Buy Nothing Day

American Thanksgiving is coming up soon. And you know what that means: big feasts followed by a mad rush for Christmas preparations. This mad rush is epitomised in the US by Black Friday, a day of unbridled shopping and incredible sales for things we don't really need.

In order to remedy this insanity, the people at Adbusters created Buy Nothing Day 20 years ago. All across industrialised nations, all manners of events are being planned to disrupt -at least for one day- excessive consumption and waste of resources. This year, on 27 November (or the 28 if you live east of North America), BND would like people to go one step further and forgo all manners of consumerism: be it using electronics and other non-essential electrical appliances (does that mean no laundry day!?!?!), leaving your car at the curb, turn off phones and cellphones. Basically, this year BND is about stopping the hemorrhage, rethinking our excesses and reconnecting with the world at large.

Every year, thousands of people like you and me participate, hoping to send the message out: we cannot go on wasting resources and laying waste to the environment. So get together with some friends, have a raw food picnic, and say no to the craziness that is Black Friday.

Mark it down on your calendars: November 27/28, Buy Nothing Day.