Buy Nothing Day 2023

Buy Nothing Day takes place on the same day as Black Friday this year (Friday, November 24th). To participate in the Buy Nothing Day movement, all you have to do is refrain from participating in Black Friday.

Here’s the issue with Black Friday: 

• It promotes over consumption. 
• It promotes the purchase of unnecessary items. 
• It promotes waste. 

Have you ever thought about the resources that it takes to produce the item you are purchasing? The impact production is having on people around the world? Or what will happen to your item if it breaks (or you decide you no longer need it)? The system of consumption that our society has created is a linear one based on:

1. Resource extraction
2. Production
3. Distribution
4. Consumption
5. Disposal

Annie Leonard, founder of The Story of Stuff, reminds us in her documentary about “stuff” that you cannot run a linear system on a finite planet. “You can’t keep using one and a half planet’s worth of resources indefinitely,” she says in an interview with The Guardian. “Too often the environment is seen as one small piece of the economy. But it’s not just one little thing, it’s what every single thing in our life depends on.” 

When making a purchase, don’t forget about the planet. Those jeans that are listed at $19.99 for the Black Friday sale have an additional cost associated with them: a social and environmental cost that is not reflected on the tag. Prior to heading to the mall or clicking “proceed” in your online shopping cart, we encourage you to watch the official “Story of Stuff” documentary (it’s short – only 20 minutes) and think about the price that people and our planet are paying in order for us to receive those “door crashing” deals.