November 29 is Buy Nothing Day

Reject shopping and consumerism, reject waste! That’s basically what Buy Nothing Day is all about. All you need to do is to not buy anything for a whole day. Sounds simple enough, right?

Saturday November 29th 2008 is Buy Nothing Day – it’s a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. Celebrated as a holiday by some, a street party by others – anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!

The challenge easy – try simple living for a day. Spend time with family and friends, rather than spend money on them. It may sound boring and cliche, but love is one thing money can’t buy.

Buy Nothing Day also exposes the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries – only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth’s natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth.
As consumers we need to question the products we buy and challenge the companies who produce them. What are the true risks to the environment and developing countries? It’s our responsibility to look for simple solutions and Buy Nothing Day is a good place to start.

We want people to make a commitment to consuming less, recycling more and challenging corporations to clean up and be fair. Modern consumerism might offer great choice, but this shouldn’t be at the cost of the environment or developing countries. Buy Nothing Day isn’t about changing your lifestyle for just one day – we hope it will be a lasting relationship – maybe a life changing experience.