Happy Buy Nothing Day

If ever there was a year in which Buy Nothing Day might really take off, it’s 2008, as the foul economy clouds consumer confidence and impedes the Black Friday shopping impulse. But since a byword of BND, as the international grassroots anti-consumerism movement is known for short, is “Do Nothing,” Buy Nothing Day could achieve wild success today without much notice. Of economic necessity, many people have done their non-shopping early and will carry on with minimal purchases through the holiday season without having ever heard of BND.

In Minnesota, we can expect some BND celebrants to descend on the Mall of America, offering a special Buy Nothing Day credit card-cutting service, for example. Hardy Duluth BNDers were planning to spread the cheerful word of alternatives to consumerism among those in line at Best Buy at 4 a.m. And the St. Louis Park Target may be targeted as well.

Activities can take many shapes — mall-wandering, costumed zombies; street parties; picket-sign protests; empty-shopping-cart conga lines; and “pranks and shenanigans of all kinds,” according to Adbusters, the Vancouver-based organization that helps spread the word on BND. But going on a relaxed family outing would also be in keeping with the spirit of Buy Nothing Day.