VANCOUVER (CUP)—Defy the urge to spend money this Friday as an act of resistance against consumerism—that’s the message of Adbusters’ eighth annual Buy Nothing Day.

“The mother of all environmental problems is over-consumption in the First World,” said Kalle Lasn, editor of Adbusters magazine. “First World people are in denial.”

The goal of the day is to encourage people to abstain from consumer consumption for one day to create a debate about sustainable forms of consumption and economic growth.

Lasn observes that although industrialized countries comprise just a fraction of the world’s population, they are responsible for exploiting the vast majority of its resources.

The scale of Buy Nothing Day has expanded since its inception in 1993 to that of an international and widely celebrated event. Lasn notes that this year’s observance has been affected by the events of Sept. 11.

“This is the first time that leaders like President Bush have said, ‘Go out and buy’,” Lasn explains. “They have created a feeling that it’s unpatriotic not to consume. So this is the first time we are going against some worthwhile enemies.”

Lasn says the event should have special significance for university students. He says he is troubled by the political indifference displayed by many students these days, claiming that it generally takes an issue of clear self-interest, such as tuition fees, to mobilize them.

“When it comes to green politics and media decentralization, students are [apathetic].”

Nevertheless, Lasn is hopeful about future student involvement in the processes of achieving social change, citing the anti-globalization movement as an example.

However, Kevin Evans, vice-president of the Retail Council of Canada, disputes the need for anti-consumerism at all.

“It’s obviously an individual’s choice as to whether or not they shop,” he said. “If people didn’t want to purchase what retailers have to offer, we wouldn’t have stores, would we?”

Still, Evans does not completely write off Buy Nothing Day.

“Perhaps part of the value of a day like that is it gives people an opportunity to reflect on their consumption patterns… If it does that, I suppose it’s a good thing.”

Buy Nothing Day is celebrated the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving, typically America’s busiest shopping day of the year.

ADBUSTERS

For the last three years, prior to Buy Nothing Day Adbusters has unsuccessfully attempted to buy what it calls “un-commercials” promoting the event on the three largest US networks. CBS, for instance, said an ad asking people not to buy anything threatens “the current economic policy of the United States.” They have purchased time on CNN. The ad features a pig in the place of North America with a voiceover saying:

“The average North American consumes five times more than a Mexican, ten times more than a Chinese person, and thirty times more than a person from India. We are the most voracious consumers in the world…a world which could die because of the way we North Americans live. Give it a rest. November 23rd is Buy Nothing Day.”