ASDA consumer 'riot' staged for press and TV?

There is a widespread belief in Wembley that 'Black Friday's' mini consumer riot at Wembley Park  ASDA on Friday was not all it seems.

Forewarned by the store, press and TV were all assembled in advance and wanted a good story of consumer greed. Eye witnesses say they  urged people on to fight for the TVs and other goods to ensure they got shocking footage and photographs for the likes of the Daily Mail LINK

The usual people then had a field day on the Daily Mail website denouncing the 'greed' and 'animal behaviour' of local people.  One Wembley local told me he felt 'ashamed' when he saw the way his community was being portrayed on the news.


The word on the street is that many of the large TVs were returned the next day with customers saying that they were 'rubbish'. Clearly it was a potentially dangerous situation and there are reports that some people sustained bumps and bruises.

In contrast, when the sale continued on Saturday with no press or TV present, everything was quite orderly.

Unconfirmed reports say that ASDA head office were not happy with the coverage.  

Meanwhile in the US workers at ASDA's parent company, Walmart, staged the third of what have become annual Black Friday strikes against low wages, poor benefits and union busting LINK

Did you celebrate 'Buy Nothing Day' and resist consumerist pressures?

As commercial companies tried yesterday to foist 'Black Friday on us, an American import supposed to mark the beginning of pre-Christmas consumption, Ad Buster publicised their Buy Nothing Day which took place today. LINK

They stress that the day isn't anti-shopping  as such or anti small shops but about creating awareness about the effect of consumption on the environment and its basic inequality.

This is how they explain the Day:

It's time to lock up your wallets and purses, cut up your credit cards and dump the love of your life - shopping.

Saturday November 30th 2013 is Buy Nothing Day (UK). It's a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from shopping and anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!

Everything we buy has an impact on the environment, Buy Nothing Day highlights the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries - only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth's natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage, and an unfair distribution of wealth.

Of course, Buy Nothing Day isn't about changing your lifestyle for just one day - we want it to be a lasting relationship with you consumer conscience - maybe a life changing experience? We want people to make a commitment to consuming less, recycling more and challenging companies to clean up and be fair. The supermarket or shopping mall might offer great choice, but this shouldn't be at the cost of the environment or developing countries

I wonder if we should celebrate this at the Wembley's London  Designer Outlet next year?