This Is Buy Nothing Day
Prince George, B.C. – Today is Buy Nothing Day, an international day of protest against consumerism and an occasion upon which people are urged to buy nothing.
Ironically, Buy Nothing Day this year follows Black Friday, which now has become the single largest day in terms of retail sales in the United States. Black Friday is heavily promoted as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping season or, as one acquaintance puts it, the season of gluttony.
Sarah Boyd, Executive Director of the Prince George Public Interest Research Group at UNBC, says Buy Nothing Day “is a day for us to stop being consumers who are influenced by media and advertising. It’s a way for us to recognize one day for not actually buying anything, and I think it’s powerful from that standpoint because it gets people to stop and think, “what am I doing buying this stuff that I don’t actually need that’s going to end up in the landfill anyway”. I think it gives us pause to think about that and I find it a good day for us.”
Although the day has been marked with events in Prince George in the past, Boyd says a hectic schedule currently coming to a head at the university prevents the day from being marked on campus this year. That may be rectified in future should an interest be shown. However, Buy Nothing Day notifications have gone out to communities throughout the north-central region to bring awareness to the effort to downscale consumerism, recycle where possible and less the amount of material going into landfills.
Boy also notes with some humor the irony of Buy Nothing Day occurring the day after the crush of the crowds on Black Friday. “I know where the Black Friday thing came from but even five years ago I don’t remember people talking about it. Mind you I don’t watch TV and I only get the newspaper once a week so for me Black Friday is something that is only recent and it’s huge now.”
However she says “I think for a lot of us the Buy Nothing Day is at a good time of the year at the end of November because, of course, we’re just starting to pick up steam for Christmas and the holiday season in general. I think there’s a lot of people out there who really are fed up with this commercialism and consumerism. I think there are more people taking a step back and to me, that’s great. And I think the Buy Nothing Day is something we can share with people, whatever day of the year it is honestly.”
“I’ve got this belief and value now and, when I’m thinking about buying something, I ask myself is this something that I really need or is it something that I want? That’s the first question that I ask myself. And then the second question is, where will this product be in ten years’ time? And often the answer is the landfill. And I just think, I’m not going to buy it then.” She also says if she needs something she’ll go to a discount or second hand store and, if she can’t find the item there, then she will go somewhere else.
“I think for some of us we’ve done some thinking and reasoning with ourselves. I think if we all did that it would really make a difference.” She says media blitz advertising on today’s “hot” item is plastered all over the place adding “it’s so insane because next year it’s going to be something else and it doesn’t end. We’ve just got to try and step back from it and look at this from our own perspectives but also just from what is good for the world that we’re living in. I think we need to be asking ourselves those questions more.”
Comments
I bought nothing yesterday. Not because someone told me to but because there was nothing I needed to buy.
Well it’s Kelly Road Craft Fair today & I plan on buying lots … Christmas shopping season begins :-)
I thought the buy nothing was from white businesses and only from those owned by blacks, at least in the US?
The rampant consumerism of this time of year kinda makes me nauseous. All the commercials insinuating that if you find the “perfect” gift, your family will love you more make me sad. Black Friday, a day specifically promoted to buy, buy, buy, complete with people getting trampled, or shot makes me shake my head. Where will it end? You have people dieing because the commercials told them this is a necessary thing.
Never heard of buy nothing day, but I like it.
Who really cares…
if you want to buy….buy
if you don’t….dont.
everyone’s happy and the day is good…
to mythoughts–hope to see lots of folks there- in spite of the weather.
+1 News2me
I once read this years ago…. “Christmas is about what’s around the tree, not under it.”
No one is forcing anyone to Xmas shop. Don’t like it? Don’t do it.
Simple.
Well if yesterday is any indication many people here in town are Americans in disguise I went to several locations throughout the city yesterday and everywhere I went I saw nothing but impatient, ignorant, angry people. At the mall I watched as several women in pursuit of deals push others out of their way and in one case push a child over then proceeded to step over that child as did several other shoppers before myself and another man intervened and help the mom and child get out of the line of fire. While we were helping these people several shoppers mostly female angrily demanded we get out of their way and used words not printable in front of this child we were helping.
Citizens of PG give yourselves a huge pat on the back for being Americanized …congratulations on becoming instant A-holes. You must be so proud of yourselves getting those deals on the backs of children
Dearth went shopping and a hockey game broke out.
I like buy nothing day I apply it about 335 days a year. If I didn’t have to eat it would be 353 days.
While Canadian household debt levels top the world stage, rising interest rates an eventuality, the lemmings continue to stream off the cliff. The funny thing is the deals are actually nothing spectacular. Like lambs to the slaughter.
Yeah Dearth, because there is no such thing as a Canadian a-hole???
Pathetic.
I don’t get it… Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day… who is being forced to buy anything they don’t want? And why do we have to tell them what to do?
Its a day for those that do not have to much to do and they want us to join them.
Cheers
The retailers don’t reduce prices, they just increase the MSRP. Something that was 30% off suddenly becomes 1/2 price on Black Frida, and it’s the same price.
whoops… “Friday”
How cynical. Just like Earth Hour where people are supposed to turn off their lights for an hour but almost nobody does, so a few people feel like they’re doing something positive.
Like it or not lady, consumerism is the last vestige of the life of excess we’ve all been living for decades. It’s the source of 70% of the economic activity in this country. Without it, Canada will look very different. UNBC will be shut down and student fees wouldn’t go to fund your organization so you could waste time on issues like this.
I say let these stupid people rush off to Canadian Tire & Walmart to buy their worthless baubles. Let them sink $50 – 100k into transportation solutions they could have for a fraction of the cost. Let them waste hours of their lives in Tim Horton’s lineups to pay a 10 fold markup on bad coffee. Let them buy ridiculously large plastic homes to fill up with this crap they buy. Let them buy $20k toys to go and rip around out in the pristine wilderness with while they get drunk. Believe me, the party will be over soon enough. No sense being a wet blanket.
If you really want to affect some social justice around here, why don’t you put your efforts into coming up with some real solutions around homelessness. Too real for you? Chastising people for their spending habits is just stupid. It’s one of the last freedoms they have, to buy what they want.
Posted on Saturday, November 29, 2014 @ 9:47 AM by Dearth– Citizens of PG give yourselves a huge pat on the back for being Americanized …congratulations on becoming instant A-holes.
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I’ve lived here in P.G. for 3 years now, have never experienced any thing remote that you described ,in fact I have found P.G. people over all to friendly , courteous. Perhaps you should look into the mirror, more than likely you see that a-hole you mention.
I find it interesting that you are all worried about me labelling you American and A-holes but apparently none of you care for the fact that a child was nearly trampled if it hadn’t been for me and the other fellow makes me wonder where your priorities are.
You could have got that point across without the lame bigotry.
I don’t believe it was as bad as you say dearth
The Black Fridays, buy nothing day etc are done to help the sheep. Without someone telling them what to do the sheep are confused and wander aimlessly.
I caved in and bought a six pack. Sue me… :)
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