Many people will line up outside of malls and outlet stores early on Friday morning with sales on their minds and Christmas wish lists in their hands. For many people, the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year, but some will choose to buy nothing. The 15th annual Buy Nothing Day on Friday is an event sponsored by Adbusters, a nonprofit magazine that promotes social and cultural activism. “It started in 1992, and it was basically started as a day to examine the over-consumption of society, especially in North America,” said Chris Probert, Adbusters social marketing manager. Adbusters encourages people to avoid buying products and consider the impact of their consumption on themselves and people around the world. “We want people to think about why and what we are buying,” Probert said. Probert said Buy Nothing Day focuses on the ecological, political and psychological effects of over-consumption. He said global warming has become a more relevant issue because of recent reports and attention. Probert said some people may not observe Buy Nothing Day because they do not realize the impact of American consumerism on global welfare and economy. David Summerlin, petroleum engineering sophomore, said he has never heard of Buy Nothing Day. He said many people probably would not observe the day’s intent. “I think everybody gets caught up in the whole sale aspect, and [they] don’t think about how it affects other people,” he said. Summerlin said he does not plan on buying anything on Friday because he wants to avoid crowds of people. Brittany Ray, mass communication sophomore, said Buy Nothing Day will not stop people from buying products Friday. “Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, people are going to be shopping anyway,” she said. Michael Huval, mass communication freshman, said people will be influenced by store sales to buy products. “A lot of people are pro-saving, so if something’s on sale, they’re going to buy it,” he said. In conjunction with Buy Nothing Day, Adbusters organized Buy Nothing Christmas. Probert said people can either buy less or fair-trade products, items ensured by producers to be part of the market process. Moshe Cohen, mathematics graduate student, said he plans to observe his second Buy Nothing Day. “My personal involvement with Buy Nothing Day is more introspective,” he said. “I’d rather spend time strengthening myself and strengthening the relationships with my friends and family than adhering to a consumerist tradition.” Cohen said he did not have a problem not buying anything for Buy Nothing Day last year. “The only infringement was that I still had to listen to all of the advertisements on television and the radio, etc.,” he said. Cohen said cyclists involved with Critical Mass, a movement that promotes the use of bicycles for transportation, will demonstrate their support for Buy Nothing Day on Friday. Cyclists will gather at the Memorial Tower on campus at 5:30 p.m for a bike ride. “People do it for different reasons, and the reason that ties into Buy Nothing Day is that they’d rather not be spending money on gas,” he said. “They would rather not be spending money on their cars.”
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]