Where does everything in our daily lives come from? The clothes on our backs, the computers on our desks, the cabinets in our kitchens, and the foo...
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Jan 13, 2009
Mary
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Fred Pearce is well-intentioned and good hearted. He cares about the environment, and he cares about the third world citizens making all of the things he buys in order to maintain his cushy first world lifestyle. In the global economy, where does all that crap come from anyway, and can we trust greenwashed labeling, and has environmental fervor overshadowed concerns over ethical working conditions? These are important questions, and I’m glad this was written. But I’ll be happier when another
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Dec 15, 2008
Maya
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Fred Pearce chooses some of the "things" in his life and tracks down their source, exploring the people and places affected for him to get his stuff. It's truly fascinating to learn where things from gold to shrimp to cotton come from and what it takes to get them to us. It's also truly horrifying, for the most part.
I don't know anyone who is willing to trade someone else's misery or destroyed land for the ability to buy food or clothes cheap ... but it seems that is wh More...
I don't know anyone who is willing to trade someone else's misery or destroyed land for the ability to buy food or clothes cheap ... but it seems that is wh More...
Mar 30, 2010
Loralee
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I never knew it was possible to learn so much about the stuff we use. This author has done it, tracking computers, gold, diamonds, socks, and even green beans back to the sites of their production--and to where they end up. He made many sobering discoveries, including the warlords fighting over rare metals all of us use but have never heard of; the ecosystems destroyed by prawn farming in Bangladesh; the desertification of the Aral Sea, whose water is being diverted to cotton fields; and the t
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Jul 26, 2010
Mark
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The neoliberal culture has led to our complete disconnection from the food we eat, or the clothes we wear. We merely consume, never thinking of where our goods come from, only that they’re in our hands.
With this in mind, Fred Pearce wanted to explore the paths of everyday items, the totems of every day life, from the gold in his wedding ring, to green beans, to our furniture, to the cotton from which his socks are made.
Without agenda, each territory is explored with gentl More...
With this in mind, Fred Pearce wanted to explore the paths of everyday items, the totems of every day life, from the gold in his wedding ring, to green beans, to our furniture, to the cotton from which his socks are made.
Without agenda, each territory is explored with gentl More...
Jul 31, 2011
Sally
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If you have any pet prejudices that you are determined to hold on to, then this may not be the book for you! It allows me to go back to buying those wonderful green beans from Marks and Spencer (as long as they're from a company called, ironically, Homegrown), whilst confirming some of my other environmental actions as justifiable, even desirable.
Fred Pearce is a scientist who writes for New Scientist magazine so his credentials for writing this book are excellent and he approaches t More...
Fred Pearce is a scientist who writes for New Scientist magazine so his credentials for writing this book are excellent and he approaches t More...
Feb 17, 2009
AJ
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This book goes into great detail about the lifecycles of a handful of consumer products - food, clothing, electronics, metals, etc. While very interesting, I found this book lacking in the bigger picture of what is wrong with over consumption. The author paints a picture where our problems can be solved with the right mix of biofuels and ingenuity and doesn't take on the fact that the problem is that we live in a consumerist society where people buy too much crap that they don't need because com
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May 26, 2010
Melody
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Another for the "everything you are doing is wrong" shelf. Pearce decided to investigate the ways his consumer goods were manufactured and disposed of. The usual suspects are on display here, and some less usual. It's always a little troublesome to see someone log tens of thousands of air miles to report on how the environment is going to hell, but it feels like his motives are pure- and points to him for acknowledging his footprint as considerably larger than average for his cohort.
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Feb 07, 2009
Gregory
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A collection of journalistic pieces in which the author traces the origins of his "stuff" - the food he eats, the clothes he wears. Beyond his carbon footprint, the author takes a special interest in the social impact of his purchases, and I found him more compelling when he wrote about people than about things. His conclusions are often surprising. His jeans, for example, were made in a sweatshop in Bangladesh, under conditions that most Westerners would find appalling. But for the wo
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Mar 01, 2011
Hans
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Fred Pearce looks at the stuff he eats/uses/discards in his own life and travels the world to find out how it is made and what happens to it when he is done with it.
The first couple of chapters were a bit too shallow for my taste. Later in the book some of the chapters were very fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about things like the perilous situation of the banana (something I knew nothing about), the green beans farmers in Kenia, fair trade coffee and chocolate, what happ More...
The first couple of chapters were a bit too shallow for my taste. Later in the book some of the chapters were very fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about things like the perilous situation of the banana (something I knew nothing about), the green beans farmers in Kenia, fair trade coffee and chocolate, what happ More...
Oct 10, 2010
James
rated it:
“What does chocolate taste like?"
An unexpected question, and one that’s all the more poignant
coming from a little boy whose father works on a West African
cocoa plantation. It's one of many revelations uncovered by Fred Pearce as he tracks the lifecycle of his belongings, from the shirt on his back to the coffee in his cup.
Much of what he finds is grim. The prawns in his takeaway come
from Bangladeshi farms, cultivated by poor villagers and controlled More...
An unexpected question, and one that’s all the more poignant
coming from a little boy whose father works on a West African
cocoa plantation. It's one of many revelations uncovered by Fred Pearce as he tracks the lifecycle of his belongings, from the shirt on his back to the coffee in his cup.
Much of what he finds is grim. The prawns in his takeaway come
from Bangladeshi farms, cultivated by poor villagers and controlled More...
Aug 08, 2009
Elizabeth
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There were a lot of things I liked about this book, but one of the things I didn't like really dominates my perception of it. This is it:
"I estimate that I traveled more than 110,000 miles on this journey,visiting more than twenty countries." (p. 4)
"The one area where there are no technical fixes at hand is air travel, which is the biggest source of emissions from many people with the biggest carbon footprints, including me. We simply have to give up flying More...
"I estimate that I traveled more than 110,000 miles on this journey,visiting more than twenty countries." (p. 4)
"The one area where there are no technical fixes at hand is air travel, which is the biggest source of emissions from many people with the biggest carbon footprints, including me. We simply have to give up flying More...
Feb 22, 2010
Kathryn
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The title is a little melodramatic, but the stories are stunning. Each chapter is a brief overview of the journey he went on to discovery the origins of things like his jeans, his wedding ring, and his coffee. He's a journalist who loves to travel ("So I decided to spend a week trekking across Uzbekistan...") who feels a healthy sense of responsibility for the way his purchases affect the lives of real people in real places. Not a guilt trip, just a fascinating one.
Mar 06, 2009
Michelle
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A book I would recommend over "No Logo". Pearce travels around the world getting to see the facilities that produce the gold in our computers and your wedding bands, the cotton in his socks, his third world green beans. And what he sees is different than the major corporations who send their social responsibility inspectors see, particularly in Bangladesh. And he even traces organic cotton which had the best treated workers of all, I think, in India. I am so glad he stuck up for the fa
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Apr 25, 2011
Brooke
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I did not read this entire book but picked chapters that were interesting to me. Pearce traces the origin of his "stuff," and chapters are organized around what "stuff" he is researching --- food, computers, oil, etc. While you might thing it would be all doom and gloom, it wasn't. There were some bright spots, some surprises, and some horrible abysses. He is British, and it had an Anglo slant. Plenty of food for thought!
Aug 05, 2011
Jady
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This is a book I think everyone can learn from. It's informative, very eye-opening, thought-provoking, and written in a wonderfully engaging style. It covers a huge amount of territory, both geographical and informational, yet it is quite concisely written. I thought I had already been fairly aware in terms of my shopping habits, but this book clearly showed me that I still a lot more to learn! I haven't read anything else by Pearce, but I'd definitely like to - he's a very enjoyable writer.
Pear More...
Pear More...
Nov 24, 2008
This book is a fascinating look into the obscured origins of the products and foods we see in our lives. The author is an accomplished journalist who actually traveled all over the world to see for himself the people, conditions and impact of the industries behind his possessions. It begins with his descent into the most productive gold mine in the world, three miles into the earth's crust in South Africa.
Nov 30, 2011
Marty
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I read this several years ago and still think about things that I read in it. Fair trade coffee isn't so fair, aluminum (boxite) production wreaks havoc with the environment, and if there is one thing that needs to be recycled, it's aluminum. People taking apart cell phones to extract tiny bits of precious ingredients. Very informative.
May 03, 2009
Trish
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The author travels around the world to find out where his household goods and food come from, and how they are made. The book is depressing at times as he clearly describes the environmental and human toll of factories, sweatshops etc. in far away places. This book will open your eyes and make you think about your consumption habits.
Jan 27, 2009
Erica
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An interesting book, but, formatting wise it felt like there should be large, over-saturated and sharp National Geographic style photographs accompanying every essay.
My favorite factoid from the book; Asustek employs 85,000 people at its main plant by Shanghai. Crazy.
My favorite factoid from the book; Asustek employs 85,000 people at its main plant by Shanghai. Crazy.
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Jan 18, 2009
Bonnie
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Just couldn't get into it. Maybe because I'd already read You Are Here The Surprising Link Between What We Do and What That Does to the Planet and loved it. Maybe I just didn't take to Pearce's writing. Don't know.
Sep 01, 2010
Cara
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I thought I was a fairly eco-aware shopper, choosing Fair Trade and avoiding brands with poor environmental records... until I read this book. Confessions of an Eco Sinner will make you feel guilty and despairing of our throwaway culture while making you think about where the products we buy really come from.
I for one will be changing my shopping habits and recycling a lot more. Definitely a book to make you think about the impact of your lifestyle on this little blue planet.
I for one will be changing my shopping habits and recycling a lot more. Definitely a book to make you think about the impact of your lifestyle on this little blue planet.
Oct 16, 2009
Mason
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Yes, it's gimmicky that Fred Pearce tracks back the things in his house to the places they came from. But this book is incredibly compelling, easy to read, and has a lot of surprises even for someone like me who thought they knew a lot already about where things come from.
All of Pearce's books I've read are among my favorites, but I think this one is his most accessible, and will be most compelling to a general audience. Everyone who can afford this book is deeply embedded in the net More...
All of Pearce's books I've read are among my favorites, but I think this one is his most accessible, and will be most compelling to a general audience. Everyone who can afford this book is deeply embedded in the net More...
Aug 10, 2009
Catherine
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If you want to know the origins and social and environmental effects of the stuff we own (computers, clothes, food etc.), this is a great resource. I particularly liked the chapters on electronics and computers.
May 14, 2009
Ariane
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About what you'd expect from a book so drearily titled. Fred's so hopeless it makes you wanna go on a shopping binge.
I did learn some stuff from his pretty thorough research into cotton, aluminum, electronics...
I did learn some stuff from his pretty thorough research into cotton, aluminum, electronics...
Aug 05, 2011
Ian
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A collection of essays tracing the production chains of various essentials like food, clothing, energy, wastes etc. A tad optimistic in the final part without being convincing enough. I suppose one has to have almost blind faith in humanity finding a solution, since the alternative is too dark to contemplate.
Jun 18, 2009
Skigirl
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Really, really, really interesting and good. Fascinating accounts of tracking down where the author's 'stuff' ends up (used goods, garbage, donations, etc). Some hopeful conclusions (which are needed when reading a book like this)! A terrific and important read.
Aug 19, 2009
Hollis
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I've been telling anyone who'll stand still long enough to listen to me about this book. I liken it to Bill Bryson doing Fast Food Nation. Pearce isn't as humorous as Bryson and the subject matter is much broader than merely agribusiness. I found it fascinating and a very compelling read. My husband and i generally do not speak highly of the same books; he loved it as well.
Oct 29, 2008
Turi
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At first glance, I wasn't sure if I was going to like Confessions of an Eco-sinner - the writing looked a little dry, and I thought I might have just read one too many "green" books recently. I was wrong - this is probably the best, most important one I've read. Fred Pearce tracks down the origin and final destinations of many of the things in his life, like his food, clothing, electronics and recycling. He discovers some surprising things, both good and bad, about where products com
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May 18, 2010
Alioh
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Fantastic book. I think it would appeal to many. I'd definitely recommend it to any 'greenie' and I'd have to say its the most all-encompassing book I've yet to read (or try to read) about trying to make sustainable, ethical choices, while being entertaining, interesting, and easy to stay interested in. The book is divided into segments (ie clothes, waste/recycling, food) and then each segment has 4-6 stories a few pages long so its easy to read a little at a time and not get overwhelmed. I real
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Nov 22, 2008
nina
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This book will make liberal, self-righteous hipsters look like shmucks - its great! The author is from England, but includes many statistics about America as well. No one gets off the hook easily, not even the localvores. Lots of surprising facts, dismal predictions, and unexpected heroes.
