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By
Julia Scott
Santas
roam through downtown Sweden, urging shoppers to "start living, buy
nothing!" A Conga Against Capitalism hops through a shopping district
in Ireland. A herd of sheep takes to the streets of San Francisco, bleating
"Buuuy mooore stuuuff"— and all on the same day. Has the world
gone mad? If you believe these folks, it has. But not in the way you
might think.
Every year for over a decade now, different groups of people in over
30 countries around the world have celebrated Buy Nothing Day, the day
after Thanksgiving, by putting up posters, having sing-alongs, sharing
a potluck in a mall, cutting up credit cards, and generally asking shoppers
to look at their consumption habits and let the Earth breathe by not
buying a single thing for one day.
Ever heard of "consumerism?" Most people haven't. Consumer culture looks
like the everyday—ads, traffic jams, disposable cups, cash, checks
and credit cards. But as more and more people become concerned with
the erosion of natural resources around the world, they're asking themselves
how their lifestyles impact the Earth.
BND isn't a guilt trip, though—it's a party. And it's not about
disrupting a routine so much as looking at how much of that routine
revolves around shopping. There's also the fact that the wealthiest
fifth of the world's population (ie. North America) consumes 80% of
the world's resources.
Since the movement started, it's really caught on among college students,
groups of friends, even parents and professionals. Now you can get into
the act. The Adbusters Buy
Nothing Day homepage has all the tools you need to get started:
printable posters, ideas, links and other stuff. While you're at it,
check out Adbusters
Magazine, which has other cool campaigns like TV Turnoff Week.
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