'Buy Nothing' campaign aims for different style of giving
I always found the Adbusters version of Buy Nothing Day interesting as a way to get people to reflect on what they buy and why, but I didn't realize there was a movement associated with my Mennonite roots.
Buying piles of stuff at Christmas seems to be one of those unassailable traditions. When I tell people that we do a very low-key version of the present exchange, it's almost as if I've told them that they I don't like puppies or teddy bears or happy children. But think of how much more we have to work to pay for all that stuff nobody needs, which means we're spending less time and money on the things we really value throughout the year.
3 comments:
Great post Jeremy! When I've been wandering the giant aisles of Superstore and other such shops, I've been struck by the sheer amount of garbage that's generated in just getting all those extra Christmas goodies into the store. Then I think about where all those Christmas presents are going -- in local houses and then into our landfills. The huge volume of it all is horrendous. It's a cycle that I see no end to -- and it is frightening.
Gwen
Thanks Gwen. It is frightening, isn't it?
Jeremy,
I'm showing the students in my Internet class how cool a blog site can be - thanks
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