It is no secret that since the second industrial revolution shifted our society to function around technology, mass production and consumerism, the cultural pressures of holidays have changed, and no other holiday has felt the effect quite like Christmas.
Despite originating with the intention to further generosity and goodwill, Christmas in our modern American society entails things like stores being overrun with shoppers looking to purchase the perfect gift from name brands and companies for their loved ones, millions of pounds of new plastic decorum being dispersed across the planet and Amazon as well as other delivery service drivers working overtime through their carbon-emission emitting vehicles to ensure the demands of holiday consumers are met.
While some may say the cultural emphasis on consumerism in gift giving is positive as it expands the market of gifts people can desire and receive, the negative impacts that mass consumerist holidays have on our planet cannot afford to be overlooked any longer. A solution for this is emerging in the form of “Buy Nothing December.”
According to an article written by Jessica Haggard of the Seattle Times, “Buy Nothing Project was founded in 2013 by Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller on Bainbridge Island, Washington, as a hyperlocal gift economy that encourages neighbors to share rather than buy. Over time, the idea spread, garnering millions of participants and over 7,500 established communities across dozens of countries.” “Buy Nothing December” promotes the idea of people recycling, thrifting or making Christmas gifts for their loved ones as opposed to buying something from a company or online.
The movement intends to redefine our idea of holiday gift-giving, shifting the focus of gifts from mass consumerism to giving back to our communities sustainably. “In an age when holiday sales start early, prices soar higher and social media hauls set impossible standards, more people crave something quieter and more meaningful. As traditions evolve, a spending-free holiday may be the only way to keep the season sustainable,” Haggard wrote.
As a citizen of the Earth in today’s day and age, I find myself with a persistent worry in the back of my mind about the state of our planet. Particularly, I find myself thinking a lot about landfills, and how unsustainable it is that we as people mass-produce products and trash that cannot biodegrade for thousands of years and merely sit in giant man-made holes in our precious Earth.
I can’t be the only one who is horrified that we have become so comfortable with this reality, mostly because we will inevitably run out of space for these landfills. CBS News cites that, “According to Stanford Researchers, during the holidays, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, Americans create a gigantic mountain of plastic waste, about 25% more waste compared to the rest of the year.” We as a society have to find methods to stop contributing this egregious amount of plastic waste, and “Buy Nothing December” is a sound solution.
I find myself thinking that the key tenets of “Buy Nothing December” shouldn’t just be applied to the holiday season, but to every part of our lives. A large emphasis of the movement is to not purchase from big corporations and companies that contribute the most to waste through their mass operations. If people purchased sparingly from locally owned businesses as opposed to massively from large companies during not just the holiday season, but at every possible opportunity, then “Buy Nothing December” would not have to exist as a movement at all, as overconsumption and waste would not be plaguing our planet at such a horrendous scale today.
With that said, I challenge Equinox readers to be conscious about their purchases both as Christmas approaches and even beyond that time. Think about if the gift you’re buying for a loved one will still have a use for them in five years, or if it will instead be sitting smushed between other waste somewhere in a landfill. Try to reuse past holiday decorations, or if you must purchase new ones, look to purchase the designs you desire made out of sustainable materials, such as unwaxed cardboard or glass. Contemplate if you can sustain your appreciation for that product on your wish-list, or if it’s just going to be replaced by another thing you want as time passes.
If we all do our best to make small, sustainable adjustments to our holiday gift-giving and purchasing, then perhaps the positives of the “Buy Nothing December” movement can expand beyond niche communities and into our normalized culture as a whole, so that we may do better by the planet, which gives us all our precious lives.
Serena Taylor can be contacted at
staylor@kscequinox.com
