CONSUMERISM (OR NOT):
BUY NOTHING DAY-IT'S COMING SOON:
Next Friday November 28 (Saturday, November 29 in Europe and Asia) is the official 'Buy Nothing Day', an annual event initiated to protest rampant consumerism. This one is easy to participate in. Just don't consume. Simple as pie, especially in hard economic times.
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Buy Nothing Day 2008
Buy Nothing Day 2008
A 24 hour moratorium on consumer spending
Event Info
Host:
Adbusters
Time and Place
Start Time:
North America: Friday, November 28-Elsewhere:Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 12:00am
End Time:
North America:Saturday November 29 at 12:00am-Elsewhere:Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 12:00am
Location:
The World
Contact Info
Email:
sarahterkes@buynothingday.info
Description
Participate by not participating!
Event Info
Host:
Adbusters
Time and Place
Start Time:
North America: Friday, November 28-Elsewhere:Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 12:00am
End Time:
North America:Saturday November 29 at 12:00am-Elsewhere:Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 12:00am
Location:
The World
Contact Info
Email:
sarahterkes@buynothingday.info
Description
Participate by not participating!
Saturday November 29th 2008 is International Buy Nothing Day. It's a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from (mindless) shopping and tune into life.
The rules are simple:
For 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without mindless, needless shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending (mindlessly)!
This event was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by Adbusters magazine.
PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS:
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Why do you buy?:
Once upon a time, we used to buy what we needed, period.
Why do you buy?:
Once upon a time, we used to buy what we needed, period.
Now that we have all we need, we buy for other reasons: to impress each other, to fill a void, to kill time. Buy Nothing Day is a simple idea: try not to shop for a day, and see how your view of our world changes.
Where does all this stuff come from?
Where will it go?
Why do we buy it?
Aren't there better ways of spending our time?
About Buy Nothing Day
Quick Facts:
Purpose
Provide a moment of pause in the production-consumption routine. Find alternatives to a shopping-centered life-style. Draw attention to the social, economic, environmental and psychological effects of overconsumption. Promote ecological economics (local and environmentally responsible business, non GDP indicators of wealth).
Promotion
Promotion
Adbusters Media Foundation (Canada) http://www.adbusters.org/
Mailing Lists (Adbusters, Casseurs de Pub, World BND, BND Japan etc.)
Mailing Lists (Adbusters, Casseurs de Pub, World BND, BND Japan etc.)
Approx. 1,000,000 subscribers
Confirmed number of participating countries (in 2003)
62
Media coverage
NY Times, Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Le Monde; CNN, Fox; TV stations and print media in at least 7 countries.Also see: http://www.bnd.nu/artiklar.shtml
Participating organizations include:
Friends of the Earth, Food Not Bombs, Critical Mass, Workshop for Sustainable Development (Omslag, Holland) , The Commons (France)Mascots, The Big Pig, Zenta Claus (concept made in Japan), Consumer Sheep, Consumer Monster
Popular events/activities:
Popular events/activities:
Credit card cut-ups, street theatre, shops selling nothing, meditating in Santa Claus costumes, no-logo parades, bicycle demonstrations, teach-ins, postering and leaf-letting, conga-lines, free food parties, barter markets, free concerts, shopping-free zones (sofas and carpets in city shopping area), broadcasting BND un-commercials on radio and TV, simply not shopping and instead enjoying the day with friends and family.
More information:
More information:
Adbusters Media Liaison
Phone (1) 604-736-9401
EMAIL: media-pr@adbusters.org
http://www.adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/
FAQS
What is BND? :
Buy Nothin
g Day is a holiday, a street party to celebrate sustainable lifestyles, a break from the shop-till-you drop culture. It is what we make it. You can just take a day off or organize something.
What’s the point?
To stop and think about what and how much we buy effects the environment, our own well-being and people in developing countries. By participating in the global BND, you make a statement for a new kind of lifestyle, culture and politics:
*A personal life that is not just about making and spending money
*A public culture that is diverse and open for many ideas and concerns, not dominated by pro-shopping messages
*Politics based on global peace and fairness, and true cost economics (not neo-classical GDP economics)
Does it make a difference if I don’t shop for a day?
It does. Try it and you’ll see.
Isn't it bad for the economy?
In many economically successful countries, there is a weekly ‘sell-nothing-day,’ for example Sunday. Experience shows that when shops are ‘allowed’ to open on Sunday, the overall sales don’t rise, but small and medium retailers lose to large businesses. So BND is not bad for the economy, it just does not give an advantage to big businesses.
FAQS
What is BND? :
Buy Nothin
g Day is a holiday, a street party to celebrate sustainable lifestyles, a break from the shop-till-you drop culture. It is what we make it. You can just take a day off or organize something.What’s the point?
To stop and think about what and how much we buy effects the environment, our own well-being and people in developing countries. By participating in the global BND, you make a statement for a new kind of lifestyle, culture and politics:
*A personal life that is not just about making and spending money
*A public culture that is diverse and open for many ideas and concerns, not dominated by pro-shopping messages
*Politics based on global peace and fairness, and true cost economics (not neo-classical GDP economics)
Does it make a difference if I don’t shop for a day?
It does. Try it and you’ll see.
Isn't it bad for the economy?
In many economically successful countries, there is a weekly ‘sell-nothing-day,’ for example Sunday. Experience shows that when shops are ‘allowed’ to open on Sunday, the overall sales don’t rise, but small and medium retailers lose to large businesses. So BND is not bad for the economy, it just does not give an advantage to big businesses.
Many people like to use BND to call for year-round boycotts of certain businesses (especially transnational corporations) with unfair labor practices, a bad environmental or animal rights record, a history of war profiteering and political meddling, etc. Others voice their support for good business practices and policies that recognize the social benefit of eco-businesses and fair trade.
What are some alternatives to buying?
First figure out if you can do without it. If the answer is yes, try re-using, recycling/remodeling, making your own, sharing existing (vehicles, computers, garden tools, etc.), bartering, using local money, give-aways, and even garbage-diving.
What is so bad about consuming?
It's not buying goods and services itself that's so harmful, it's what we buy and how much. People in the money-rich countries (only 20% of the world population) are consuming over 86% of the earth's natural resources, and cause most of the environmental damage.
The raw materials and production methods that are used to make so many of our goods have harmful side affects such as toxic waste, destruction of wild life, and wasted energy. The transport of goods internationally also contributes to pollution (often unnecessarily, since many goods could be produced locally or regionally). Our demand for certain conveniences can also cause war and instability in other countries. We all know about America’s “wars for oil’ in which the Japanese government supports. But there are less know stories: e.g. Tantal, a raw metal needed for cell phones, game boys and laptops, is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A UN report named the tantal trade as one of the causes for “one of the biggest human rights tragedies since WW1”, a war that has been going on since 1997.
How did BND start?
BND was invented by the Canadian artist Ted Dave and his friends in 1992. Adbusters, an international magazine started spreading and promoting it, and now it is celebrated in at least 62 countries (2003).
Who organizes BND?
Events are organized by anyone who wants to. Therefore- every place, every event is different. It's up to you. So far, in Japan, there are small business owners, students, designers, teachers, 'regular working people,' dads and mom's, citizen's groups (environmental groups, peace groups, labor groups) are organizing events and activities.
How many people participate?
Around the world, Adbusters estimates that in 2003, about a million people participated by not shopping, and could confirm that thousands participated in events in at least 60 countries. In Japan, we expect about 10.000 to participate this year, In other Asian countries, so far there are confirmed reports of organizing groups in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Korea. In Germany, BND has the support of one of Germany’s big newspapers, the tageszeitung.
Why these dates (Friday after Thanksgiving in North America, the following Saturday in Europe and Asia)?
In many countries, this weekend is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In North America, where BND started, the Friday after Thanksgiving is famous for its wild shopping frenzy. The media always report on the sales numbers and consumer behavior on this day (the crazier the rush the more enthusiastic the reporters). In Europe and Asia we celebrate it the following Saturday, because sales are higher on that day.
Can't I make another day buy nothing day?
Of course. Any day is fine for a personal consumption fast (some people and cultures like to keep a weekly buy nothing day). But it is more fun and has more impact if you do it together with ten thousands of people around the globe.
But we can’t make every day buy nothing day, can we?
Actually, th
ere are people who chose a life where they hardly need to buy things. These people are known under names like simple lifers or down-shifters. This may not be your choice of lifestyle, but they show us that we can develop alternatives, and how to value things that cannot be bought and sold.Event Ideas:
**pass out flyers and or do a performance in shopping areas, trains stations in town or shopping malls (note: If the space is privately owned, the security guards will probably show up soon. In public space you may have to register with the police, beforehand, but business owners cannot chase you off.)
**street performances: funny costumes are de rigeur. Santa Claus doing weird things (meditating, ), the shopping-dropping act (walking laden with insane amounts of shopping bags, pretending to collapse under them.
**Demonstrations: on foot or bicycle
**a stand selling nothing (with a hawker), or a shop space with empty shelves and a register with only zeros on the receipts
**postering blitzes: put stickers and posters up in town (FOR THE RECORD: we are not encouraging illegal postings, and recommend that you do not damage whatever is below it)
**no shopping inside a supermarket or mall; a large group of people push around empty shopping carts and baskets
**credit-card cut up service station
**creating a shopping free zone: put a sofa and other furniture in a shopping area, create a cosy atmosphere, give out free tea and BND pamphlets
**teach-ins, discussion group meetings, video screenings, BND poster exhibitions, free concerts
