Buy Nothing Day: No Purchase Necessary
Buy Nothing Day, the brainchild of artist Ted Dave, was first organized in Vancouver in September 1992 as "a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption." The campaign challenges consumers to go a day without buying anything -- "a 24-hour consumer detox." I remember being at the Railway Club one year on BND, when it was suggested that we wait to pay our tab till after midnight -- beer, after all, is something to buy (the irony was not lost on us that if we stayed later, we'd consume more.) Kalle Lasn and the Adbusters Media Foundation he co-founded were instrumental in developing BND into an international event, moving it from September to November's Black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving and the beginning of the frenzied holiday shopping season. (I seem to recall there being a bit of a spat a few years back over who got credit for BND and what the date should be, but it should be the message that counts.) It's now observed by activists and citizens in 65 countries:
"Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending. Reasons for participating in Buy Nothing Day are as varied as the people who choose to participate. Some see it as an escape from the marketing mind games and frantic consumer binge that has come to characterize the holiday season, and our culture in general. Others use it to expose the environmental and ethical consequences of overconsumption... Buy Nothing Day isn't just about changing your habits for one day. It’s about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."
So maybe my first To Buy or Not To Buy blog post yesterday, and subsequent postings here today (chalk it up to a newbie with the day off!), will be part of that commitment, as I work on the change To Be A Conscious Consumer.
Adbusters: full text of the BND 2006 press release quoted above
P.S. If you try to visit Adbusters's online "culture shop" today, you'll get a message (in a yellow circle -- the symbol of "slow down" or "caution") advising that the store is closed for Buy Nothing Day: "Give it a rest for 24 hours. Pause, take a deep breath, and regain some calm."
