Black Friday is something that a few years ago in Spain was not talked about. However, now it is quite difficult for someone not to know him. It is a consumer tradition that was born in the United States and that tries to create very aggressive discounts with quite tempting offers for consumers. The main objective is to sell at all costs. It is celebrated every November. Faced with this movement of unbridled consumption prior to the Christmas holidays where it is also consumed, the Green Friday. It is a movement that advocates a different, responsible and sustainable consumption.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you everything you need to know about Green Friday and what its characteristics and objectives are.
What is Green Friday
Green Friday or Green Friday will be celebrated as its rival on November 26 and will promote "slow" parties that are committed to recyclinge, small shops, handicraft gifts or second-hand sales. He simply advocates that it not be consumed that day, just because everything is so cheap. You tend to buy a lot of things that you don't really need, and eventually many of the things you buy end up getting dusty in the closet.
We are aware that in this society there is a growing demand for a sustainable commitment from companies. For example, companies like Ikea have joined this Friday link with a peculiar initiative. If you are from IKEA Family or the IKEA Business Network and you sell a used furniture from this firm between November 15 and 28, 2021, they pay you an extra 50% of the normal buyback price.
We must be aware that we only have one planet and that natural resources are limited. That is why we are working to protect the environment and reduce the waste that is generated that ends up contaminating and depleting raw materials. By facilitating the exchange of second-hand furniture, the carbon footprint that severely affects the climate can be reduced. The amount of carbon dioxide that Atmosphere is poured increases by the manufacture and uses of new products. This is the reason why sustainable consumption is promoted.
Lower consumption
There are other initiatives such as Ecoalf, which is a pioneer in our country for promoting sustainable fashion. It is about not participating in Black Friday, despite doing that that day can give you a significant extra income. The levels of production and consumption that human beings are currently having have irreversible consequences. Annually more than 150.000 million garments are produced and 75% end up in the landfill.
Campaign such as Black Friday areas that promote excessive and unnecessary consumption of the entire population. When you see all the garments with such low prices you have to understand that the quality is very bad, to such a level that it cannot be recycled or reused. All this in a huge impact on the planet such as depleting natural resources and producing greenhouse gases that end up causing climate change.
We simply cannot continue to consume at the rate we do today. We need to start making other decisions with greater consideration for our planet, since is the only one we have. Buying less but better. The population must be encouraged to think twice before making a purchase not only because of the price, but also because of the quality.
Polluting industries and Green Friday
There are numerous industries that are still a long way from reaching a sustainable balance. The fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world. It represents approximately 10% of all global carbon emissions. Almost 20% of wastewater comes from the fashion industry. In addition to the exorbitant consumption of water for the manufacture of the garments and the emissions of carbon dioxide, it is added that their recycling is underdeveloped.
The recycling rate for textiles is very low. Less than 1% of all the material used in the manufacture of clothing worldwide is recycled and used to make new garments. It is mainly due to the fact that textile waste is not separated from the rest. For this reason, more than 75% of the textile products discarded by consumers end up in landfills or incinerated, causing even more contamination.
Sales record
Despite the global pandemic, the excessive consumption of Black Friday could not be stopped. By 2020 American Consumers they spent $ 9.000 billion online. This was 21.6% more than in the previous year.
I hope that Green Friday can make the population aware that consuming for the sake of consuming is not healthy either for our pocket or for the environment. I hope that with this information you can learn more about Green Friday and what its objective is.