Buy Nothing Today

today is buy nothing day in the uk. it is meant to be 24hrs without consumption. so no shopping, no spending money, no cueing at the till... just a relaxing day with loved ones or all by oneself. no rushing arround to get x- mas gifts, no 'what do i need to get for the weekend?', no 'what can i buy to make myself or someone else happy'...

the international buy nothing day was actually yesterday (usually it is the friday after thanksgiving, which is appaerently one of the busiest shopping days)... the first bnd was announced 1992 in vancouver by adbusters, and it soon spread all over the world. in the uk, bnd will be celebrated for the 10th time this year.

Mod Edit: Removed all caps title.

[edit on 28-11-2009 by Gemwolf]

reply to post by bertand cantat



Really?

Never heard of it...and does it work?



I mean if i buy nothing today then i would have had to buy double yesterday?
Kinda pointless.

Plus the fact that loads of people work on a Saturday.

I'd say it's a bit strange really.


But hey, that's JMO.

if it works? i guess it works as any other so called art activism...

adbusters, yes men, lab of ii, space hijackers, aso, all play their pranks using arty and artistic means and events to transport their (in this case anti consumerist) message to the public. and i guess there's plenty more things you could do on a saturday, then spending it in a queue in a jam packed supermarket or chock full mall... (the closer to x mas, the worse)

it won't stop people from shopping, but maybe have a little think abt how much of their precious spare time they waste in ailes and malls...

best,
betrand

oh thats great, i've got a friends party today and i have to buy him a present...
fml much?
this is really going to do WONDERS for our economic state...

If i had known that before i went shopping before i would of not bought as much.
Actually probably not, i would of bought more just to spite the day.

Originally posted by Taylor1337
oh thats great, i've got a friends party today and i have to buy him a present...
fml much?
this is really going to do WONDERS for our economic state...

there is 'buy nothing x- mas' and 'reclaim love', too... because a lot of people spend money on presents, rather than spend time with their kids, their loved ones, their friends...
don't know if it would do so much abt the 'economic state', but it will do wonders to the 'state' of your close relationships... and to your personal stress level...

i am aware, that this is rather a simplistic view... and it is not meant to be the solution to every problem...

best,
bertrand

[edit on 28-11-2009 by bertand cantat]

just a general question: am i allowed to post links from adbusters?
or bnd uk?

because then there's some photos discribing the 'events' for buy nothing day...

thank you,
bertrand

Odd how many people naturally assume that the point of this day is aimed at corporations, or "the system" in general.

It's not.

I've always taken it as being aimed at yourself. It's about re-evaluating your own needs and lifestyle, and the motivations behind the things you buy.

As in: Why DO I automatically grab a Coke without thinking about it whenever I'm in the 7-11?

And: I make better burgers than any restaurant within 500km of here. Why do I suddenly feel the need for McD's?

And: I've got a bunch of DVDs I haven't watched yet. How about I stay home and watch one of those tonight, instead of going to see the latest movie they're hyping.

And so on.

You'd think that the whole idea of mind control via commercial advertising wouldn't be so lost on a conspiracy website..

Originally posted by vox2442
Odd how many people naturally assume that the point of this day is aimed at corporations, or "the system" in general.

It's not.

I've always taken it as being aimed at yourself. It's about re-evaluating your own needs and lifestyle, and the motivations behind the things you buy.

As in: Why DO I automatically grab a Coke without thinking about it whenever I'm in the 7-11?

And: I make better burgers than any restaurant within 500km of here. Why do I suddenly feel the need for McD's?

And: I've got a bunch of DVDs I haven't watched yet. How about I stay home and watch one of those tonight, instead of going to see the latest movie they're hyping.

And so on.

You'd think that the whole idea of mind control via commercial advertising wouldn't be so lost on a conspiracy website..

this is the point.

don't know if you are familiar with adbusters, or any sorts of them.

it is about, what we actually need. seems like a lot of people are brainwashed to run after the latest gimmicks and gadjets. a friend of mine told me, she gets a 'rush' going into topshop... 'satisfaction' by shopping, or buying 'comfort', 'love' and 'affection'...

media and advertising suggest what we need, what we 'must have', to be whole, to be a proper human being, to be a respectable part of human society. consumption for compensation? and people sell their precious life time for it. work, to have money, to spend, to work, to have money to spend... etc but what abt other 'values', 'aims', 'sense of life'?

and see the marketing machine running... and the production, and the destruction... the threadmill of 'earn' and 'spend'... it's a viscous circle, in the macro- as well as in the microcosm of this planet.

sorry for being too frank

best,
bertrand

here's some links for information:

en.wikipedia.org...

www.adbusters.org...

ecoplan.org...

pls remove if not appropriate

best,
bertrand