Black Friday doesn’t have to be a natural disaster. These 5 types do things differently
Black Friday turns shopping into a blood sport. Even before the Thanksgiving meal is over, Americans are scanning brands’ websites for promotions. The day itself is the biggest day of the year for in-person shopping, as people brave the crowds to find deals.
But this day is also a disaster in the world. Another study, from the University of Leeds, found that 80% of Black Friday purchases are thrown away after little use. And those are the things that people keep. Consumers return half of all gifts, and retailers throw away a quarter of the returns, resulting in six billion pounds of brand new items in landfills. Most of the discarded products and returns are shipped to Africa and South America, where local governments struggle to manage the huge mountains of waste. For example, 15 million clothes arrive at the Kantamanto Market in Ghana every week, and 40% of them end up as waste.
This is something that Liz Ricketts has seen for herself. He is the founder and executive director of the Or Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Ghana that calls on companies to disclose their annual production volumes. “Each week, our team removes an average of 20 tons of discarded used clothing from a small area on the beach,” he said. “This is the place where many of our team members grew up playing football and seeing sea turtles lay their eggs. Garbage litter has made this impossible, and fishermen catch more clothing and other plastic waste than fish.”
Many brands feel pressured to give in to the hype and offer deals that will force consumers to open their wallets. But a brave few used the day to reverse the plan. Here are the brands you can support if you want to take a responsible approach to Black Friday.
Vestiaire Collective
To bring awareness to the wasteful nature of fashion, the Or Foundation has partnered with luxury resale site Vestiaire Collective to offer a collection of upcycled clothing and accessories created by Ghanaian designers. Given the billions of clothes now circulating in Ghana, there are now 30,000 people working in the market to repair, recycle and repair clothes. Most of the pieces they make are even better than the original dress. “Ghana has a rich tradition of fine tailoring—most people here know their measurements and know how to sew, so we also wanted to challenge traditional definitions of luxury products, including thinking that luxury is associated with certain places like Italy, Spain, or France, or with materials like leather or silk,” Ricketts said.
friday
Freitag is a Zurich-based brand that makes brands with advanced durable materials, including truck tarpaulins and bicycle inner tubes. It has a religious status among designers, who love the functionality and indestructibility of the final products.
Freitag wants to take a stand against mindless mass consumption. It closes both its brick and mortar, as well as its online stores, on Black Friday. Instead, it offers what it calls Shopping Without Any Fees, or SWAP, where it encourages customers to exchange wallets. It is designed to be a solution for people who are tired of their existing bag and want something new and different, without adding to the waste.
REI
Since 2015, outdoor gear store REI has closed its doors on Black Friday, encouraging its employees to take the day off and get outdoors—all while getting paid. They urge their customers to do the same. While the goal is to help curb unnecessary consumer spending, REI also makes a broader point: time is a valuable resource. We can reclaim Black Friday as a day to enjoy time in nature with our loved ones, rather than buying products we don’t need or want.
When REI first chose to skip Black Friday, it caused quite a stir. More than 170 third-party companies, non-profits, and organizations have decided to close their doors and spend Black Friday naturally; 1.4 million people also chose to follow. But some of the energy surrounding this effort has waned. Still, REI continues its tradition, and encourages others to do the same.
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Everlane
Everlane is participating in Black Friday. It is currently offering up to 50% off on most items on the site. However, 10 years ago, he created the Everlane Black Friday Fund to raise money for good causes. This year, it is partnering with Fibershed, a non-profit organization promoting renewable agriculture in the United States. It will contribute $50,000 to grow 170,000 pounds of climate-friendly cotton, across six farms, covering 120 acres of land.
ASK
Swedish clothing stable Asket is known for its deliberate approach to clothing design. It spends years developing new products that are meant to last and resist trends. In keeping with this ethos, there are no new clothes available for sale at your online store, or brick and mortar stores, on Black Friday. Instead, customers can get free repairs on their clothes at the store, or order spare parts for their existing clothes.
