Go for broke on Buy Nothing Day

What are you doing on Saturday, November 27th? Why not leave your wallet home and spend it celebrating Buy Nothing Day with more than 1 million people worldwide? An annual event since 1999 in Japan, Buy Nothing Day originated in Canada 13 years ago. It was created to draw awareness to the social, economic, environmental and psychological impacts of over-consumption by encouraging us to spend our free time doing something other than shopping.

In many wealthy, brand-conscious countries like Japan, shopping ranks as one of the top leisure activities. While many of us are fortunate enough to have the money and free time to enjoy shopping, there are drawbacks to all this spending. Cramped homes packed full of unneeded or long-forgotten purchases are one obvious repercussion. Furthermore, recycling used goods and charity donation are unfortunately still not popular in Japan. As a result, most of these goods eventually make their way into the garbage, only to end up in an incinerator. In a sense, it might be easier to just burn your money!

Rather than wasting space, energy, and your hard-earned yen, Buy Nothing Day presents a different approach? Buy nothing! Try spending the day doing something other than shopping. Take a walk in your neighborhood or enjoy time with family and friends. Or clean your house and make some extra space by giving away some of the things you have bought but never use! If you like, you can join in one of the many events happening in cities across Japan. Please visit www.bndjapan.org for more information. Refresh yourself by spending one day away from noisy crowds and pushy salespeople, and free from long lines in stores and at ATMs. On November 27th buy nothing¡Äthe payback to your well-being will be huge!

http://www.bndjapan.org/english2/index.html

Posted: 2005/01/31 11:43:04 AM
Japanese version