Barter, not buy, say Texan Friends
Friends in Texas took part in 'Buy Nothing Day'
Members of Live Oak Meeting in Houston, Texas, marked ‘Buy Nothing Day’ on 25 November with a Quaker Barter Fair.
The annual event saw participants barter everything from tutoring to farm work, holistic healthcare and plants. It was held in conjunction with a Pop-Up Peace Festival, which featured art, music and poetry. Friends brought leftover food from Thanksgiving, the previous day, and enjoyed a potluck meal.
Buy Nothing Day is a global initiative. Participants are urged to ‘switch off from shopping and tune into life’. According to its organisers, Buy Nothing Day is a ‘twenty-four hour moratorium on consuming, either as a personal experiment or public statement’.
The Day is seen by many as a response to ‘Black Friday’, the start of the Christmas ‘shopping season’.
