At the time of writing - but it comes round every year - our inboxes, social media feeds and general eyesight are plastered with discount offers for Black Friday. Which has become Black Weekend, Black Week or even Black Month for some retailers.
If you run an environmentally conscious business, your heart might tell you to duck out of encouraging overconsumption. Your business head will be wrestling with that suggestion because eco enterprises also have to make a profit.
Hence the birth of Green Friday - all the benefits of the discounts, but somehow more sustainable, reframing the day around making positive purchases for the planet.
This preferred route has now evolved - keep reading to learn how some sustainable companies are really making a positive difference for Black Friday.
Or brands can choose to do nothing. No promotions, no campaigns, no ads, no alternative tactics. Maybe shut your store for the day.
Why Black Friday Is Such a Problem
Critics of Black Friday point to the fact that the event harms the planet through increased emissions, to transport all the extra purchases across the globe, not to mention the returns. Much like Christmas does, to be fair.
It adds significant amounts to landfill waste, especially from electronics and fast fashion, and the increase in plastic packaging is monumentally obscene.
Just a reminder….
As Long As We Use Plastic, We Can't Stop Using Fossil Fuels
The narrative continues. Fossil fuels - oil and gas - are driving the climate emergency, and the world must move rapidly to clean, renewable energy to slow down global warming and protect life across the planet.
So Eco Responsible Businesses Must Miss Out?
I have a view on this which I know is not shared by all in the green movement.
I believe that ethical, environmental, sustainable businesses MUST be supported as much as possible. We have to demand that their ways of doing things become the new normal. We have to make sure there is demand for more earth-friendly processes, products and services.
So when it comes to the retail hotspots of the year - the events which can make or break a business - shouldn’t we be wanting ethical businesses to be beneficiaries of the clamour for products?
After all, true sustainable companies will not be selling products in excessive plastic packaging. The products themselves will be beneficial to the planet, compared with similar products that perhaps use animal ingredients, plastic, palm oil etc.
As long as the products you are buying are not causing harm, or are designed to reduce harm, what really is the harm, of allowing green businesses to prosper and giving environmentally-conscious consumers much-welcomed discounts?
Even so, a number of sustainable companies have refused to be drawn in by it, turning the event on its head to make positive choices. We celebrate a few of them here…
Lucy & Yak — Fior Di Loto Friday
The sustainable clothing brand started working with Fior Di Loto (FDL) back in 2018. The foundation provides life-changing education for girls living in the villages surrounding Pushkar in Northwest India, and continues to support them throughout university and beyond.
This year Lucy & Yak asked the girls to share some drawings of things that make them happy. The design team then took these sketches and turned them into the Fior Di Loto Original Dungaree, which is available now in GOTs certified organic cotton twill.
100% of the profits from the Fior Di Loto dungaree will go to the Fior Di Loto Foundation. Plus, between November 21-27, a half of the company’s profit across all of its products, will be donated to the foundation.
Ethical Superstore — Foodbank Friday
For every order over £30, Ethical Superstore is again donating an item directly to Newcastle West End Foodbank. They’re also running 20% off site-wide to drive contributions.
It’s a values-first alternative to Black Friday that supports community resilience. Ethical Superstore’s range is centred on fair-trade and eco-friendly products.
Rapanui - Remake Your Clothes
The sustainable, vegan. clothing range explains:
80% of purchases made over the Black Friday weekend will end up in landfill or incinerated. And less than 1% of the world’s clothes are recycled back into new garments.
It is part of a take-make-waste system that sends a truckload of clothing to be burned or buried every second.
The truth is, this approach to business as usual just does not make sense to us. We saw the mountains of waste, and instead of shrugging and carrying on, we decided to build something better.
So instead of discounting our products this week, we do what we do every year: we take back Black Friday.
Send back any worn-out Rapanui product, or any 100% cotton clothing from any brand, and we’ll recycle it into something new.
In return, you’ll receive store credit for the items you send back.