Gone Tomorrow The Hidden Life Of Garbage Analysis

In the book Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, Heather Rogers explains how America’s trash has evolved and transformed over time. From the nineteenth century to modern day, it is apparent that garbage is a cover for the larger and more controversial topic of consumption. Over time, consumption has manifested into an ever growing issue of disposal. Although efforts are put in place to reduce the amount of garbage created, Rogers correctly asserts that consumption is a substantial component of today’s society due to the transition to disposable products and large corporations’ manufacturing techniques. Progressive obsolescence was one of the main strategies used by the production industry that vastly increased consumption and therefore

During the World War II era, the manufacturing industry vastly differed from the post World War II period. America’s workforce was serving the country across the globe, so “Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, Or go Without!” (Rogers 109) slogans were common on radios, posters, and in stores. Fresh out of America’s WWII depression, consumers were bombarded with the progressive obsolescence product manufacturing, which led to the birth of disposable items. Single use cooking pans, Pampers diapers, and disposable razors were convenient, but brought a brand new definition to wasteful. Consumers were more likely to purchase a good if it was wrapped in an attractive container or wrapper because it was more appealing to the shopper’s eye and brand loyalty could be established. By the 1960s, industries recognized how successful packaging had become, so almost as much money that was spent on the product itself was put into the packaging and appearance. The amount of waste produced rapidly increased due to the equally as steep increase in consumerism. As Rogers argues, the 1950s marked the beginning of the era of consumerism and how it became such a massive part of American