Buy nothing day…no purchase necessary
November 23, 2007 by Bird
Filed under Blog, Navel Gazing, Ranting
Tomorrow, November 24th 2007 is the UK’s annual Buy nothing day. To quote the official UK website:-
It’s a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!
I agree with the above sentiments so strongly, despite being an ethical shop owner myself. That’s right, I don’t even want you to buy from me! I think it’s bizarre that shopping has become such an important leisure activity when there is so much more fun to be had elsewhere. Last weekend I was being dragged round Hamleys in central London by my partner who wanted a gift for his niece. It was so packed in there that security guards were manning the escalators to ensure it was safe, so suffocating you were breathing other peoples air, I lasted about 30 seconds before I frantically squeezed my way out of that shrieking madhouse and on to the tourist clogged but marginally saner Oxford street. Not my idea of a fun way to spend a weekend, and yet it seemed to me that the whole world was out shopping and diddn’t feel my fear and loathing one bit. Do people really, truly enjoy being corralled into consumer hellholes where they will shell out more than they can afford for some vacuous plastic crap that will be spurned and forgotten by boxing day? I confess, I have always been freaked out by how, when it’s the weekend and I grudgingly have to go to some soulless DIY store for some supplies, it is rammed solid with entire families doing what looks suspiciously like recreational shopping. Do me a favour people, on the 24th November, watch a favorite film, go play some football, take a walk on a blustery beach, sunbathe if your climate will allow, eat some pizza, read a good book, start writing that novel, go for a bike ride, sit in the pub all day, go to the park, a museum, a lovely garden, stay in bed, make some stuff, paint a picture, bake a pie… do anything – ANYTHING – but shop!
I’m NOT in danger of going against the rules, and your post is funny but TRUE! I know families that shop when it rains because the kids drive them crazy at home …
Thanks for sharing this with us, but I think we should have buy nothing day everywhere in the world, or even buy nothing week. I personally don’t really like to shop unless it is really really necessary. Thanks again for the reminder. Anna
Ha! Anonybird, sounds like those kids know exactly what they are doing – drive the parents mental and get taken out to buy things! Unless they are being dragged around boring diy shops in which case the kids need a better strategy… Still weird that they get taken shopping, there must be other things to do or places to go!
Hi Anna, I think that buy nothing day does happen everywhere in the world, America usually has it on a different date though. It is a good idea isn’t it, to have a day where you are made to think extra hard about whether you actually need the things you are about to buy – and hopefully it makes you think about that at other times too. Thanks for visiting here by the way