Buy Nothing Day (BND) is an international day of
protest
against
consumerism observed by
social activists and many concerned citizens. Buy Nothing Day is
held the Friday after American
Thanksgiving in
North America and the last Saturday in November internationally,[1]
which in 2012 correspond to November 23 in North America and November 24
internationally.[2]
Buy Nothing Day was founded in
Vancouver by artist Ted Dave[3]
and subsequently promoted by
Adbusters magazine,[4]
based in
Canada.
The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Canada in September 1992
"as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption."[5]
In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, also
called
"Black Friday", which is one of the ten busiest shopping days in the
United States. In 2000, advertisements by Adbusters promoting
Buy Nothing Day were denied advertising time by almost all major
television networks except for
CNN.[1]
Soon, campaigns started appearing in the
United States, the
United Kingdom,
Israel,
Austria,
Germany,
New Zealand,
Japan,
the
Netherlands,
France,
and Norway.
Participation now includes more than 65 nations.[5]
Buy Nothing Day has recently been modified by Adbusters and renamed
Occupy Xmas,[6]
a reference to the
Occupy Movement. Buy Nothing Day was first joined with Adbuster's
Buy Nothing Christmas campaign. Shortly there after, Lauren Bercovitch,
the production manager at Adbusters Media Foundation publicly embraced
the principles of Occupy Xmas, advocating "something as simple as buying
locally—going out and putting money into your local economy—or making
your Christmas presents".[7]
Previously, the central message of Occupy X-mas and Occupy Christmas
differed in that Occupy X-Mas called for a "buy nothing Christmas"[8]
and Occupy Christmas called for support of local economy, artists and
craftspeople in holiday shopping. The union of these ideologies calls
for a Buy Nothing Day to kick off a season of supporting local economy
and family.
Activities
Various gatherings and forms of protest have been used on Buy Nothing
Day to draw attention to the problem of
over-consumption:
- Credit card cut up: Participants stand in a shopping mall,
shopping center, or store with a pair of scissors and a poster that
advertises help for people who want to put an end to mounting debt
and extortionate interest rates with one simple cut.
- Free, non-commercial street parties
-
Sit-ins
-
Zombie Walk: Participant "zombies" wander around shopping malls
or other consumer havens with a blank stare. When asked what they
are doing participants describe Buy Nothing Day.
- Whirl-mart: Participants silently steer their shopping carts
around a shopping mall or store in a long, baffling conga line
without putting anything in the carts or actually making any
purchases.
- Public protests
- Wildcat General Strike: A strategy used for the 2009 Buy Nothing
Day where participants not only do not buy anything for twenty-four
hours but also keep their lights, televisions, computers and other
non-essential appliances turned off, their cars parked, and their
phones turned off or unplugged from sunrise to sunset.[2]
- Buy Nothing Day hike: Rather than celebrating consumerism by
shopping, participants celebrate The Earth and nature.[9]
- Buy Nothing
Critical Mass: As the monthly Critical Mass bicycle ride often
falls on this day or near, rides in some cities acknowledge and
celebrate Buy Nothing Day.
- Buy Nothing Day paddle along the San Francisco waterfront. This
event is promoted by the Bay Area Sea Kayakers to kayak along the
notoriously consumptive San Francisco waterfront.
- The Winter Coat Exchanges that started in Rhode Island and now
have locations in Rhode Island, Kentucky, Utah and Oregon in which
coats are collected from anyone who wants to donate, and anyone who
needs a winter coat is welcome to take one.
Criticism
While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes
participants to buy the next day,[10]
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."[5]
Others campaigns, such as
Shift Your Shopping, attempt to redirect spending away from
corporate chains and online giants toward locally-owned, community-based
businesses as a means to combat consumerism. Even some independent
business advocates, such as the
American Independent Business Alliance, recognize "Black Friday"
frenzy does little for independent businesses and instead encourage
people to consider giving gifts but not necessarily "things."[11]
See also
References
External links