It purports to expose "the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create an increasingly sustainable and just world.

Although the video itself doesn't give attribution to her information, the producers provide an annotated script that includes footnotes with explanations and sources for some of her assertions: Leonard also quotes what Victor Lebow said in 1955 regarding economic growth:[19] The Story of Stuff has been subject to public discussion, especially after The New York Times published a front-page article about the video on May 10, 2009.

[20] Even before The New York Times article, The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook pointed to The Story of Stuff as a successful portrayal of the problems with the consumption cycle,[21] and Greyson (2008) says it is an engaging attempt to communicate circular economics.

It also attracted the attention of conservative commentators such as Glenn Beck, who characterized the video as an "anti-capitalist tale that unfortunately has virtually no facts correct.

[23][24][25] The subsequent public outcry against this decision led to a rewrite of the school board's policy and an award for the teacher who screened the film.