Buy Nothing Day Leeds

Hi there,

If you could please put on some details, e.g. how to join in the preparations, how to contact you before the day, links to information about BND that would be really helpful. It might even merit being listed in the 'events' bit on the Leeds-Bradford front page :)

Sorry!

We are cooking food at the Common place tonight (Friday) (7:30-9:00).
We are meeting at the Common Place at 10:30am on Sat to go be in Brigate by 11:00-11:30am. We are still after some more tarp but we have mugs, maybe an urn and a free shop e.t.c. More bowls and mugs would be great. Email me at nikolai dot berkoff at gmail dot com
The websites on the internet are a bit rubbish but I am working on making a better one, for now try
 http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/


Here is the text from our flyer:

What is Buy Nothing Day all about?
Buy Nothing Day (Nov 29th 2008) is not asking you to buy nothing today, but instead every time you buy something, think about it and the consequences.

What is so bad about shopping?
As consumers in rich western countries we should question the products we buy and the companies who produce them. The idea is to make people stop and think when they buy how they effect the environment & developing countries. The world seems endless but we are using resources and polluting it more than ever before. Why? In part, it is to provide you with DVD players, new T.V. e.t.c. They all use natural resources and are then thrown in a tip. Large companies use factories abroad where workers face constant danger from unsafe conditions.

Why shouldn't I shop today?
Buy Nothing Day is trying to make people think about the goods they buy - think before you shop! We are NOT asking you to go without milk if you run out. Instead, before you buy think about where things come from, how they got here, what resources were used to make them and: do you REALLY need them?

What about the environment?
There are two mains environmental costs for each present you buy: The energy and toixc chemicals used to make the thing you bought.Plastic production uses 8% of the world's oil and involves many toxic chemicals.
(Acrylonnitrile: cause cancer and birth defects. Ethylene Oxide: cause cancer, changes in genetic material, and reproductive problems. Tetrahydrofuran: Toxic by in ingestion and inhalation, causes potential damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. Cumene Hydroperoxide: acutely toxic by ingestion, inhalation, and skin absorbtion. A suspected mutagen and terotogen).
Plastic bags, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes are mistaken for food and end up in the stomachs of dead birds.