#blackforgood - a different take on the consumerism of Black Friday

APPROACHING BLACK FRIDAY DIFFERENTLY

In the current form, the consumer industry grows at the expense of the planet. And Black Friday is one of, if not the most powerful consumption event of the year in the western world.

Committing to yet another promotional period in the year can be also especially damaging to young brands, especially when their business model and margin structure is not built around value reductions. At the same time, we feel a real desire from our community to be able engage in actions for the environment - to use the vehicle of consumption for good. 

As a friend of mine pointed out, in an ideal world, if we care about the planet, we should be promoting how to reduce consumption. But that would be a bigger challenge we won't solve now and it could not be the mandate of a CEO of a for-profit company.

So why not use this moment as an opportunity for change?

The What : #blackforgood

For Black Friday this year, instead of discounting products, Typology will give all profits from Black Friday - Cyber Monday (Nov 29 - Dec 2, 2019) to an environmental charity. The campaign will be named #blackforgood.

Our hesitation in rolling out this campaign was that it would be seen as opportunistic. While good intentions were certainly the starting point, we are a business and in some respects, one could always find opportunity in our actions. Criticism is also not a strong enough deterrent for good. Our mission at Typology on the contrary is to inspire critical thinking, to question the norm and to do things better. 

We strongly believe that the biggest opportunity today is to level the playing field between consumers and brands: to product effective products, communicate fairly, price honestly and to work towards mutually beneficial goals. Climate change is the most pressing mutual goal of them all: something that certainly does not distinguish between customer and company. 

Who’s with us?

We are a young brand. Alone, we might not make a large impact. But could it be as simple as just asking other brands to join us? We think it might. 

We’d like to mobilise as many consumer brands as possible to join #blackforgood. The more brands, the more impact, so extending to the rest of the consumer industry would be also fantastic.

• As a young brand. Alone, we might not make a large impact. But could it be as simple as just asking other brands to join us? We think it might. 

There are many consumer brands doing incredible things to give back. Bigger and better than we might hope to right now. This campaign is not about positioning ourselves above, or shaming those who don’t participate, but is intended to be a positive and encouraging call to action for those who agree that Black Friday could be…better.  

The How 

The how is very flexible. We will be supporting a charity focused on climate change / environmental impact. If that charity is aligned with your brand’s values, then perfect. If you have a charity you already support, or want to choose another, great too. The % donation and the way you contribute are all up to you. The campaign is a general call to use Black Friday for good. 

We will be campaigning on social, onsite and in the press. Spreading the word about those brands who join the movement. Specifics to be discussed together. We hope that this may be the first of many collaborative corporate actions to come.