Buy Nothing Day Vs Green Friday
It would seem we’ve hit a conundrum when it comes to awareness days, with two that I fully support falling on the exact same day, but asking us to do two totally different things. Both Buy Nothing Day and Green Friday are relevant and provide much-needed awareness to remind us of how much we buy, where our money goes and where our purchases will end up! Both days have their merits and offer us a chance to reflect.
Let’s start with a newer awareness day to hit the UK: Buy Nothing Day
Buy Nothing Day
Buy Nothing Day started in Canada in 1992 as a day to acknowledge overconsumption. In 1997 It was moved to the day after Thanksgiving, which is 4th Thursday in November. That day is widely known as #blackfriday one of the busiest shopping dates in the US.
Ultimately my take on it all is that it’s a day to remind us to take stock of our spending habits, look at all of the things we’ve acquired, and maybe never used. In addition, this day is a great way to review our finances and think about what we spend, and why.
Having a Buy Nothing Day is a great opportunity to reflect on our everyday actions, maybe if we can all take 1-day a year to slow down we may start to notice that we are actually supporting businesses that are in conflict with the things we care about.
So, Buy Nothing Day, it’s a day to breathe, reflect and give the debit card a rest.
Now, let’s move onto the awareness day that is gathering momentum: Green Friday
Green Friday
Over the past few years, in the UK we’ve started to see more businesses welcome Green Friday which is a counter-movement to Black Friday highlighting more conscious shopping instead. Some businesses are refusing to participate in the chaos that is Black Friday (and in some cases, we are seeing this madness span across an entire week) and instead opt-in for a Green Friday. Some businesses are boycotting Black Friday by shutting their doors entirely for 1-day, like Elvis and Kresse.
Others are donating a % of profits to charitable causes or simply being transparent and saying they cannot afford to compete with the likes of Amazon, ASOS and larger retailer chains.
And finally, how can I not mention Black Friday?
Black Friday
Many large retailers rely on this ridiculous holiday to shift stock cheaply and quickly. Many also can afford to offer these big discounts, and contrary to what we may think, Black Friday is a retail selling strategy that many large retailers plan for. We think we’re getting a great deal, and in some cases maybe we do, but we’re also a pawn in their bigger plan to get us to spend our hard-earned cash on things we don’t really need, and that probably won’t last long either.
The trouble with Black Friday is that it’s totally unsustainable. Almost 80% of items that get purchased on impulse end up being disregarded. Then we have to consider where these items will end up and also account for the impact on the environment for all of the ‘postage’ and ‘transportation’. Let’s not even talk about returns…
A report by Green Alliance found that 80% of items purchased during Black Friday deals (of which half are electronics and a 3rd are clothes) will end up either in landfill, incineration or barely get recycled, after a very short life.
Every year, we add to this waste, buy engaging in more black Friday frenzied shopping. The real problem I have with it is that the guilt and shame are placed upon us, the consumer. We tell people that mindless consumption is bad, not recycling is bad. But where is the accountability for the businesses that churn out all of the products? Where is the government legislation to prevent unethical marketing designed to coerce people to spend before the Bargain Offers expires — and you’ll have to wait another year, or worst still miss out entirely…
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