by nothing. it's good for you

[low_delta]

International Buy Nothing Day

Comments

[dwivian]

Like any other single day event that people enjoy by preparation and replacement, this is a non-event. People buy their needed goods in advance, and then do their holiday shopping in the weeks that follow. The death of the day after Thanksgiving is meaningless, as the biggest shopping days are in the weekend before Christmas anyway.

But, people want an easy way to look like they are doing something good, so they make an effort for a single day, rather than reduce overall consumption.

Not that I'm any better -- we celebrate the 12 days, with little gifts all throughout and three big ones (25th, 31st, 5th). Not a lot of reduced shopping there, I'm afraid.... so much for my example. :)

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

What you're saying is true, but for me, it's the message that matters, moreso than whether people buy anything on that day or not. It's a message about consumerism. The hope is that people stop to question the message and think about what it is trying to tell them. The tactic is probably more effective on that day than any other.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

No problem for me!

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Me either (usually). I don't really need an excuse to stay out of stores that day.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

If I could, I'd stay out of most stores from late November all the way through early January. Blatant consumerism Rn't me.

[banana.livejournal.com]

I think that there should be a Buy Nothing Week or Month for those of us who find a single day of buying nothing all too easy. Also, if you decide not to buy things for whatever period, you need to do something else with the money instead (put it in a savings account with a long notice period or give it away) or else dwivian's reply has some validity. All your income goes somewhere, so if you don't spend it on one day, it's sitting in your pocket to spend on another. However, I agree that there's some value to this in the battle for hearts and minds.

[cynnerth.livejournal.com]

That was my exact feeling about the email that was passing around a while back telling people to not buy gasoline on a certain day. I said that most people would just buy it the day before. The oil companies would never feel the difference.