Is Green Friday the New Black Friday?
Yes, we have all heard about the notorious black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving, and the horrendous consumerism epidemic that it propels. Now complemented by its online brother Cyber Monday. The two days have now become the largest shopping season during the year, raking in sales in the billions across North America. and yes that includes a lot of Canadian shoppers.
Origins of Black Friday are deeply rooted in capitalism and launching the holiday shopping season, they have also spurred what we call the dark side of consumerism over the better part of the past 50 years.
The rush to be part of the 'deal' mania as a brand and not lose out on the potential profits are immense however the entire season may be at odds with brands who are truly trying to create sustainability, social purpose, and any twinkling of circularity into their DNA. We know it can be a hard thing to resist but as a brand you have to examine your moral fabric and whether participation or perhaps the way you participate aligns with your social and environmental values.
Companies such as Patagonia, Cuyana, and REI are not participating all in black friday while others are closing their websites in complete protest.
Slide in Green Friday, a fairly new initiative that gained moment to combat massive consumerism. It has gained momentum in some realms but continues to still be fairly at the fringes. However just calling your Black Friday sale a Green Friday sale won't do much for the side of impact. There are actually a lot of things we as consumers and certainly as brand that we can do on green friday instead of add to the e-commerce and purchasing frenzy.
We love this list curated by Kollectify to provide lots of options for brands to explore as they dive into the holiday season and beyond, utilizing a sustainable lens. Everything from donating a significant portion of proceeds, starting a fund to support environmental initiatives, to dropping educational campaigns regarding consumerism or its effects, or co-creating a popup to feature local and/or underrepresented makers and entrepreneurs. There are plenty of options for creating something unique, thoughtful and driven by social purpose that doesn't fall off the edge of the green washing cliff. In the least you can start sharing what you are doing with Giving Tuesday, which confidently happens right after Cyber Monday.
It doesn't mean you can't have a sale, or consciously participate in Black Friday but really consider how it affects your underlying and whether it really aligns with your brands social purpose. Perhaps consider how you can in fact use the momentum of Black Friday for good, the options don't end on Friday.
