A few years ago in Spain nobody talked about the Black Friday, but now it is difficult for someone to know this consumer tradition that was born in the United States and who bombard us with aggressive discounts and tempting offers every month of November.
But in front of unfortunate consumption prior to the Christmas holidays that accompanies black Friday, a movement that advocates for a different consumption, more responsible and sustainable.
And, therefore, greener.
The Green Friday will be held as its antagonist on November 26 and promotes a ‘Slow’ parties, in which you are going to buy, betting on recycling, small trade, handmade gifts or second-hand sales.
Or directly you do not consume that day simply because it is cheap and you finish with the card shooting and with mountains of things you really do not need and that you will end up taking dust in a corner of your closet.
Aware that more and more society demands a sustainable commitment to companies, companies such as IKEA have added one more year to the Green Friday with a peculiar initiative.
If you are from IKEA Family or the IKEA network for companies and you sell a used furniture from this signature between November 15 and 28, 2021, you pay 50% extra of the normal repurchase price.
And if you belong to the club you can take your furniture to your IKEA store until January 31, 2022 maintaining that 50% extra.
You will receive a reimbursement card that you can spend within a year of one year.
Oonica Chao, Director of Sustainability, expanding a little what is already mentioned in the note itself:
“We are very aware that we have a single planet and that resources are limited, that is why we work day by day to protect it and reduce the waste we generate. By facilitating the exchange of second-hand furniture, we can reduce the climate mark that is derived
From the manufacture and use of new products and present an alternative of sustainable consumption to our customers, offering them a service that positively impacts on the planet and people. This campaign is just one step more on the road undertaken by IKEA to be a company 100
% Circular and Climatically Positive for 2030, “says Monica Chao, Director of Sustainability of IKEA in Spain.
From Vodafone, also bet on recycling this day with discounts of up to 200 euros in new smartphones when selling your old terminal to give you a second life through the re-premiere program.
A program focused on the reuse and / or recycling of smartphones to reduce the impact on our planet.
In addition to these initiatives, other companies such as Ecoalf, a pioneer in our Sustainable Fashion country, go a step further and directly do not participate in the Black Friday, although this day could report some important extra income. “We are at a level of production and consumption that has irreversible consequences … more than 150,000 millions of garments are produced and 75% ends up in the landfill. Campaigns like Black Friday drive this disproportionate and unnecessary consumption. In addition, when You see garments with such low prices you have to understand that quality is very bad, so bad that you can not recycle or reuse … All this has a huge impact on the planet by exhausting our natural resources and producing greenhouse gases. We have to stop this consumption and, therefore, from Ecoalf we launched the campaign against Black Friday under the slogan breaks the habit, not the planet, giving alternatives to this consumption as donate, give, repair, recycle … once again We collaborate with the poet Tom Foolerey to raise awareness and inspire citizens and future generations. We have to act and we have to do it together, “Defend Carolina Álvarez Ossorio, responsible for Marketing and Communication from Ecoalf, in statements to the world.
Actions that share designers such as Christopher Reaburn that three years ago took the drastic decision to close their store in East London and its website during the Black Friday to show its front opposition to this excessive and impulsive consumption.
“We disable the section of the store of our website and close our BLACK FRIDAY store. We just can not continue consuming the way we do it, we need to start making decisions considered; Buying less but better. Therefore, we encourage you
To think twice before making a purchase today. Even the small steps will help and it is important that we all work together, “said the designer in his Instagram.
But the fashion industry is still far from achieving a sustainable balance.
In fact, it is the second most polluting in the world: it represents approximately 10% of global carbon emissions and almost 20% of wastewater, in accordance with the latest data offered at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (
UNCTAD)
In addition, apart from the exorbitant water consumption for the manufacture of garments and CO2 emissions, recycling is underdeveloped.
The recycling rate of the textile residue is still very low.
Less than 1% of the material used in the manufacture of clothing worldwide is recycled and used to prepare new garments, according to an initiative fiber circular study, mainly, that textile residues do not separate from
Rest, so more than 75% of the textile products discarded by consumers ends in landfills or incinerates, causing even more pollution.
Despite these alarming data that should be reflected, the Black Friday and its cousins – the Amazon Prime Day (13 and 14 October), the Cyber Monday (November 30), the Cyber Week (the week following Thanksgiving
) or Single Day (November 11), very popular in China – still enjoy excellent health.
In fact, neither the pandemic has managed to eclipse its spectacular results.
Sales have only jumped from channel: from off-line to online.
According to an investigation by Adobe Digital Insights, on black Friday of 2020 US consumers spent $ 9,000 million online (7,950 million euros), 21.6% more than in 2019. “The second largest spending day online
In the history of the United States, “only behind the Cyber Monday of 2020, the report stood out.
In Spain, according to the data presented by Salesforce, based on the activity of 1,000 million buyers in 40 countries, monitored through Commerce Cloud, online orders increased by 27% over last year.
Globally, the increase was 30%.
In addition, the average spending was 83.45 euros, compared to 77.16 euros of 2019. And technology and sport led purchases, with 30.7% and 19% of spending respectively.
