Buy Nothing Day attacks 'consumerism at its heart' : Adbusters
Adbusters editor urges people to stay out of stores during Black Friday shopping frenzy
Shoppers are lining up around the world to take advantage of Black Friday sales, but Vancouver-based anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters is urging people to do anything but.
"We're trying to challenge a broken system. We're trying to attack consumerism at its heart," senior editor Doug Haddow told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.
"Your average Canadian is walking around, and everything is telling him or her to buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, so today is the day where it's an actual challenge to buy nothing."
The magazine launched Buy Nothing Day to coincide with Black Friday 20 years ago, and Haddow said it remains relevant as Black Friday sales spread outside the U.S.
Haddow stayed up all night, tracking Black Friday shopping frenzy worldwide.
"I've been quite horrified to see the same violent, chaotic incidents we're used to seeing in the States be replicated throughout England and South America, and soon enough maybe Canada. Hopefully we have a bit more dignity," he said.
Nevertheless, Haddow says Buy Nothing Day still has an edge on Black Friday.
"We spread globally first, we got ahead of the game. Buy Nothing Day was global 10 years ago. Black Friday has just now hit the U.K. I think we're one step ahead."