"Consuming less is our best strategy for saving the planet-but can we do it? In this thoughtful and surprisingly optimistic book, journalist J.B. MacKinnon investigates how we might achieve a world without shopping"--

Economist and bestselling author Juliet Schor lays out a positive vision for rethinking our relationship to consumer goods in this accessible and timely analysis of the devastating ecological, social, and personal costs of mass consumerism. Ranging from cutting-edge developments in economic theory, social analysis, and ecological design to real-world examples of these ideas being put into practice around the world, Schor makes a compelling case that...

"In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy--only keeping her from meeting her goals--she decided to set herself a challenge:she would not shop for an entire year....

Digital Disconnect trains its sights on the relationship between the internet and democracy in the age of fake news, filter bubbles, and Facebook security breaches. Moving from the development of the internet as a publicly-funded project in the late 1960s to its full-scale commercialization today, renowned media scholar Robert McChesney traces how the democratizing potential of the internet has been radically compromised by the logic of capitalism...

In this highly anticipated sequel to his groundbreaking "Advertising & the End of the World," media scholar Sut Jhally explores the devastating personal and environmental fallout from advertising, commercial culture, and rampant American consumerism. Ranging from the emergence of the modern advertising industry in the early 20th century to the full-scale commercialization of the culture today, Jhally identifies one consistent message running throughout...

Our cellphones, our clothes, our food: all are everyday things we consider essential, but we seldom think of what and who is involved in making them and getting them into our hands. Tackles the complex dynamics of the global economy, examining the often complex journey of ordinary goods, from production right to our doorsteps. "Our cellphones, our clothes, our food: All are everyday things we consider essential, but we seldom think of what and who...

The films in the Media Education Foundation (MEF) Collection encourage critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media. With a special focus on representations of gender and race, and the effect these representations have on identity and culture, MEF films are especially well-suited for use in Women's Studies, Sociology, Race Studies,Communication, Anthropology, Education, and Psychology courses.

In Advertising & the End of the World, Sut Jhally, Executive Director of MEF, exposes the inherent conflict between commercial culture - as aggressively sold by private, global media systems - and environmental stewardship. This powerful video goes beyond simply critiquing commercial images to challenge us to evaluate the costs of consumer society and how we participate in it.