Maya Harcourt
3/31/11
D
Extra Credit Typed Essay From Midterm
Shop ‘Til You Stop
In 1992, the first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Canada. By advertising for
an annual “consumer detox,” Buy Nothing Day was established in order to raise
awareness, and expose the “environmental and ethical consequences,” of consumerism.
The establishment of an annual Buy Nothing Day would be beneficial to the world, not
only as a way to increase awareness of consumerism and its effects, but also to decrease
the toll being taken on the environment by overconsumption.
The term “But Nothing Day” evokes frames, which George Lakoff defines as
“mental structures that shape the way we see the world,” meaning that each word used in
propaganda, the news, advertising, or daily life, evokes a frame that relates to an image,
thought, or knowledge about that word. “Buy Nothing Day” evokes both appealing and
unappealing frames. The appealing frames could include ideas about the prospect of not
having to spend money for only 24 hours. This would mean saving money, and only
disrupting the daily habit of spending for a relatively short amount of time. Others could
frame “Buy Nothing Day” as a difficult obstacle to overcome. For some, saving money is
difficult, as is the prospect of not buying anything for a full day. However, whichever
frames a “Buy Nothing Day” will evoke, the day will still bring about awareness for
excessive overconsumption.
The negative effects that some would argue would come from an annual Buy
Nothing Day include the economic perils, such as the revenue lost by store owners who
would not be allowed to profit from the Buy Nothing Day, since they wouldn’t be selling
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Maya Harcourt
3/31/11
D
Extra Credit Typed Essay From Midterm
anything. However, this assumption of economic distress from a single day of saving
money and saving the environment is irrelevant to the Buy Nothing Day, because, even
though most people will be able to survive without shopping for 24 hours, they will most
likely buy their necessary goods the following day. The Buy Nothing Day will simply
send out a message following the lures of “you don’t NEED everything you were going
to buy today” to consumers. Eventually, over years of being reminded to not buy so
much, consumers will overall decrease their consumption of unnecessary goods. This
concept is supported by studies that have proven that “practice makes perfect,” or that by
being reminded constantly of something (such as overconsumption), it will be less likely
for individuals to forget the reminder.
Thomas L. Friedman, contributor to the New York Times and author of “Hot,
Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How it Can Renew
America,” said that “without an ethic of conservation we lose that which is priceless, but
has no price tag.” By saying this, Friedman suggests that conversation is necessary to
conserve the natural world we live in, the “priceless” aspects of life. The establishment of
an annual But Nothing Day would decrease overconsumption over time.
Overconsumption is a large contributor that the negative impacts that human activity is
having o the environment. A few years ago, the United Nations released a report that
proved that human activity was cause for greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere,
leading to increased temperatures, commonly referred to as “Global Warming.”
Overconsumption means that the amount of the goods purchased by consumers is greater
than the environment can handle. By shopping more than is necessary, consumers heavily
contribute to Global Warming. This is done by purchasing products that have a negative
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Maya Harcourt
3/31/11
D
Extra Credit Typed Essay From Midterm
effect on the environment, such as any plastic-containing products, or even paper, which
lead to deforestation and overconsumption of natural resources, in addition to carbon
dioxide emission. Therefore, overconsumption leads to negative environmental impacts,
and an annual Buy Nothing Day would improve the environment thus by reminding
consumers to consume less.
Friedman said in his book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” that “volunteerism doesn’t
work.” This suggests that just a voluntary day for consuming less would be significantly
less effective than a mandatory annual Buy Nothing Day. Friedman argues that most
people will not respond to a voluntary effort, such as consuming less. However, having
an annual day that enforces it will be effective in making consumers aware of their
ethical and environmental impacts when they shop.
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