IS GREEN THE NEW BLACK (FRIDAY)?

Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Thanksgiving postscripts dedicated to retail therapy, have come and gone with an orgy of shopping including frantic spending by those who couldn’t tell a Christmas turkey from the Cratchit’s Christmas goose!

Black Friday i.e., the Friday following Thanksgiving, marked the start of the holiday season in the United States with retailers offering huge in-store discounts to entice holiday shoppers. It’s digital cousin Cyber Monday emerged in the early 2000s when retailers noticed a spike in online shopping every Monday that followed Thanksgiving from shoppers who couldn’t or didn’t dedicate time and energy to Black Friday sales. Despite a marginal decline in digital sales, American shoppers spent US$ 8.9 billion on Black Friday deals online while Cyber Monday is expected to rack up 10.2 billion to $11.3 billion in online spending. Brick-and-mortar stores meanwhile recorded a 40% Y-O-Y increase in Black Friday sales. What started as an American tradition has also been rapidly adopted by retailers worldwide anxious not to miss out on a profit-enhancing trick.

However, the sweet sound of the cash registers ringing conceals some ugly truths which has rather dampened the joie de vivre of an increasing number of consumers. Black Friday sales have led to stampedes, violence and deaths of employees and customers alike (and have also birthed a bizarre site which keeps tracks of all Black Friday related deaths from 2006 onwards). Stores began opening earlier and earlier forcing employees to shorten their Thanksgiving with a 2012 decision by Walmart to open stores for Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving night itself leading to a walkout by staff. There is also a significant environmental impact with deals fever leading to overproduction by brands confident that they can move the stock come holiday season, overconsumption ultimately generating more and more e-waste and filling up already overburdened landfills and an increased carbon footprint by all the hastened deliveries by e-tailers.

Consumer rumblings against this overconsumption started as far back as 1992 when anti-consumerists started holding ‘Buy Nothing Day’ to protest against the frenzied buying of the holiday season. ‘Small Business Saturday’ encouraged customers to patronize small businesses rather than e-tailers or large retail chains and by 2019, governments were also taking note with the French Parliament being concerned enough to ban advertising promoting Black Friday as part of the government’s ‘anti-waste’ law against mass overconsumption.

The 'Green Friday' or ‘Ethical Black Friday’ movement came up as an environmentally effective alternative of responsible and conscious consumption which also promotes fair trade and the reuse of materials and objects. With consumers increasingly voting with their dollars in favor of sustainable production and consumption, several brands have either refused to participate in Black Friday sales or have used the day instead to promote more earth-friendly business practices. And instead of playing yet another round of ‘My deal is sweeter than yours’ on Cyber Monday, some brands elect instead to participate in ‘Giving Tuesday’, a day dedicated to charitable contributions. Here is a round-up of some of the best Green Friday and Giving Tuesday campaigns this year:

If Only If:

This U.K. based nightwear manufacturer has been working with its suppliers in India for over a decade to ensure fair pay for all workers along the production line along with high social and environmental working conditions. With an organizational philosophy steeped in sustainability they don’t mass produce their designs and have short production lines to minimize their carbon footprint. This year they have donated 10% of all proceeds from their festive sale to Ashima Wellness, a foundation that supports young girls and women in a small village in the Himalayas. The charity was chosen in consultation with their Indian production partners and the funds will be used to provide educational programs, access to computers and smart phones, as well as awareness building on health and hygiene.

?Ikea:

Ikea Canada's month-long Green Friday campaign focused on supporting the circular economy by demonstrating how sustainable living can be easy and affordable for everyone. Instead of deep discounting, the furniture retailer encouraged customers to sell back their existing Ikea products for in-store credit while simultaneously encouraging shoppers to purchase pre-owned items in their circular section (As-is section) via a 25% discount. Virtual workshops were also held to help customers extend the life of their Ikea products.

?Allbirds:

Allbirds is an eco-conscious footwear brand, heavily focused on a sustainable business model with commitments to cut their carbon footprint in half by 2025 and reduce it to near zero by 2030. This year, instead of offering markdowns, they released limited-edition styles of their popular wet-weather shoes, the Runner-Up Mizzle sneakers. Last year they raised prices instead of slashing them, calling on consumers to ‘Break tradition, not the planet’ with the additional funds generated being donated to Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future movement.

?Bravo Savings Network:

Affiliate Marketer Bravo Savings Network announced that they will plant a tree for every purchase made across their various web properties between Black Friday and Christmas, 2021. This annual Green Friday initiative was first started in response to the devastating fires in the Amazon Rainforest in 2019, and they have set a goal of 500,000 trees to be planted over the course of 5 years in collaboration with the Eden Reforestation Projects, an non-profit working across the world to combat deforestation as well as improve the economic conditions of local populations.

?Baukjen:

Clothing brand Baukjen decided to focus on donations instead of discounts by giving away 100% of their profits over the Thanksgiving weekend to World Land Trust, an international conservation charity, and Strut Safe, a volunteer service set up by two Edinburgh university students designed to help women get home safely at night.

Epitech Technology:

France’s Epitech Technology partnered with non-profit Giving Tuesday France to inspire students to design and facilitate activities aimed at promoting digital inclusion including coding workshops for younger students; computer equipment, clothing, toy, and blood drives and fundraising for various associations.