Earlier today, Russell Brand began a social experiment, entitled Buy Love Here where he hosted a swap shop at the Beverly Center Mall in LA.

Shoppers brought their used clothing and items to exchange them for (name brand) products and apparel (some previously owned by celebrities) and fan donations. Russell spoke with the public about their experiences, all on camera for his documentary, “Happiness” that he is putting together. It will be interesting to see how this portion of the doc will be edited as it was fun to see what people were willing to give up to get something else they needed, well mostly just wanted. The doc is about the pursuit of happiness so I cannot wait to see the finished project and I know you can’t wait either, so stay tuned for more information on that as it comes out.

Celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton and legendary artist, Shephard Fairey also attended the event.

The idea is to raise debate about the scale of consumer culture and to promote the re-use of products in a surplus society….so whether you attended the event today or not, what do you think about the scale of consumer culture in this generation?