Green Friday: the sustainable alternative to Black Friday
Shopping tip and how to make this day even greener
- AutorIn: Chris Kaiser
- Datum:
- Kategorie: Hacks, tips, knowledge
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You’ve probably heard of Black Friday, but have you heard of its cool sibling, Green Friday?
No? No problem, we’ll introduce you to the Friday siblings today. We also reveal sustainable shopping tips and show you how to make your Green Friday even greener.
You may have only come here for one thing, but we’ll give you everything. So, let’s get down to business!
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is the unofficial name for the day after Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the last Thursday in November. While Black Friday heralds the Christmas season, there’s a pretty funny story behind it.
Since the Thanksgiving holiday falls on a Thursday, many employees in the 1950s called in sick the next day. Of course, if the holiday falls on a Thursday, who wouldn’t call in sick the next day to enjoy a four-day weekend? (Pssst…if you see my boss, please tell him I looked really sick the last time you saw me).
In any case, people called in sick to enjoy the long weekend, but also to be able to start their Christmas shopping in time. The stores naturally noticed the increase in sales and therefore started to advertise various offers to attract shoppers into their stores.
And to this day, Black Friday is one of the best sales days of the year.
The dark side of Black Friday
Black Friday is very valuable for many companies. From an ecological point of view, it is Friday with the darkest shades of black due to its current extent.
Black Friday brings with it many problems, but today we will only address one of these negative aspects.
The attractive Black Friday discounts make it difficult to look away, which naturally leads to impulsive purchases that often result in buying things you don’t actually need.
This then leads to waste and unnecessary CO2 emissions. Which is not so good for our planet.
At Click A Tree, however, we prefer to focus on the positive and find solutions to existing problems.
But don’t worry, we’re not telling you to stop shopping and buying presents. Because, as with everything, there is also a cool sustainable solution for Black Friday:
Green Friday enters the scene.
What is Green Friday?
(As I write this, I’m imagining you singing Summer Nights from Grease: “Tell me more, tell me more. How much dough did he spend? Tell me more, tell me more. ” And now that you have a catchy tune, let’s move on to the actual article).
In 2015, the first ideas for Green Friday¹ were formed as a counter-movement to Black Friday. Instead of shopping until they “drop”, Green Friday supporters encourage people to shop more mindfully and sustainably.
It’s as simple as that: Before you buy something, just take a moment to think about whether you really want and need this item.
While the Green Friday movement encourages people to shop more sustainably, they also motivate people to spend more time with their loved ones. Yes, you guessed it, in the green countryside.
So, yes, you can still go shopping (more on special Green Friday deals below). But you can also do much more.
Can I still shop on (Black) Green Friday?
We know how good it feels to buy gifts for yourself and your loved ones. So we would never tell you to stop. It just feels too good.
And to be honest, these Black / Green Friday discounts are making it really hard not to strike.
However, we recommend that you shop sustainably. Which is very easy these days, as many stores follow criteria to offer sustainable products.
And just as there are Black Friday offers, there are also special Green Friday offers (more on this below).
1 trick on how to make Black Friday green
I’m sure you know what happens when you go shopping hungry? You buy much more than you actually wanted.
A similar principle applies to Black Friday: before you enter the (online) store, you should know what you want to buy. This not only saves you time, but also means you only buy the items that are actually on the list.
It’s best to start your shopping list a month before Green Friday and not add anything new to the list a week beforehand. This way you can be sure that you only buy things that you really want.
And while you’re thinking about what to buy: check out our list of 20 sustainable gift ideas – it even includes the perfect surprise for people who say they don’t need anything.
Pro tip: Take 25% of the money you saved on Black / Green Friday deals and tip the letter carrier. Invest 50% in saving the planet and planting trees.
Then use the remaining 25% to treat yourself to a delicious meal or something similar. Enjoy it with a clear conscience, because it costs you nothing. Since it’s the money you’ve saved while doing a lot of good things – therefore you really deserve a good meal.
And look, we can actually learn a thing or two from the British royal family, as Prince Charles’ mantra is “buy once, buy well”². We agree, because this is a really good way to shop sustainably.
How to make your Green Friday even greener
What does it look like? Have we convinced you to switch to Green Friday?
There’s a trick to make this day even greener: plant a tree for every product you buy on Green Friday. By planting trees for your purchases, you are making the planet greener at the same time.
Of course, it’s not just trees that you plant. These trees become part of a self-sufficient ecosystem that creates habitats for animals and at the same time provides safe food sources for the local people.
Every tree counts. Click here and plant trees.
What can I do on Green Friday if I don’t want to shop?
The state of Colorado in the USA has called “Fresh Air Friday” into the world³ – go outside into the forest, to a park, to the mountains, visit a nearby lake or similar.
Green Friday can’t get any greener than when you spend it outside in nature.
If you want to go one step further, go plogging. (Plogging is a Swedish invention and means “jogging and picking up garbage”). If you want, you can also plog without the actual jogging part. Mother Nature will love you for it.
It’s great for you, it’s great for the planet and it’s great for your wallet. (Note: You can always tip the letter carrier next time. And you can plant another tree now).
Thank you for being here and joining the Green Friday movement, together we are making the planet a better place.
When is Green Friday?
Green Friday 2022 is like Black Friday 2022 on November 25.
What can you do now?
If you like the idea of Green Friday, share this article with your friends and acquaintances so that they can find out about this cool movement too.
Alone we are strong, together we are even stronger. And together we can save the planet.
Sources:
¹https://matadornetwork.com/change/age-black-friday-ending-era-green-friday-just-begun/