Revision of Buy Nothing Day (BND) from Wed, 30/09/2009 - 00:38

Buy Nothing Day (Nov 28th 2009) is not asking you to buy nothing today, but instead every time you buy something, think about it and the consequences.

What is so bad about shopping?

As consumers in rich western countries we should question the products we buy and the companies who produce them. The idea is to make people stop and think when they buy how they effect the environment & developing countries. The world seems endless but we are using resources and polluting it more than ever before. Why? In part, it is to provide you with DVD players, new T.V. e.t.c. They use natural resources only to be thrown in a tip. Large companies use factories abroad where workers face constant danger from unsafe conditions.

Shouldn't I shop today?

Buy Nothing Day is trying to make people think about the goods they buy - think before you shop!  We are NOT asking you to go without milk if you run out. Instead, before you buy think about where things come from, how they got here, what resources were used to make them and: do you REALLY need them?

What about the environment?

There are two mains environmental costs for each present you buy: The energy and toxic chemicals used to make the thing you bought.Plastic production uses 8% of the world's oil and involves many toxic chemicals.
(Acrylonnitrile: cause cancer and birth defects. Ethylene Oxide: cause cancer, changes in genetic material, and reproductive problems.  Tetrahydrofuran: Toxic by in ingestion and inhalation, causes potential damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys.  Cumene Hydroperoxide: acutely toxic by ingestion, inhalation, and skin absorbtion. A suspected mutagen and terotogen).
Plastic bags, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes are mistaken for food and end up in the stomachs' of dead birds.