Friends of the Earth Birmingham Action Briefing Dec 97/Jan 98

The Ghost of Christmas Presents

Shop 'til you drop! Are you getting fed up with the Christmas shopping crowds? Do you feel miserable when people have spent lots of money on presents you don't need? Hopefully you've heard about 'International No-Shop Day' - a day of stunts and events around the world to draw people's awareness to the environmental impact of needless consumerism and how Western countries are using more than their fair share of resources.

On Saturday 29th November, Birmingham Friends of the Earth handed out jars of happiness' to the public on New Street as part of this campaign. These were actually empty, and they represented consumer culture where we buy things we do not need - often as the result of persuasive advertising.

Our own advertising before the event was effective, getting us into the local papers and on local radio, which took our message to the masses. However, the wet weather forced us to cover up our goods' from sight on the day itself.

Our main achievement in New Street was to get seventy letters to Chancellor Gordon Brown signed by the public. These were part of National FOE's campaign to bring about more ecological taxation. They ask for a reduction in tax on jobs, and an introduction of taxation on the disposal of waste and the use of virgin (new) materials. This would enable repair firms to offer their services at a cheaper price, making it more viable to repair goods as an alternative to throwing them away.

Please remember to ask yourself these questions when you shop:-

• Is it needed?
• Can you hire it instead?
• Can it be reused then repaired, and then eventually recycled ?
• Why don't I write to Gordon Brown myself asking for government support for ecological taxation?

Hayley Duffin