Read the list of ten things, courtesy of Keri Smith, and learn more about “Buy Nothing Day”.
Memo to "Black Friday"
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Read the list of ten things, courtesy of Keri Smith, and learn more about “Buy Nothing Day”.
Previous post: Happy Thanksgiving
Next post: Wanna paint a storefront?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
i love “buy nothing day!” i try to participate in it as much as possible each year. BOO, BLACK FRIDAY!
though, i admit, this year, i bought a Frosty at Wendy’s and a Texas Monthly in the airport for the flight back home. :(
I too am a big fan of “buy nothing day.” I have to confess, I bought an eggnog shake at the Dairy Queen. But it was delicious!
I dunno. I take the perspective that I’m going to buy this stuff anyway… either for myself or as gifts, so why not take advantage of the savings? If I’m not just impulse buying, what does the date matter?
Are you really sticking it to the man if you buy that big screen TV next Thursday instead last Friday? And heck, buying something doesn’t take all day. You can save $100 on a new camera, and still fit in most or all of the activities in the list of things to do. I picked up 100 DVD-Rs for $15, which lets me save money and rip off the man with pirate DVDs. I’m confused as to where that puts me on the counter culture meter.
I’m not going to line up at 6am or anything, but I’m not going to object if other people want to sacrifice their time to save money.
I guess the ethos behind the whole buy nothing day (and movement) is really just “stop consuming”, or at least “minimize”. I’m all for that, but asking folks not to shop on a day with the lowest prices for a lot of luxury goods they might buy anyway seems needlessly contrairian. Maybe that’s an overly pragmatic stance, but I like saving money on things.
For me, it’s just a good opportunity to make a statement about consumerism, by tagging on to such a high-profile consumption day. It’s not about being anti-sale. And honestly, there are sales all the time – it’s just the hype about this day in particular that gets people into this frenzy about buying stuff they may or may not need. To me it’s gross that it’s become a tradition to follow a day all about gratitude with a day all about consuming.
Also check out the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood –commercialfreechildhood.org. And help prevent the conditioning of our kids into little consumerists.