It's easy for all of us to get caught up in the "spirit" of Christmas and want to buy that perfect gift for each person on our list. It's also hard not to turn from the "best" sale this year and the "cheapest" price this season. I am challenging all of us to join others this year in the "Buy Nothing Day" that for the USA falls on this Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). The UK is also participating in this day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I realize that we may still go out and buy our presents on other days but wouldn't it be a great message to NOT participate in the most consumeristic day of the year?
"While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes participants to buy the next day[5], Adbusters states that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste." (source: Wikipedia)
To read more about this cause, see the links below:
-Sarah
2 comments:
I think this is a great idea, even if it means we can't visit our usual restaurant on Friday night (Baja Burrito).
Will this impact the national economy? No.
Will it cause others to spend and waste less? Probably not.
Will it remind me to guard against materialism and over-consumption while others around the world are merely fighting to survive? Hopefully.
It's a challenge to keep things simple during the holidays, which is unfortunately the time of year when our culture is most heavily focused on shopping and consumerism. I think that "Buy Nothing Day" was a fantastic way to "kick off" the holiday season with a reminder that the end of the year can be a time to focus on relationships, family, and ways that we can help those less fortunate than ourselves rather than on consumption.
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