A Habit That's Hard to Break

We live in an era of material wealth where our value is based upon our ability to earn money and then spend that money on "stuff," as is described to some shocking level in Annie Leonard's film Story of Stuff, Full Version; How Things Work, About Stuff . We've become so involved in this life style where we focus on acquiring, using, and discarding goods as quickly as possible and on always having the newest model of whatever it is we have. What we typically don't realize is that a cell phone, battery, napkin, or any other object involves much more than just buying it, using it, and discarding it. In fact, there is an entire product life cycle from extraction of the materials, to manufacturing, distribution and sales, use, and waste. The support of this cycle requires immense energy and physical resources -- even something as simple as a cup of coffee requires substantial effort from multiple countries and resource centers.

The resources that go into this cycle, and the process of moving those resources from extraction to refinement to use in the product, is the supply chain. To support our growing demand for "stuff," we need huge supply chains on a global scale. In fact, we've become so dependent on these global supply chains that disruptions in single links can cause major problems. Now, our dependence on these supply chains is neither an inherently good nor bad thing. It's a habit we have gotten ourselves into, but not all habits are good. Brushing your teeth daily and smoking are both habits, but clearly not of the same ends. Global supply chains carry issues such as volatility and exploitation, but it also provides deep reserves of resources to match demand and a wide selection for manufacturers so that they may choose the highest quality and cost effective materials.

What we need to realize is that we cannot simply disconnect from these global supply chains even if we wanted to. We are tied to them for the time being. We have become so tightly connected to the global supply chain because our enormous demands for consumption require enormous supplies of materials, and it's easier and easier for us to buy more and more inexpensive, disposable items because the global supply chain enables low-cost and effective resources. It has become a self-feeding cycle from which it may be extremely difficult to remove ourselves. Any change on a global scale will be slow.

How we continue forward with the global supply chain model does not necessarily require a given direction in how we continue to use resources. It is possible for us to push forward with efforts in recycling and renewable resources while also continuing to expand the global market. Different countries may specialize in different parts of product life cycles or in different resources, which can be beneficial for the global market. We must look at this system as a whole and realize that the flash drive sitting on our desk took quite a journey from many far away lands in order to end up sitting in front of you.