffington Post piece about the movie, and then commenting on it, liking it or sharing it; and

Working with our partners at the Electronics TakeBack Coalition to tell two of the largest electronics manufacturers-Acer and Lenovo-to "Make 'em Safe, Make 'em Last, and Take 'em Back!"
Every time we release one of our movies, we're floored by the way our community jumps in to spread the message. We know this time will be no different.
So, thank you, and we hope you enjoy The Story of Electronics!

Sincerely,

Annie, Michael, Allison, Christina and Renee

The Story of Stuff Project Team

P.S. It costs a pretty penny to produce and distribute our movies. You can help offset the distribution costs we're racking up this week with a secure, on-line donation to The Story of Stuff Project. Thank you!











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