No Friday is black, they're all green.
Black Friday is an unsustainable holiday which encourages over-consumption. For some who can’t afford purchases, yes, it’s positive - but overwhelmingly, it's terrible for our Planet, People, and Animals.
Five reasons why Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not sustainable:
- The goal for every retailer, online or offline, during these holidays is to get you to buy as much as possible. That leads to overconsumption.
- A lot of this overconsumption ends up going to waste. Research suggests that up to 80% of our Black Friday purchases are thrown away after just one or no uses at all.
- There is greater greenwashing during this time, with “eco-deals” and other make-shift deals to make consumers feel better about buying.
- The packaging, shipping and delivery channels are under a lot of strain during this time, which leads them to emit more greenhouse gases than usual. Plus, the workers are under a great deal of stress.
- In the production process, the huge amount of fast fashion that’s sold also leads workers to work overtime in the leadup to Black Friday.
Five ways to make your Friday green:
- Donate the clothes you don’t use to charities, such as Dress for Success or Oxfam. This way, your clothes can have a new life.
- Go to a green dry-cleaner rather than a “usual” one. Here’s why.
- Don’t wash clothes that aren’t dirty yet, and use something to catch the plastic fibres that come off your clothes in the washing machine. This helps save our water ways and environment from plastic!
- Don’t eat meat today! Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production.
- Buy ethically-sourced and sustainably-made fashion, and items you actually need, which you will treasure forever. Say no to items you’ll cast away next season.
On that note, are you looking for a recycled, ethical, cruelty-free jacket or bag? We’ve got just the collection for you.
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