I take part in Buy Nothing Day because I believe in the cause behind it. I’m very opposed to the consumerism and capitalism that have caused great harm to all our nations. There are plenty of signs of their great danger and the damage already inflicted upon all aspects of our lives. There is not one of us on this planet who has not been harmed by global greed. I highly recommend becoming informed about the issues related to this day, and taking part if you wish, even with the mere symbolic act of not buying anything.
Buy Nothing Day, the self proclaimed festival of frugal living and culture jammers jamboree. It’s a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. Celebrated as a holiday by some, a street party by others – anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!
Buy Nothing Day exposes the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries – only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth’s natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth.
As consumers we need to question the products we buy and challenge the companies who produce them. What are the true risks to the environment and developing countries? The argument is broad and deep – while it continues we should be looking for simple solutions – Buy Nothing Day is a good place to start.
Of course, Buy Nothing Day isn’t about changing your lifestyle for just one day – we want it to be a lasting relationship – maybe a life changing experience? We want people to make a commitment to consuming less, recycling more and challenging companies to clean up and be fair. The supermarket or shopping mall might offer choice, but this shouldn’t be at the cost of the environment or developing countries.
Buy Nothing Day comes only once a year, but beyond the carnival antics lies a deeper threat to consumer capitalism. The sun is finally setting on the unaccountable, global bully economy, and rising on a network of local, cash-free alternatives.
There’s the growing web of Local Economic Trading Systems, for example. These “community information systems” score and track the barter of goods and services among members. It’s home-grown, informal and does an end run around the Dow Jones. See Lets-LinkUp.Com for hundreds of LETS spanning the globe.
3 comments on “Buy Nothing Day”
I’m buying nothing today. ;P
Well, I definitely believe this is merely a symbolic act. Today is the biggest shopping day of the year in the US (and perhaps in other places as well), and most people do not choose to take part in Buy Nothing Day, continuing with their shopping. I don’t know the statistics, but I believe the number of people who take part are only around 10% of the population, and most of us are already not spending a lot most days. The financial impact of such activism is not truly that harmful, and the real point of the day is to raise awareness for the issues though the jamming and other activities performed during it.
Yes, in the US (Puerto Rico as well) this day is a major sale day. Everything is discounted in one-day-only sales. I keep away from the stores at this time of year except on less busy days because I’m not a healthy person and it takes a lot of effort for me to move through a crowd. As for holiday gifts, I never buy anything that the person wouldn’t truly want or need and I never ever buy things they can only take out and look at once a year. True gifts are always personal and from the heart.