Like other parts of the world, ‘Buy Nothing Day’ was observed in Pakistan on Saturday to remind the habits of over-buying and over-consumption. It is an international day of protest against unbridled consumerism, which is defined as a social or economic order based on the systematic creation of desire to purchase goods and services in amounts not needed. The Network for Consumer Protection’s Executive Coordinator Dr Arif Azad said that the day had a special significance for Pakistan where knowledge about the consumer rights and the observance of these rights was abysmally low. He said this day reminded the consumers of Pakistan that they could exert consumer power by opting not to make unnecessary purchase.

“As a nation, we should develop a habit of saving as the country has poor saving rate. By discouraging the habit of unnecessary buying, we could add to the savings pool of the country,” he maintained. He said the notion of shopping as a necessary social activity had taken such the hold of middle class that doing shopping was replaced with going for shopping. He observed that too much and unnecessary buying created several social and economic problems in the country. The first ‘Buy Nothing Day was’ organized in Vancouver in September 1992 as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption.

In 1997, it was moved to Friday after American Thanksgiving, also called Black Friday, which is one of the 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. Various gatherings and forms of protest have been used on the day to draw attention towards problem of over-consumption.