Buy Nothing Day does exactly what it says on the metaphorical tin. It’s a day where we are all encouraged to buy nothing for 24 hours.

The reason for this event is that everything we buy has an environmental and ethical consequence. The current financial crisis should be an opportunity to re-examine what money is spent on and how resources are managed.

To spread the word and encourage friends, family and every stranger in Birmingham city centre to be part of this truly one of a kind day come dressed as a Santa and descend upon the streets on city centre with Birmingham Friends of the Earth and help remind us that Christmas does not have to be about consumerism. The Santas carry placards with slogans such as “Buy more, be happy” and “Spend, don’t think” while handing out leaflets to people about Buy Nothing Day.

So come down, be part of the cause, dressed up or not and help make a difference.

Buy Nothing Day is an international event. Its website suggests:

Ask yourself these simple questions:

1. Do I need it?
2. How many do I already have?
3. How much will I use it?
4. How long will it last?
5. Could I borrow it from a friend or family member?
6. Am I able to clean and/or maintain it myself?
7. Will I be able to repair it?
8. Am I willing to?
9. Have I researched it to get the best quality for the best price?
10. How will I dispose of it when I’m done using it?
11. Are the resources that went into it renewable or nonrenewable?
12. Is it made from recycled materials, and is it recyclable

Presumably when you’ve asked yourself all that, you’ll be too tired to do anything and will go home to have a nice cup of tea.

MoreCanalsThanVenice has some ideas about what to do for free in Birmingham on Saturday.

Today
	New blog post up re spending money on public transport, walking and cycling to save money: http://bit.ly/buknDz [bham_foe] — 6:42pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Anyone in Brum doing anything the day after that for 10/10/10? [bham_foe] — 6:41pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @BirminghamiNS: The Kings Heath Charity Shop Crawl — http://bit.ly/9OgLrU - sounds fun and helps charity shops. [bham_foe] — 6:40pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Ooh look - a report on our speaker event: RT @wwwfoecouk: Local action: Is there a job in the Green Economy for you?: http://bit.ly/cURjV5 [bham_foe] — 6:38pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @Bham_carfree: Apparently skyride events coming up in Brum: http://bit.ly/ctEUhY - waiting 4 route for 12.09 - 10 days before #ITWMCD2010 [bham_foe] — 2:05pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Damn it the front page of our website's gone blank again, but direct links still work: http://bit.ly/dbOz0h [bham_foe] — 1:44pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @wwwfoecouk: Press release: UK energy use down but due to recession not action http://goo.gl/fb/lWHTQ [bham_foe] — 1:37pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @peteashton: Speaking of Leader Whitby...damning indictment of BIG CITY obsession: http://bit.ly/b0Aaiw [bham_foe] — 1:37pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Need to be registered on FT for this article (it's free) about new research backing up climate science as "undeniable": http://bit.ly/aWWggf [bham_foe] — 11:30am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	"there is apparently a great deal of confusion among the police" on laws re driving into bike zones: http://bit.ly/9oo8KG - very reassuring. [bham_foe] — 11:23am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	We've posted ads for three volunteer roles on the environment job website: http://bit.ly/aMqys7 http://bit.ly/bbh3Qr http://bit.ly/ahxCED [bham_foe] — 11:13am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
Yesterday
	RT @wwwfoecouk: Want a green energy supplier? Good Energy donates £50 for every new customer who mentions FoE. http://bit.ly/cGL5tvWhy [bham_foe] — 2:49pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @wwwfoecouk: Wow! Even Daily Mail admits ‘the world would be a happier and healthier place if people ate less meat’ http://bit.ly/9GSw6l [bham_foe] — 2:34pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Offshore wind definitely needs to get bigger and better, but we need more onshore turbines, too: http://bit.ly/bmZiLt as @Yes2wind agrees. [bham_foe] — 1:29pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	"For every £1 spent on protecting communities from devastating impact of floods, £8 is saved" http://bit.ly/aUmVvU - costly climate change! [bham_foe] — 1:13pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @BrumRoadRunner: Cracking little docu-video on Birmingham tornado from five years ago http://bit.ly/bmGEIW #tornadomemories [bham_foe] — 12:37pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @Bham_carfree: Looking fwd to meeting volunteer interested in working on #ITWMCD2010: http://bit.ly/cyyPzl -more people = fewer cars :-) [bham_foe] — 12:26pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @newscientist: Another Gulf oil leak hits Louisiana waters http://bit.ly/bUeAXp - How many leaks are there, which don't get noticed? [bham_foe] — 12:21pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Environmental firm caught polluting Birmingham water system: http://bit.ly/b38U1q - not a shining example of green innovation! [bham_foe] — 12:12pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @ali_mfoe: But what about public transport? @transportgovuk Green light to ultra low carbon car incentive http://bit.ly/cHslHj - quite! [bham_foe] — 12:04pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Visiting my grandparents at the time. Came back found Kings Heath closed, debris everywhere but my street amazingly missed #tornadomemories [bham_foe] — 12:00pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @peteashton: My blog post from 2005's Birmingham tornado: http://bit.ly/bU5069 #tornadomemories [bham_foe] — 11:58am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	HT @VeronicaRegenWM: Hope that nothing like this will happen to brownfield grow-site schemes in Lozells, Handsworth etc http://bit.ly/dkONmZ [bham_foe] — 10:06am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Anyone form @wwwfoecouk going? RT @EcoTeams: Cycle To Work Alliance event 'Cycling & New Agenda on Public Health' 16.00 http://bit.ly/aTv3B0 [bham_foe] — 9:35am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Spot the very obvious contradiction between the headline and content of this article: http://bit.ly/cZraNh [bham_foe] — 9:31am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
27 Jul 10
	Good to meet everyone at the @airportwatch meeting yesterday and glean some useful information. [bham_foe] — 7:21pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Transport meeting yesterday discussed our plans for #ITWMCD2010 being planned by @Bham_carfree: http://bit.ly/cyyPzl - should be great. [bham_foe] — 7:16pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @adamvaughan_uk: Go for nuclear or ramp up solar with DECC's carbon calculator: http://bit.ly/bWmeO0 Need to read instructions to get it. [bham_foe] — 5:37pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	;RT @FandCC: New detailed Good Practice courtesy of Wylde Green Utd Reform Church. How they became an eco-congregation: http://bit.ly/9VqoVx [bham_foe] — 1:15pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
23 Jul 10
	Putting together tools and things for bbq - see you there soon for tasty organic treats! http://bit.ly/amamEF [bham_foe] — 5:39pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Another large body of WM public servants thrown on scrap heap by the govt: http://tinyurl.com/348bhrc - v sorry for everyone affected. [bham_foe] — 5:06pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	I bet Mr Hammond's looking forward to these #HS2 meetings with blighted residents: http://bit.ly/av5DLF - plenty of reasons to pull back. [bham_foe] — 5:02pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Congrats to all 50 West Midlands Green Leaders: http://bit.ly/aK8dSC especially Maud from @FandCC who's been so inspiring to work with. [bham_foe] — 4:59pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Wonders how many of the people from common purpose #totalplace course are on twitter. [bham_foe] — 4:53pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @24_Carrots: Moseley Farmers' Market is tomorrow morning! http://ow.ly/2fERh And our Swap Shop's at the Prince of Wales tomo 12-5. [bham_foe] — 4:18pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @wwwfoecouk: The Archers’ farming expert explains why he backs our campaign to fix the food chain http://bit.ly/agcEN4 [bham_foe] — 1:57pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Good news on #deforestation decreasing but more needs to be done including remooving soy from animal feed: http://bit.ly/9s6QFW [bham_foe] — 1:56pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Well said Mr Porritt "smearing a sickly ideological slime over everything just won't cut it" http://bit.ly/dqM3Rp -his take on axing the SDC [bham_foe] — 12:00pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @wwwfoecouk: #Greentip: Two for one: Do you need that two-for-one offer? http://bit.ly/bZXOYx - A bit of food sharing is always good. [bham_foe] — 11:54am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @dadge: "iPood is clearly similar to Apple's iPod" http://bit.ly/9ZDcKG but more environmentally friendly! [bham_foe] — 11:52am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	I have just created a new list titled 'commonplace' using TweetDeck [bham_foe] — 11:32am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @waterscape_com: Brummie bat buffs needed http://bit.ly/dAqIXW Oh to be one of those - what a claim to fame that would be. [bham_foe] — 11:25am via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
22 Jul 10
	Thanks to @piratechristoph for being our 800th follower. [bham_foe] — 10:51pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Yay! Our website's back up and working, so you can read all about the organic BBQ tomorrow! http://www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/ [bham_foe] — 12:48pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Wonder if the EDF nuclear-power half marathon (called race against climate change) will be any greener this year: http://bit.ly/9hDrlv [bham_foe] — 12:39pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @wwwfoecouk: #Greentip: Brushing your teeth: Save water when brushing your pearly whites. http://bit.ly/bUo9WE - simples! [bham_foe] — 12:29pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Greenest ever govt scraps incredibly successful Sustainable Development Commission - what a shock! #oursdc was helping to save money *sighs* [bham_foe] — 12:16pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	Completely agree that fare hikes are discouraging people from using buses, although it's also reliability and safety: http://bit.ly/99DzAl [bham_foe] — 12:13pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
21 Jul 10
	RT @Bham_carfree: Technical problems, so you can't read about 2010 event on the BFoE website, but last year's event is: http://bit.ly/xV09A [bham_foe] — 5:34pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth
	RT @livingstreets: Sign our pledge for safe & attractive streets before the first 100 days of our coalition government http://bit.ly/cI3KEc [bham_foe] — 5:23pm via Birmingham Friends of the Earth

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GreeninBrum receives no payment directly or indirectly for publishing these updates. Chris Duggan is a member of Birmingham Friends of the Earth.