The Anti-Black Friday: Buy Nothing Day

You might not have known it, but today is actually an international day of protest for some people who aren’t scrounging for Black Friday bargains; quite the opposite. Buy Nothing Day is a yearly protest against consumerism which falls on Black Friday, founded by artist Ted Dave and popularized by AdBusters magazine. As the name suggests, it involves not spending any money for the day. A few of the frequent Buy Nothing Day activities: Organizing coat drives, hiking and exploring nature, and cutting up credit cards at shopping centers.

One online seller of handmade goods, Cosa Verde, explains why despite being on the business side of things, they too support Buy Nothing Day:

The Holidays are upon us. En force. And all we’re going to hear about over the next few days is Black Friday and Cyber Monday and Sale! Sale! Sale! Buy! Buy! Buy! How about we just slow down a bit and enjoy the long weekend, and remember how lucky we are to have the friends and family that we’re thinking aboout rushing out the door for that 6am sale for.

And instead of braving the crowds and the parking lots and standing on line for whatever this year’s must-have thing is—what is it, anyway? I haven’t been paying attention—let’s stay home, have a cup of tea, and pick up the phone and call those people we’re so lucky to have and tell them that we love them. Why add to the weekend’s statistics? If you’re reading this blog, you already know that the best gifts are homemade, heartmade, handmade. So let’s take a breather from the capitalistic craziness for a bit. Pull out those craft supplies. Bake some cookies.

(Cosa Verde via Dude Craft)