Buy Nothing Day

Buy Nothing Day is an international day protesting consumerism and overconsumption. It was founded by Vancouver native and artist Ted Dave in 1992 it was held in September but was changed to the Friday after American thanksgiving in North America and the day after that internationally in 1997. The Friday after thanksgiving is referred to as "Black Friday" within the United States, it marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. "Black Friday" draws consumers with big sales and is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. On Occasion injuries and fatalities have occurred due to consumers rushing for the chance to acquire unprecedented bargains. Organizers of Buy Nothing Day have used such incidents as an opportunity to reiterate the negatives associated with consumerism.

Buy Nothing Day is not only about not purchasing items from stores but organizers encourage participants to turn off their lights, television, phones, computers and not drive their cars. Choosing to Participate in Buy Nothing Day is choosing not to participate within our consumer driven culture for at least one day.

But what is really accomplished by participating in Buy Nothing Day?

Truthfully A limited section of our society choosing not to spend money one day a year is not going to gravely affect retailers or big business. Or undo the damage done to the enviornment by our consumerism.
Buy Nothing Day is truly about consumers reflecting on the affects of their own consumption habits, the problems overconsumption causes and sustainability.
Within the Western world we are constantly being encouraged to keep wanting and buying more than we actually need. Our overconsumption is wrecking havoc on the earth’s natural resources and will ultimately destroy our environment.

This year Buy Nothing Day will be subsequently celebrated on November 27th in North America and Israel and November 28th internationally. In the spirit of the upcoming Buy Nothing Day I decided to calculate my carbon footprint as it is directly related to my consumption practices. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a carbon footprint as "the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment; specifically: the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period".
I completed a quiz featured at www. Myfootprint.org after completing several questions regarding my eating and shopping habits and use of transportation, the results revealed that my consumption is excessive. The quiz estimated that it would require 5.21 worlds in to sustain everybody living on this planet if they lived my lifestyle. Unfortunately, we only have one planet. Buy Nothing Days mission is not to save people a few extra dollars, but to educate them about the negative impacts of consumption and the need to make lifestyle changes to ensure sustainability.

Works Cited
"Buy Nothing Day | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters." Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters | Journal of the mental environment. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Ecological Footprint Quiz by Redefining Progress. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .