There are some pretty good deals on Black Friday. That's partly why, and partly because, it's the biggest shopping day of the year—when Americans writ large head to major retail outlets, stand in line for hours, and take home more stuff and more debt. Retailers go from “in the red” to “in the black” for the year, and we all get some shiny new gifts for the holidays. The American way, right?

But corporations are thriving while real income for Americans lags stagnant. Buy Nothing Day is also the Friday after Thanksgiving and it's here to offer another option for all of us who shudder at the prospect of shopping mall mayhem.

“Consumerism is based on the idea in society that we never have enough and that getting more things will make us happier. It is preying on people’s basic feelings of contentment in order to make a profit for the few,” says Cindy Rosin, a spokesperson for the New York City-based Freegans and a supporter of Buy Nothing Day.

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