Buy Nothing Day

Could you buy nothing for an entire day? Even if it meant saying no to a coffee at Starbuck’s, resisting the temptation of a half-price sale in your favourite clothes shop or not buying the new DVD that’s just come out? Buy Nothing Day is an international day of protest observed at the end of November each year. The rules are simple: a 24-hour detox from shopping! And it is not just for social activists -anyone can take part, as long as they are aware of the cause and do not hit the shops. In America, the day is typically celebrated the Friday after American Thanksgiving. This day is also called ‘Black Friday’, and it is one of the 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. It is celebrated internationally the following day (meaning that it falls on a Saturday, a typical shopping day for some).

The idea behind the day is to make us think about how much we consume, and of the effect this has on the environment. It highlights the ethical and environmental consequences of shopping. The statistics speak for themselves: 20% of the world’s population are consuming over 80% of the earth’s natural resources. This leads to a disproportionate level of damage to the environment, as well as an unfair distribution of wealth.
Buy Nothing Day was set up by Ted Dave, an artist from Vancouver, and it was later promoted by Adbusters magazine in Canada. The first Buy Nothing Day was organised in 1992: ‘A day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption’, its organiser said. However, it was a struggle at first. CNN was the only television network prepared to air advertisements for Buy Nothing Day. But soon, campaigns began to appear in other countries across the world. It is now celebrated in over 50 countries, including France, the UK, Argentina, Japan and Romania.

Ted Dave believes that consumers should challenge the companies who produce the products they buy, but also, on an individual level, consumers should question what they buy. According to Buy Nothing Day, these questions are a good place to start: Do I need it? How much do I already have? How much will I use it? How long will it last? Could I borrow it from a friend or family member? Have I researched it to get the best quality for the best price? Are the resources that went into it renewable or non-renewable? Is it made from recycled materials, or is it recyclable?

Different kinds of protest, gatherings and shenanigans have taken place on previous Buy Nothing Days to highlight the issue. There has been everything from cutting up credit cards in shopping centres to sit-ins to a conga-line of people steering shopping trolleys round a supermarket but putting nothing in their trolleys.
It may seem like a good idea for a worthy cause, but the day has faced some criticism. Some people argue that it simply causes participants to buy more the next day. But for Adbusters, this isn’t the case. ‘It isn’t just about changing your habits for one day’, it states. ‘It’s about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste.’
It might only be one day a year, but the organisers hope that it leaves us with an important message for the other 364…