Campaign targets needful shopping<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Ibu Tuti already had a trolley full of items to celebrate Idul
\nFitri, yet she added a package of soft drinks at a hypermarket in
\nCentral Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Inside her trolley were dozens of plates, a set of glasses,
\ntubs of margarine, cookies and even sarongs. Her maid was trying
\nhard to keep the trolley straight while Tuti added more items.<\/p>\n
\"I am still not happy with the color of these plates,\" she
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"We already have piles of plates and glasses at home, but
\nthese new sets are for Idul Fitri. It will be ugly if we serve
\nour relatives with last year's dishes,\" said the resident of
\nKebayoran Baru, an elite residential area in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Tuti claimed her expenditures on Tuesday were double that of
\n\"regular\" days during Ramadhan, but said her daily expenses could
\nbe four times as much as Idul Fitri approached.<\/p>\n
\"We must have new clothes and many other items for Idul Fitri.
\nIt's tradition. We keep the old utensils and silverware in
\nstorage, though,\" said the mother of three, who would continue
\nher shopping at the adjacent shopping center, buying new clothes
\nfor her children and herself.<\/p>\n
Tuti is only one of hundreds of thousands of Jakartans
\nflocking to malls to finish their shopping ahead of the holiday,
\nwhich falls on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, regardless of whether they
\nneeded everything they bought.<\/p>\n
This is in direct contrast to Buy Nothing Day, promoted by
\nCanada-based Media Foundation.<\/p>\n
The campaign was launched in 1992 and so far, 75 countries
\nhave joined in the drive to be thrifty. This year, the campaign
\nfalls on Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, Yogyakarta-based Kunci Cultural Studies, a non-
\ngovernmental organization (NGO), has been promoting the campaign
\nsince 2001. This year, Kunci launched its Buy Nothing Week from
\nNov. 8 to Nov. 14 in several major cities.<\/p>\n
\"The message is clear. We don't want people to fall further
\nvictim to consumerism. The campaign is not against buying things.
\nWhat we want is people to buy only what they really need,\" Kunci
\ndirector Nuraini Juliastuti told the Post.<\/p>\n
\"We chose the week before Idul Fitri, because many people go
\non a shopping spree during that period, buying many items that
\naren't necessary. We are also campaigning the message that no
\nshopping for an entire week will not kill them,\" she added.<\/p>\n
During the campaign, Kunci is sending email to other NGOs and
\ndistributing fliers and posters at shopping malls and centers.
\nThe fliers and posters ask questions such as \"Do I need it?\", \"Do
\nI already have it?\" and \"Can I do without it?\". Kunci activists
\nalso try to talk directly to shoppers to raise their awareness on
\nconsumerism.<\/p>\n
Nuraini said several NGOs in Bandung and Jakarta had also
\nconducted similar campaigns and more groups would follow suit.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ella and her two children were struggling to find
\naffordable clothes, a tablecloth and bedcover at a shopping
\ncenter next to a traditional market in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We have to save up for months to be able to buy the things we
\nneed for Idul Fitri. I must buy new clothes for the children
\nbecause my husband is afraid they might be embarrassed about not
\nhaving new ones to wear when their friends do,\" said Ella, whose
\nhusband works at a freight company. She added that she had
\nalready used a year's savings in just a few days of shopping.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/campaign-targets-needful-shopping-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}