Avoid the Black Friday frenzy with these infinitely more sustainable (and way more fun) activities.
It’s Black Friday – which for many people means spending money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, for people we don’t like (to quote Stephen Colbert in The True Cost movie).
Black Friday – or Cyber Weekend – has become the busiest shopping weekend of the year thanks to heavy discounts and targeted marketing campaigns. But as highlighted in The True Cost, there is a human and environmental cost to this frenzied binge shopping and the waste generated and resources consumed. For this reason, many sustainable and independent brands including Veja, Smalls and Henri London have actively chosen not to participate in Black Friday in the traditional sense to highlight the need to consume responsibly.
Other brands are using Black Friday for activism – Christopher Raeburn and Asket are making a stand by not selling anything at all today, while O My Bag is donating all of its profits from this weekend to The Cup community café in Kolkata, while Woodlike Ocean – a brand that crafts swimwear out of Econyl® regenerated nylon – is raising its prices by 20% this weekend and donating the extra 20% raised to the Healthy Seas Initiative.
“Our planet is facing a serious waste problem. Our over-consuming and throw-away mentality are only making the problem worst. We need to pay better attention to the manner we consume goods and be very critical with the products we purchase. Let’s use these dates to contribute to creating a healthy planet and spread awareness around our environmental issues,” said Mauricio Palma, co-founder of Woodlike Ocean.
So while the lure of frantic bargain-hunting, long queues and packed out stores might be tempting, take a stand with us against Black Friday and think all of the great things you could be doing instead of hitting the shops today. Need some inspiration? Look no further…