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Buy Nothing Day 2006

gekko513

gekko513

macrumors 603
Original poster
Oct 16, 2003
6,301
1
Are anyone going to celecrate the world's Buy Nothing Day on Saturday? I just heard about it through a campaign against overconsumption that's about to start in Norway. I like the idea, as a way to heighten awareness of how wasteful and unsustainable our consumer habits are.

Video for North Americans
 
I think it's kind of as pointless as "Don't Buy Petrol/Gas For Your Car" Day.

If you don't buy it today, you'll just buy it tomorrow. The only things where this probably doesn't apply is in the food industry, which would be affected, I would guess.
 
I think it's more to make the point about overconsumption than to actually hurt companies. If it raises the issue in some peoples minds then it achieves something.
 
Abstract said:
^^What does it achieve? People will buy what they want tomorrow and move on.
Click to expand...

People are still going to buy whatever they want on that day if they want it and move on. It would be nice if it was a large scale thing and a large enough amount of people did do something, it would be a huge impact to everyone whether they bought the next day or not. But it isn't. They're just hoping they can get more and more people every year and turn it into something. Which, without a lot more national and global awareness, as well as people actually caring, isn't going to happen.

It's a small, well meaning gesture, that unfortunately will be absolutely meaningless.
 
Well, since I'm constantly broke, almost every day is Buy Nothing Day... so what's another Saturday...?

Saving up for that E-400, you know... and I doubt that's in stores by Saturday... :D
 
The only reason I'll be participating is because I refuse to set foot in retail stores the weekend after thanksgiving.
 
Each and every one of my friends who is big on "Buy Nothing Day" (even to the extent that they pass out flyers about it in malls, etc) is the type of person who has an apt. loaded with unnecessary crap, loves to shop on days other than "Buy Nothing Day", drives a nice car, enjoys wearing nice, fashionable clothes, etc.

Those types of people passing out pointless "Buy Nothing" flyers right before returning to their own shopping the very next day just make me want to puke cause the whole thing is so pointless. It's a complete joke IMHO.

I have my own rule regarding buying pointless gifts. It is this: Unless I am buying someone something of real value that I know they'll use for sure (e.g., expensive watch, LCD TV, Mac, iPod), I ONLY buy people things that will be GONE after a while, and will NOT sit around littering these people's apts. or end up in landfills. That is, I give things that will be eaten up or used up, like cosmetics, tea, travel. Things that will be used up and are then GONE, like chocolate or soap or hand lotion.

I also give gift certificates that people can use for anything they like. My son's teenage babysitter got her first car and I gave her gift certificates from a GAS STATION so she'd have gas money, and she loved it.
 
gekko513 said:
I think that's a very simplistic view of how the world works.
Click to expand...

Well if the purpose of the day was to say, on that very day, that you would choose something you really want to buy, and promise to never buy it (not on that day, or on any other day), then I think it would mean something. It means you don't support buying stuff you want, but don't really need, since you promise to never buy it.

Waiting to buy that item the next day is a bit silly.
 
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