Consumer Holiday

Consumer Holiday - The 1994 Proposal

Consumer Holiday started out in life as a proposal made under The Commons in 1994 by Wolfgang Zuckermann, a long time friend and colleague who is among other things the inventor of the do-it-yourself harpsichord and author of End of the Road. This short piece was then set up as the starting point for a newsgroup and discussed at the time in a number of places, including later at the World Conference on Sustainable Transport in Vancouver Canada in March 1996.
But even as we were advancing on this we became aware of Adbuster's much better financed and more professional Buy Nothing Movement. We liked what we saw and then decided that rather than to run a competitive program on this side of the Atlantic, we would instead re-jigger Consumer Holiday into an independent international support program for the BND movement. Albeit with our own views.
Can we learn anything from this? Well, it may be that the idea of doing this once a month was going to prove a bit of a hard sell. Also, it might have done well with a bit more bizazz and proportionately less moralizing. The real lesson, though, has to be that this kind of stuff does not happen unless you have people ready to take up the challenge and move ahead with it. One small step at a time.

Consumer Holiday - 1994

Consumer Holiday is a modest proposal by a pick-up group of independent individuals who have decided that they will not stand idly by while they watch today's way of life -- little by little and in subtle ways -- erode our human values, our spirit of community, and our environment.

How Did It Happen?

Many of the problems we face today are due to the fundamentally bulimic nature of the market system - the economy, which is now global, must grow relentlessly. If we have no constraining device to save us, we must, in that process, be inundated with things we don't really want or need. These things include an enormous over-consumption of energy, food, clothing, entertainment, toys, and gadgets, which together have created a complex cycle. This cycle crams our closets, adds unnecessary pounds to our weight, robs us of priceless time, and slowly squeezes what should be the most human values out of our daily lives. We recognize that no one has invented a better system for the production of goods and services than the free market economy. But if that is all we have to guide our lives, it will almost certainly have fatal consequences.

What Does Consumption Mean?

The Oxford Dictionary defines consumption as "using-up, destruction, waste." It is the identical word used for the wasting pulmonary disease. All that shopping, all that unrelenting, pathological consumption swiftly eats up our natural resources and the only 24 hours we have in each day. And perhaps worst of all, it leaves most of us comfortably and unconsciously numb.

A Holiday with a Difference

The answer to this has to come from our-selves. It is unlikely to be organized from above. That's why we have decided to take a Consumer Holiday one day a month.

Here's what we think it should consist of. On that one day - and we have chosen the first day of every month to do this ourselves - we shall endeavor to stand quite still and give up our customary roles of being tiny cogs in a gigantic, ever-turning machine. So on that day we will do the following:

We shall not shop in today's impetuous sense. (This does not mean we can't run down to the corner store to buy some cheese or wine)
We shall not take airplanes or drive cars by ourselves. But we will walk, bike, take public transport, and pool our cars with friends and neighbors.
We and our families shall not watch television
We shall try to be very sparing in our consumption of the telephone, electricity, gas, water, and petrol - switching off everything we reasonably can

What Shall We Do With The Time Gained?

Well, we could then spend the hours we gained on that day - by not shopping, by not being stuck in traffic, by not watching TV - to good advantage. We could spend this precious new time with our families, friends, and neighbors. We could spend it in conversation, in games, in reading (to ourselves and others), and in doing some things we never had time for before.

We see this not as a strike or a boycott or a sacrifice, but as a holiday -- a personal statement, a joyous individual act for ourselves, our families, our friends, and for the world at large. We see this as an opportunity to provide a real example for young people and others who need stronger and better points of reference than today's so-called role models.

Can It Work?

It will take time and a growing community of people who care enough to help us organize this Consumer Holiday into some-thing which will make a difference. If it is successful many of us could end up doing this on a weekly and even daily basis. But, don't you see, it's a very personal choice.

Who are "We"?

We are a very loosely organized group of independent individuals who have decided to act on their own - and together. We are not asking you for money or to put pressure on your political representative. This is exactly what we are against. We are asking instead for your suggestions, support, and, most of all, for your example (which may be the hardest of all!)

What Can You Do?

For some of you all this may look a bit simplistic, and indeed we have tried to keep it as simple as possible. But behind this idea is quite a rich domain of observation, thinking, exchange, and choices of daily life. If the ideas appeal to you, you can join us, at least in spirit. If one day a month is too much for you, you can do it one day a year (for example, on Earth Day). But it would be more effective if we all did it together.

For now you can do one of the following things:

You can share with us your reactions, ideas, and eventually offer cooperation and help. (And we can share ours with you. If you want to know more about the deeper background of these simple ideas, let us know.)
You can take this leaflet, make three copies and send them to three friends, asking them to do the same.
You can talk to people you know about this and hear what they have to say or suggest.
You may be able to find people or community groups in your locality who may want to take on the role of coordinators for this project.

You can get in touch by writing to

Consumer Holiday
Co/ Shakespeare
155 rue Carreterie
F-84000 Avignon, France
Fax # (33) 90 27 17 07
Email: consumer.holiday@ecoplan.org

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