Archived press release

International No Shop day

28 November 1997

Attention Picture Desks

Press Preview:

11.00 am, Friday, 28 November, 1997
No Shop, 131 Lower Marsh, London SE1
[Nearest tube is Waterloo]

International No Shop Day 1997 [1] is being marked this year by the 'grand opening' of No Shop - the shop that promises everything but sells nothing. The No Shop, an installation by designers Thomas/Matthews in collaboration with Friends of the Earth's Art and Nature Programme [2] and the Royal College of Art [3], will display all of the tempting window design and special offers used to lure in shoppers but the space inside simply contains images of empty shelves and a single 'No Sales Assistant' behind an image of a cash register. Visitors receive a special paper shopping bag with a 'receipt' which contains information on International No Shop Day and thanks the 'shopper' for "not shopping at No Shop".

The event is part of Friends of the Earth's Fair Share Campaign which focuses on the need to reduce material consumption and pollution to within defined ecological limits, and questions whether increasing consumerism can deliver a better quality of life [4].

The No Shop will last for a week but the public can only enter the shop on Saturday 29 November - International No Shop Day - and Monday/Tuesday 1 and 2 December. The event is one of many taking place across the country [5] and in the USA, Canada, Australia,New Zealand, the Netherlands and other European countries.

Anna Thomas, Consumerism Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

"We're constantly bombarded with seductive advertising images telling us that buying more and more will make us sexier, happier and healthier. The reality is that, far from improving our well-being, consumerism is leading to increased pollution, destruction of wildlife habitats and greater tension between the haves and the have-nots. When is a phrase like 'the feelgood factor' going to express happiness, satisfaction and quality of life, rather than quantity of consumption?"

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] International No Shop Day (Saturday, 29 November 1997) is an annual event dedicated to undermining the modern obsession with shopping and questions whether unfettered consumerism can deliver a better quality of life. It takes place in many countries around the world and is coordinated in the United Kingdom by Enough!, the anti-consumerism pressure group (tel: 0161-226-6668).

[2] Friends of the Earth's Art and Environment Programme works in collaboration with the Life Arts Research Centre at the University of Brighton.

[3] No Shop is a joint project between designers Sophie Thomas and Kristine Matthews, Friends of the Earth and the Royal College of Art's Environment Programme.

[4] The central arguments of the Fair Share Campaign are laid out in a book published on 27 November: Tomorrow's World (Earthscan, 12.95). A briefing outlining the campaign is available here.

[5] Other 'no shopping' events in the UK include:

*shopping-free zones/mock lounges in...Cardiff, Worthing, Walsall, Plymouth, Canterbury,Nottingham with variety of extras - free cups of tea, mulled wine, making presents
*Manchester...cult of consumerism, group of bald, zombie-like figures on a 'pilgrimage to the temples of consumerism', chanting their mantra 'shop til you drop' and advertising slogans,'controlled' by sharp-suited advertising executive carried on an enormous altar
*Birmingham...fashion show, 'The Real Clothes Show', of Second hand/recycled clothes (both on shopping street and repeated indoors on another day), and selling 'limited edition' jars of happiness
*Central London...stall and shopping trolley of many 'fake' products such as Romance Wine,Best Pal Lager, Happiness Drinks...
*Edinburgh...bewildered group of alien tourists land in Edinburgh and struggle to understand the bizarre culture in which they have arrived, where shopping seems to be the number one activity - and outdoor ceilidh
*Derry...musicians and street theatre; electronic song on internet
*Camden...sculpture - tree of 'is this really needed?' products, and questionnaire for public to ask what they think is really needed
*Croydon...stall and directory of alternative Christmas presents
*Nottingham...shopaholics clinic

Fair Share In Earth briefing

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust