It’s not green Friday folks…
November 4, 2008 by Jennifer
Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day – you should choose a side. If you’re choosing Buy Nothing Day, that’s great; you can participate in this month’s green challenge here at Tree Hugging Family. If you’re choosing Black Friday, maybe you should reconsider.
Basics:
Buy Nothing Day it’s fairly self-explanatory; it’s a day you, you guessed it, buy nothing. Created by the folks at Adbusters; Buy Nothing Day correlates with Black Friday otherwise know as the biggest shopping day of the year.Facts:
- You have better things to do with your time than shop.
- The U.S. is overwhelmed with consumerism, and this is one day that highlights that while currently true, it doesn’t need to be this way.
- Black Friday is a holiday that’s all about encouraging people to buy more, more, more. You don’t have to be on board.
On the green side:
Black Friday is anything but earth friendly. This is one day where shopping can do double harm to the environment. Obviously here at THF we discuss the impact that products and the energy it takes to make them have on the planet. Consider the extra bad effects that will happen on Black Friday:
Extra gas needed to get from place to place because people are stuck in traffic even more than usual.
Senseless items bought. This is fact. I’ve seen it in action. People go to this huge sale because they saw something they actually need on the sales ad. That in itself is not a bad thing. However, once you get to a store the item is gone — because of course the store didn’t stock enough and so to make up for the wasted time people tend to shop for other items that were not on their list in the first place.
An utter lack of peace. I don’t talk about peace and calm too much here but in many ways I feel that both are tied intrinsically to eco-living. Once you start to live simpler a certain calm does take over your life. You do feel more at peace because you aren’t competing with anyone on a who has what level and it’s an overall nicer way to live. Less clutter, less competition, more peace. Black Friday is anything but peaceful. People fight over stuff and you don’t get any lamer than that. This is stuff wars are made of. Sure it’s on a smaller level but come on. We don’t need to live like that.
Time. One of the best ways to encourage green living is to live a happy healthy lifestyle. People who are healthy and happy tend to be more balanced and want a healthier planet as well. There is no argument on earth that’s going to convince me that all those lines, all the shoving, all the people weaving at the stores on the very crowed Black Friday is a healthy way to live. Your time is worth more than that. Many people get Black Friday off only to spend it working at the mall. Instead take the day and go to the park with your family; play board games; talk… spend time not money. This is what encourages health and happiness not the fact that you saved $10 on a printer.
Which side will you choose this year?
I’m hoping you’ll take me up on the November green challenge and commit to shunning the stores on Black Friday this year. If you want to join the challenge, click the image below.
Let me know your thoughts on Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day in the comments.
November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…
[image via Buy Nothing Day]
I didn’t comment earlier, but figured I would now. I have only ever shopped “Black Friday” once in my lifetime.. and that was once too many. LOL I don’t shop this day for green reasons, just that I can’t stand the crowds. Very rarely is there anything I’d buy, even at half price, on sale. So yeah, this year, I’ll be staying home eating my leftover turkey.
But this year, I’ll say it is for a green reason, to support “Buy Nothing Day”. hehe
Jennifer, I love how you articulate the relationship between eco-living, simplicity, and peace. I’ve recently started reading about wabi sabi, and I think it encompasses all three. When I first read what wabi sabi “is”, I said, “Hey, I’ve been aspiring to wabi sabi all this time and didn’t even know it!” (Although that depth of calm, peace, and simplicity is nearly impossible with two small, energetic boys.) Black Friday is the antithesis of what I want my life to reflect. And has been as long as I can remember–even since I was a child. My parents have always said I should have come of age in the 60’s.