Buy Nothing Day: November 24th - 25th, 2006

Once again, Adbusters is promoting its annual Buy Nothing Day which runs this year from November 24th - November 25th:

Every November, for 24 hours, we remember that no one was born to shop. If you’ve never taken part in Buy Nothing Day, or if you’ve taken part in the past but haven’t really committed to doing it again, consider this: 2006 will go down as the year in which mainstream dialogue about global warming finally reached its critical mass. What better way to bring the Year of Global Warming to a close than to point in the direction of real alternatives to the unbridled consumption that has created this quagmire?

If Buy Nothing Day is new to you, here's some information to get you up to speed:

THE ULTIMATE REFUND: On November 24th and 25th – the busiest days in the American retail calendar and the unofficial start of the international Christmas-shopping season – thousands of activists and concerned citizens in 65 countries will take a 24-hour consumer detox as part of the 14th annual Buy Nothing Day, a global phenomenon that originated in Vancouver, Canada.

From joining zombie marches through malls to organizing credit card cut-ups and shopoholic clinics, Buy Nothing Day activists aim to challenge themselves, their families and their friends to switch off from shopping and tune back into life for one day. Featured in recent years by the likes of CNN, Wired, the BBC, and the CBC, the global event is celebrated as a relaxed family holiday, as a non-commercial street party, or even as a politically charged public protest. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending.

Reasons for participating in Buy Nothing Day are as varied as the people who choose to participate. Some see it as an escape from the marketing mind games and frantic consumer binge that has come to characterize the holiday season, and our culture in general. Others use it to expose the environmental and ethical consequences of overconsumption.

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I've honoured Buy Nothing Day as long as I've know about it as a protest to out-of-control consumerism and consumption - a topic I wrote about recently in last Sunday's Food for Thought: The Culture of Stuff and this year's focus on environmental concerns is not only timely, it's a great reminder of our responsibility as consumers to think beyond ourselves to the future of the planet we all share.

Adbusters also urges people to celebrate a Buy Nothing Christmas, which may seem virtually impossible to some people, but is definitely doable and for many people it's not even a choice - it's reality. On December 1, I'll be reposting an article I wrote a couple of years ago titled 'The Poor Person's Guide to Gift Giving' which was a response to a fellow blogger who was having a difficult financial time and had a young son whom she wanted to assure wouldn't miss out on Christmas presents. Having been there, I recalled some of the gifts I'd given my daughter over the years when I was a single parent who could nowhere near afford to join the masses out in the shopping malls stocking up on the latest and supposedly greatest Christmas toys. She and her son did have a wonderful Christmas that year as a result and I'm glad I could contribute to the true spirit of the day.

I encourage all of you to add to my list of ideas here on December 1 in preparation for this year's holiday season. You may never know who you've ended up helping, but you will know the joy and humility that comes with extending your heart to others.

In the meantime, prepare to take part in Buy Nothing Day and do your bit to help the environment. It all starts at home.