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BUY NOTHING DAY . . . held on the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, now in it's 5th year invites the people of the affluent West to join a 24-hour moratorium on consumer spending. The point of Buy Nothing Day is to "sell" a different kind of message. Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robin report on consumer culture in their book "You Money or Your Life." Here are some of the numbers. *The percentage of college freshman who thought it essential to be well-off financially was 44% in 1967 and 76% in 1987. In contrast, in 1967, 83% of college freshman thought it essential to develop a philosophy of life, while in 1987, only 39% did. *The average American spends one entire year of his or her life watching TV commercials. *Americans spend an average 6 hours a week shopping and 40 minutes playing with their children. (Imprint, Nov. 29, 1996 as reported in Homelitics March-April 2000, Vol.12)
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