14 Better Approaches instead of Buying A lot on Black Friday

Despite the many problems with Black Friday, I wanted remind you that it’s not just your responsibility to consume and waste too much. It is also the responsibility of the brands!

True sustainability brands pay fair wages to their suppliers, treat their workers fairly, make their products ethically and reduce their environmental impact throughout their product’s lifecycles. This is why many sustainable brands won’t participate in Black Friday. Many people don’t like the idea of putting pressure on customers to buy, even though it may be costly for their businesses.

Several of my favorite sustainable brands are also using the event to do good. Here are 14 other ways to use Black Friday.

Amazon Pay

This isn’t an Amazon campaign. It’s a petition to improve the pay and welfare of Amazon workers. Amazon has been known to profit from Cyber Monday and Black Friday in bucket-loads. It is also known for its poor working conditions, low wages, and other problems. There are many other issues, including tax avoidance and waste. However, Amazon employees will be striking this Black Friday to demand better. Make a petition at makeamazonpay.com

Baukjen Logo

Baukjen and Isabella Oliver, an ethical womenswear brand, have increased their charitable donations from 10% to 100%. It’s wonderful to see them committing to doing more for Black Friday than to promoting overconsumption and discounts.

Birdsong Black Transparent Friday

Birdsong has always been open about their disapproval of Black Friday. This week, the ‘dress in protest brand’ shared their initiative: Black Transparent Friday. Here they share their financial information regarding their garments and allow you to choose between a 15% or 25% discount. This is a refreshing approach that makes me wish more brands would share financial information (I mean, how does SHEIN do this?)

Brothers, We Stand – Learn and Stand for Change

Brothers, We Stand, an ethical menswear retailer, has decided to boycott Black Friday. You won’t be able to shop on their site that day. Instead, you will be presented with three options: Stand, Learn, or Change. You can learn more about the issues of overconsumption by clicking Learn. Stand is where you can ask Amazon, Next and Nike to pay their employees. You can also learn how to shop sustainably throughout the year with Change. Love love love it.

Buy me once – Ten Things that Last

Buy Me Once is a lifestyle brand that focuses on longevity. They were a pleasure to work with a few years back, and I still refer to their wise advice when buying items for my home. Their solution for Black Friday was to ask customers to vote on Ten Things That Last, which are their most desired items. Then they would offer discounts throughout the weekend. The brand’s ethos of valuing long-lasting products and looking after them throughout their lives is maintained by this method.

Are You Really Going to Need Colorful Standard?

Colorful Standard, a Danish fashion brand, asks their customers the most outrageous question on Black Friday: Do you really need all this? The brand, which seems almost comical in its approach to overconsumption, highlights the problem while also claiming that they are more sustainable and self-aware than others. Although I don’t know the brand well, I will look into them in the near future as I like the goals they have.

Fashion Revolution – Black Friday

Fashion Revolution and cosigning brands such as Sabinna, People Tree, and YOU Underwear ask shoppers to “Say No to the Sales” and instead ask their favorite high street brands:

“Hello @fashionbrand, this Black Friday, I would like to know how your operation is taking responsibility for fashion waste and combating overproduction. Please tell me #WhatsInMyClothes #WhoMadeMyClothes?”

Fashion Revolution is doing great work and I love how they encourage transparency in supply chain management for fashion brands. Fashion Revolution Creative Director and Co-Founder Orsola de Castro also dislikes Black Friday. It’s another way for citizens to believe they are looking for a bargain when in reality they are actually hunting for an illusion. Black Friday is all about the rush, speed, and compulsion. Fashion Revolution asks you to be conscientious and to shop with purpose.

Finisterre Foundation Logo

Finisterre*, an ethical outdoor brand, is launching the Finisterre Foundation CIC instead of this year’s largest shopping weekend. Finisterre’s charitable arm will work to “remove the barriers to ocean access so that everyone can benefit from its transformative power by encouraging, empowering and enabling people connect with the sea to improve physical and mental well-being.” This is a great way to show the brand’s ongoing efforts to put people and the planet first, rather than profit.

Lora Gene – Black Friday Reimagined

Lora Gene, an ethical fashion brand, is continuing to follow its maker-first approach. It promises 20% off its clothing range and 20% more wages for its workers. Lora Gene is investing in its supply chain and not just philanthropy. I have an underlying cynicism about brands that donate to charities for a specific period.

Luxe Collective – F*ck Fast Fashion Tote bags

Luxe Collective, a luxury pre-owned fashion marketplace, will spend this weekend educating their customers and audience about fast fashion and offering cheeky F*ck Fast Fashion bags for pre-loved items on their website.

Mosaik – Access to Education Is A Human Right

Mosaik, a refugee charity, is continuing their Black Friday campaign with a shop small. Their shop has many great gifts. I featured them in my Gift Guide for Refugees last year. These gifts are a must-have for Black Friday gift shopping.

Black Friday Sale at Organic Basics

Organic Basics is my favourite basics brand and will offer up to 40% off eco-friendly activewear, underwear, and essentials. They also donate a square EUR10 to WWF to support their Regenerative Organic Cotton Pilot project with every sale.

Rowdy Kind – We are not discounting, but we are donating!

Rowdy Kind, a sustainable skincare brand, will instead celebrate the Young Minds Charity’s contribution in their Gifts with Purpose collection. According to Kate Tillbury, founder of Rowdy Kind: “This will feel so much more than a sale.”

Wilton – Bright Saturday

Wilton, an eco-friendly cleaning brand is changing the Friday name to Bright Friday. They will donate 20% of every order and bottles of laundry liquid to The Felix Project in London, an organisation that distributes food waste. It is great to see small, environmentally-minded organizations working together to improve sales and create better circular processes.