We’re giving you a whole month’s notice to prepare for this year’s Buy Nothing Day. In case you’re new to it, Buy Nothing Day is one day out of the 365 days of the year when you challenge yourself, and your family and your mates to stop shopping for a whole 24 hours. That’s right, 24 hours when you put your purse/wallet away and detox from consumerism. Just in time for Christmas! And that’s not without reason, because after your 24 hour consumerism full-stop, hopefully you’ll put some more thought into mindless consumption during the season of excess.
How do I take part?
Participate by not participating. Very paradoxical, very Zen. If you can’t stand the absurdity of it all, here are some things that you can actively do:
Send a postcard to a friend to promote Buy Nothing Day 2007.
Get a new desktop background to remind yourself to participate in Buy Nothing Day.
Organise an event. There are plenty of ideas to get you started in the Buy Nothing Day Toolkit. Have fun and let us know what you got up to!
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Comments:
I am for this ideal, but placing it so close to thanksgiving was a bad ideal.
[...] you’re like me any day you don’t spend a penny is a good day. Here is a site dedicated to its goodness. Just think of the fun of buying nothing the day after the day after Thanksgiving. I [...]
If people decided for 2 days not to shop, in mass, they could cripple a store, if only people realized, that we truly have the power to make change is we stand up and protest for our rights, in mass, like more than a million people…we could make mass changes.
This is such a bad idea. And very selfish.
How is punishing proprietors who build companies and strive for the American dream while taking advantage of a free market society a good thing? Consumerism isn’t all bad. If someone works for it or invests for it, why should they be ashamed to spending it? The money spent into our economy in America pays for far more things then the creator of the stupid day thinks it does.
Why isn’t Adbusters.org mentioned? They are the creators of BuyNothingDay for one?
Check it out for yourself:
http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/
If your going to steal an idea, don’t be so damn blatant. This idea is to show that we are the consumers and have the real power. The American dream is dead. If for one day 300 million people do not purchase anything, it strikes a blow to the corporations. Saying fuck you and the ground you walk on. Most people have to WORK just to make there little place in society. Does it give you comfort knowing that Bill Gates makes $112 a minute? Hell no! So do something about it and
CURB YOUR CONSUMPTION!
Obviously we would like to communicate great zen habits which shouldn’t be dismissed “as bad ideas”. Aside from a world wide recession, it’s obviously rare that all commerce would cease for a day. Evaluating changes is always great, and if we’re heavily steeped in debt, buying less for a day can be helpful. In fact, purchasing less has its own improvements. The magnitude of improvement is a correlation between our needs versus our wants. Re-evaluating our spending for a day can help us all look at our spending in a different light. No matter how many times we save, saving is always a good thing. Here is a quick reminder for those of us who find fun in spending yet still wouldn’t mind saving on a purchase. Retailmenot.com is now being used to rack up on huge savings–whether you’re buying clothes, furnishing, books–find online coupon and promotion codes for big discounts when buying online. I’ve written some on the subject on my blog if you want to check it out. Hope this helps!
[...] Shop Less – Live More: Prepare For Buy Nothing Day 2007 – Aren’t we forced to buy nothing every time good old G dubbya open’s his [...]
[...] Source [Eco Street] [...]
[...] Shop Less – Live More: Prepare For Buy Nothing Day 2007 – Aren’t we forced to buy nothing every time good old G dubbya open’s his [...]
[...] Shop Less – Live More: Prepare For Buy Nothing Day 2007 – Aren’t we forced to buy nothing every time good old G dubbya open’s his [...]
[...] Shop Less – Live More: Prepare For Buy Nothing Day 2007 – Aren’t we forced to buy nothing every time good old G dubbya open’s his [...]
I think we should make this a National Holiday. In fact, I think we should create a big market for this holiday. Consume countless hours of our time and money so that millions of Americans can buy “Buy Nothing Day 2007″ T-shirts in order to help such a cause.
I think we should get rid of all the holidays to vanquish this crazy problem called consumerism. Fair Idea for a guy who loves the spontaneity of life.
isn’t that similar to every Saturday for orthodox jew?
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i love this day! i think its brilliant as me and my family spent the whole day playing, talking and bonding together. it also teaches my children that we don’t need to buy things to be happy!
‘Buy nothing day’ is changing my life by making me think about what im buying. Now, when im out shopping i take a step back and analyse the item carefully. This works as i can walk away without feeling guilty.
excellent!
why stop at a day? i guess thats a challenge enough for some tho.
How about some tips for free gift ideas that you dont need to buy – things you can make, write, prepare,etc?
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