Black Friday is traditionally the largest shopping day of the year. Retailers add to the hype with door buster offers and ridiculously early opening hours. This year it seems that a majority of the retailers will open at 4am! yes, 4am! If you are crazy enough to go shopping at that hour, there is definitely something wrong with you!! Then, to think that in the end, your car is crammed full of stuff that people probably already have and/or don’t need and your credit cards are maxed out, is just wrong.
But, this isn’t a post about crazy shoppers trying to get the last Pizza Elmo or save a few bucks at the expense of lost sleep. No, this is about the opposite; protesting materialism, consumerism, and insane marketing. Buy Nothing Day has been increasing in popularity, especially in the UK. It is very simple, on Black Friday (this year, its November 23rd), don’t buy anything. You can participate in this protest simply by not participating in the world’s busiest shopping day of the year.
AdBusters.org actually ask you to go one step further and consider a Buy Nothing Christmas. Before you freak out, read the following quote from their website:
“Buy Nothing Christmas is not really about refusing to spend a dime over the holiday season. It’s about taking a deep breath and deciding to opt out of the hype‚ the overcrowded malls‚ and the stressful to–do lists. It’s about reminding ourselves to really think about what we are buying‚ why we are buying it‚ and whether we really need it at all.”
Since every Christmas is a Buy Nothing Christmas for me, I will go one step further on Black Friday; not only will I not be buying anything, but I will also not start my car and consume any gas. If I need to go anywhere, I will walk or ride my bike.
Here are some links to get you started:
