Holiday Shopping: Elephant in the Green Room?
I’ve read a lot of commentary about Black Friday, the holiday shopping-economy relationship and so-called tips for having a “Greener Holiday.” While most of these blogs, articles, and tips are well intentioned, I can’t help but feel they fall short of the mark that seems to be too unpopular to voice- even for green writers….
So, I’m going to go ahead and say it. Isn’t the point of being environmentally and socially conscious that we should learn to live more simply; consuming LESS instead of just DIFFERENT stuff?
Yes, yes- green products and services represent a great trend in our current marketplace. Green collar jobs, from making toys from recycled materials to installing solar panels, are the way of the future and, in most cases, are a respectable and responsible source of revenue for owners and suppliers alike.
However, offering up lame suggestions like, “carpool to the mall on Black Friday,” and “remember your reusable shopping bags” seems to encourage the same underlying concept that the green movement (excluding the green washers, of course) is working so hard to expose and eliminate! I.e., stuff is good, stuff is what you need, stuff will make you happy- just make sure it’s organic/free trade/recycled STUFF.
I’m not about to suggest that you announce a complete moratorium on the holidays to your family…we wouldn’t want to encourage lump coal sales either…instead I’m suggesting that we all take deep breaths and maybe pause for just ONE SECOND and contemplate the true impact, on all levels, of the holiday shopping season.
Consider, for instance, participating by not participating. This is a slogan of one of the Adbusters most popular campaigns- Buy Nothing Day- celebrated cleverly on Nov. 28 each year. As their site states, “There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less. It will take a massive mindshift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 28th. Then celebrate the holidays differently this year, and make a New Year’s resolution to change your lifestyle in 2009. It’s now or never!”
So this upcoming Friday- take a hike, bake a cake, watch a marathon of holiday movies, or just sit quietly with your wish-list in hand, and contemplate the planet and the others you share it with. You may find it gets quite a bit shorter.