Buy nothing day protests shopping mania

Published 6:28 pm Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Stop the madness: Shopping-obsessed Americans seem to go crazy with spending every year on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It’s the day retailers hope to move into the black, financially speaking, thanks to deep discounts and rabid consumer appetites.

Green-living advocates, however, call that same Friday something else: Buy Nothing Day.

You can celebrate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Zippy’s Java Lounge, 1804 Hewitt Ave., Everett, where nothing will be for sale. Customers instead are encouraged to bring their own food and beverages for a potluck, along with art and craft supplies. See www.zippysjava.com for details.

You’ll also find cool ways to celebrate at www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd, including a “Whirl-mart” prank: “You and nine of your closest friends silently drive your shopping carts around in a long, inexplicable conga line without ever actually buying anything.”

Get ready to have a buy-nothing Christmas with 59 ideas presented at www.buynothingchristmas.org/alternatives.

Herald staff