Skip the Black Friday this year, pleaaaase!
Black Friday is here again. Millions will spend more than they can afford, buy more than they need, and create a ridiculous amount of waste!
I was about to start writing this post about Black Friday when I saw this silly little poll:
Quick Poll – Nov. 22, 2021
Have you started your Christmas shopping?
| Yes | 704 | (59 %) |
| No | 481 | (41 %) |
Total number of votes: 1185
So yes, the madness has started. More than half of the people who voted have already started their Christmas shopping. Here I am trying to get people not to buy more things. Seems like a battle lost, right? But I will still give it a try.
What is Black Friday anyway?
Black Friday is the busiest selling and shopping day of the year. Most of the big businesses are advertising their huge sales. Which is the direct encouragement of buying. A la “Biggest sale of the year”, “This is a must-have item”, “Buy three, get 4th for free” etc. They’re advertising this because they can. While at the same time small businesses can’t afford to make deep discounts, as their products are already priced fairly. Think of Black Friday as a huge bonus for big businesses, who are making most of the sales anyway. While small sellers get nothing. As usual.
Why is Black Friday bad?
Besides the already mentioned discrimination of small-scale businesses, Black Friday has many bad sides. People who work for all these large companies are oftentimes not paid well. Not only at the stores, but also at the warehouses or Amazon shipping factories.
It adds to overconsumption as people are lured in to buy much more than they need. Not even, but they are buying things they don’t even need! This happens mostly because the prices are made to sell and it is easier to overindulge yourself when you are impulse buying.
Following may be news for some. If you buy something and you do not like it, you can most of the time return it, right? But what happens to the merchandise after it has arrived back at the store. It gets trashed. In other words – sent to a landfill. (In case if some smart dumpster divers do not get to it before that!) During Black Friday the returns are usually offered for free. So there will be lots of waste: time, money, packaging, labour, etc. But the most damage is done to our mother Earth.
What can we do to make a change?
Don’t buy. Especially on Black Friday. You do not need to wake up at 4 AM to get something. Or line up in the cold and sit in the traffic. For what? Sleep in, cuddled by the warmth of your partner’s arms, and go about it like it is just another Friday.
Celebrate Buy Nothing Day. Their website has lots of good information and other tips on how to save money. So you can spend the money on something that you really need, like your rent, food or vitamins.
If you really need to buy something make sure that you really actually need it. Perhaps you can repair it, clean it or get a pre-owned version of the item. We have become very convenient, yet we are spending so much time working and getting paid little. Why not get out of that comfort zone and get busy with saving the world and money. Every sock you mend, or button you are sewing back is an item saved from the landfill. And if the sock can’t be mended anymore, you can use it as a rag in your household. We can go on forever on this 🙂
Support your local small-time business instead. Always choose them over the big companies. Enjoy the act of shopping. Visit the store, talk with the business owner and choose what you want using your own eyes and hands. This way you are definitely making a better decision than buying online or buying under pressure.
Have you heard of an app called Renoon? It is a new and leading app for sustainability and fashion. They connect people with a multitude of brands and platforms to simplify and enrich the experience of combining style with sustainability values. But the most important part is that Renoon is not yet another shop. It’s an entire universe of values, untold stories about sustainability, and a cohesive place where intentions become reality. Yup, and an actual app that cares about the environment.
Conclusion
You can live without participating on Black Friday! 🙂
Once again this Friday is as an average Friday for us. We do not like buying, malls, plastic, and consumerism. So we fit right in. We hope that this little post made you also think about the unnecessity of Black Friday and you are happy to be not buying on that day. You will help yourself and planet Earth.
Oh, one more thing. I want to introduce you to a great resource on all things sustainable – Treehugger! I found them while researching for this article. We love people, who love the environment.