Black Fri-Nay!

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day, which is the last Thursday of November. Most people in the US get the day off after thanksgiving, and what better way to spend

It's this time of the year companies turned their red numbers

(which indicates loss) into black numbers (which indicates profit) and that is how Black Friday originated.

Nowadays, Black Friday is one of the most profitable days of the year - for big retailers with the craziest discounts

Sorry to disappoint you, but Black Friday is NOT meant to treat you, the (loyal) customer. One way or another, you pay the full amount anyway. Let me make it a bit clearer for you/ Let me paint the picture: 

Physiological 

Although it seems like the brand ‘loses money’ by putting an item on sale and not getting the full amount, they could actually still win by persuading you to buy something else. Something you normally wouldn’t buy, but you do it anyway because you feel like you’ve already saved money with your first purchased item that was on sale. Plus, you might even become a regular customer afterwards. 

Price discrimination 

They have a team of experts working out different profiles. By setting a specific price for a specific product they narrow down the type of people buying the product. This way they can predict what other stuff you are likely to buy and automatically drive you into doing so with all sorts of tricks

Overpricing

It could also be that you’ve been paying too much during the year, which is called ‘overpricing’. It seems like you’re getting a huge discount, but that is not the case when they actually overprice during the rest of the year. 

Getting rid of old stock

Some stores just take out old stock items, items they can’t get rid of, so they put it on sale and pretend you’re getting a good deal, there ain’t no fooling you now! Altho we do believe stuff should never go to waste, big companies will never optimize their stock management this way. This is creating even more waste in the end

Small and local businesses are affected during this time of the year. “Why is that?”, you might ask.

Consumers stop purchasing some time before because they know big discounts are coming up. But during this time of the year with the holiday season coming up, small businesses should be thriving. Instead, those big multinationals are stealing customers by luring them with big a$$ discounts. Meanwhile, smaller businesses barely generate any revenue because there is no way they can compete with those ridiculous prices.

#supportyourlocals

Something you might not know… every year deaths occur during Black Friday.

People. Get. Crazy.

This one year, a Wal-Mart employee got killed by an out-of-control crowd when he was opening the store. Customers pushed and shoved so hard, he fell on the ground and got trampled. Others had to go to the hospital due to injuries whilst trying to help him.

In a total span of 12 years, 12 deaths and 117 injuries have been reported. How is something like this even possible? This really saddens us to the depth of our hearts.

Overconsumption, specially on days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, contributes to the current climate issues. Let’s follow the lead of some brands who are trying to boycott Black Friday and raise more awareness! Some examples: Patagonia with its ‘Don’t wear this Jacket’ and ‘Worn Wear’ campaign, urging people to reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair their items instead of buying something new.

Another big company, Diciem – the parent company of The Ordinary, is putting their focus on shopping slowly. Their approach? Battling impulse buying and hyperconsumerism by closing their stores and website on Black Friday. On top of that they want to educate consumers about skincare and how to be more mindful. Skincare purchases shouldn’t be based on rushed, impulsive decisions. Overall, we should change people’s mindset regarding “new new new”. Statistics show that the high which is experienced from shopping, wears off in a day. So, let’s focus on sustainability and circulation instead.

Most stuff that is impulsively purchased will more likely end up barely being used or end up in landfill, pollution our beautiful plane

It started off as Black Friday but along the way, Cyber Monday popped up which was originally intended as an answer to Black Friday for online shops only. In a short period of time, that changed as well. Online shops started to participate in Black Friday and visa versa.

. Oh wait, they didn’t stop there. Now there’s also something called ‘Pre-Black Friday’. What’s next? Let me guess, Sale Saturday for people who missed out on Black Friday? Let’s draw a line people!

It started off as Black Friday but along the way, Cyber Monday popped up which was originally intended as an answer to Black Friday for online shops only. In a short period of time, that changed as well. Online shops started to participate in Black Friday and visa versa.

. Oh wait, they didn’t stop there. Now there’s also something called ‘Pre-Black Friday’. What’s next? Let me guess, Sale Saturday for people who missed out on Black Friday? Let’s draw a line people!

We believe that turning this Black Friday into a Green Friday is a great way to point out the importance of buying sustainable items & supporting sustainable brands.

We have done so the past two years, yet realized it is still keeping the tradition and expectations alive. Customers expect discounts on the site, and by having a green Friday, we would answer them. We would just do so now

 calling it a 'green' instead of 'black' Friday. 

We have a reward program for our loyal  & new customers the whole year around!    

Of course discounts will happen but just not when it is keeping a tradition alive that hurts individuals, small businesses & our beautiful planet

So we have shown you 7 reasons why you shouldn’t be supporting Black Friday, but believe us when we say, there are soooo many more. Let’s stop giving multinationals power, by taking back control and choosing NOT to participate.