Campaign targets needful shopping
Campaign targets needful shopping
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Ibu Tuti already had a trolley full of items to celebrate Idul
Fitri, yet she added a package of soft drinks at a hypermarket in
Central Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.
Inside her trolley were dozens of plates, a set of glasses,
tubs of margarine, cookies and even sarongs. Her maid was trying
hard to keep the trolley straight while Tuti added more items.
"I am still not happy with the color of these plates," she
told The Jakarta Post.
"We already have piles of plates and glasses at home, but
these new sets are for Idul Fitri. It will be ugly if we serve
our relatives with last year's dishes," said the resident of
Kebayoran Baru, an elite residential area in South Jakarta.
Tuti claimed her expenditures on Tuesday were double that of
"regular" days during Ramadhan, but said her daily expenses could
be four times as much as Idul Fitri approached.
"We must have new clothes and many other items for Idul Fitri.
It's tradition. We keep the old utensils and silverware in
storage, though," said the mother of three, who would continue
her shopping at the adjacent shopping center, buying new clothes
for her children and herself.
Tuti is only one of hundreds of thousands of Jakartans
flocking to malls to finish their shopping ahead of the holiday,
which falls on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, regardless of whether they
needed everything they bought.
This is in direct contrast to Buy Nothing Day, promoted by
Canada-based Media Foundation.
The campaign was launched in 1992 and so far, 75 countries
have joined in the drive to be thrifty. This year, the campaign
falls on Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day.
In Indonesia, Yogyakarta-based Kunci Cultural Studies, a non-
governmental organization (NGO), has been promoting the campaign
since 2001. This year, Kunci launched its Buy Nothing Week from
Nov. 8 to Nov. 14 in several major cities.
"The message is clear. We don't want people to fall further
victim to consumerism. The campaign is not against buying things.
What we want is people to buy only what they really need," Kunci
director Nuraini Juliastuti told the Post.
"We chose the week before Idul Fitri, because many people go
on a shopping spree during that period, buying many items that
aren't necessary. We are also campaigning the message that no
shopping for an entire week will not kill them," she added.
During the campaign, Kunci is sending email to other NGOs and
distributing fliers and posters at shopping malls and centers.
The fliers and posters ask questions such as "Do I need it?", "Do
I already have it?" and "Can I do without it?". Kunci activists
also try to talk directly to shoppers to raise their awareness on
consumerism.
Nuraini said several NGOs in Bandung and Jakarta had also
conducted similar campaigns and more groups would follow suit.
Meanwhile, Ella and her two children were struggling to find
affordable clothes, a tablecloth and bedcover at a shopping
center next to a traditional market in South Jakarta.
"We have to save up for months to be able to buy the things we
need for Idul Fitri. I must buy new clothes for the children
because my husband is afraid they might be embarrassed about not
having new ones to wear when their friends do," said Ella, whose
husband works at a freight company. She added that she had
already used a year's savings in just a few days of shopping.