Say NO to Black Friday

WE'RE SAYING NO TO BLACK FRIDAY

The It's that time of the year again, Black Friday is fast approaching and the world goes crazy for the 'best deals of the year'. There's huge sales all over the place, mad price drops, colour ways and product lines you've never seen before.. is it all a bit too good to be true? 

Indulging in a frenzy which encourages and effectively celebrates mass consumerism and throwaway culture is against everything we believe in.

So it will come as no surprise, here at dewerstone, Black Friday just isn't for us.

 

THE SAD TRUTH

There's no sugar coating it, Black Friday is bad news for the planet and people. Like any event that involves spending money on things you don't need, be it takeaway cups or cut price toasters, if you times that by 100'000 or whatever the crazy black Friday stats are.. 

Black Friday is a recipe for disaster for the people that have to make the products and the planet that has to bear the price of the products creation.

When brands 'cut prices' to a historically low level, it's more the case that these promotions are carried on from the previous year or simply old stock looking to go - but now with that alluring 'one day special' discount!

An article carried out by Which in 2022 detailed:

"98% of the discounts advertised the previous year - including promotions on popular tech, home and personal care products - were available for the same price or cheaper in the six months after the sales. And, whilst you might expect some products to fall in price over time, we also found that 85% of the items had also been the same price or cheaper in the six months before Black Friday."

That's a pretty hefty percentage, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Did you know brands specifically make for sale? We all know that most of the things at TK Maxx have never actually been anywhere at full price. Shocking right? Well, there's a real element of that going on with some Black Friday models. Stuff that no one needs, that no one needed to make.

 

FAST FASHION, BIG WASTE

The fashion industry, and especially fast fashion, is already polluting and exploitative as it is. Making more, to sell more, is making it worse.

Last year fast fashion giants Pretty Little Thing discounted items by up to 99%, meaning some items of clothing were going for as little as 4p. This doesn't just enable throw away culture, it celebrates it.

Research from Green Alliance found that 80% of everything bought during Black Friday sales will end up either in landfill, incineration or at best, low quality recycling – often after a short life.

MAKING SPACE?

We've all seen it, the space making sale, the clearing out of the warehouse shelves to make more space to bring in more gear.. it's a vicious cycle. 

WHAT ABOUT MAKING LESS???

This is where you have to question where a brands responsibility lies, our guess, it is to their shareholders. The profiteering bottom line. If you didn't have to turn it over and make more money, it probably wouldn't be being pumped out in a sale.

That said, there's a difference between having a few lines in sale and having almost an equal amount of current and sale products. If a brand has a high current / sale ratio, it's difficult to argue they are not contributing to excess product supply and fast fashion culture. 

As businesses we need to be better than that. 

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Don't buy in to it. As buyers and customers, we can choose to not play up to it. There's nothing like seeing a dip in your year on year sales to make a brand really think about their approach to their strategy.

When it's all about money, money is the only thing that talks.

Don't feed the beast that is fast fashion. Buying in to Black Friday sales encourages these brands and businesses to carry on with their practices.

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT GREEN FRIDAY?

We've got thoughts on that too.

 

WHAT ARE DEWERSTONE DOING FOR BLACK FRIDAY?

Well we're going hiking for the day and we'll focus on doing good every day of the year, we've more info on all that here.