Black Friday is nothing more than Bleak Friday when it comes to environment

Are you Black Friday ready? Yes, it’s time for that artificial sales event concocted by brands and retailers to get us to panic buy things we don’t really need at sometimes-questionable discounts.
“I got a Dyson but I don’t even know if I want it. I just picked it up” – quotes like this from 56-year-old Louise Haggerty, who told The Guardian in 2014 about her 1am trip to the Black Friday sale at a 24-hour Sainsbury’s in northeast London, have come to typify the shopping frenzy that takes place on the Friday after America’s Thanksgiving. This year, that’s Friday, November 29th.
Frustrated at not being able to nab the telly she wanted, Haggerty picked up the nearest thing. “I don’t even know how much it costs. I just wanted something.”
We’re not immune here, either. Three out of five Irish shoppers are motivated by discounts, according to Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) research from Black Friday last year.
You can expect some melee in suburban retail parks this year as punters push for things such as discounted electrical goods and sports gear. In the last decade however, much of the madness has moved online. AIB customers spent €95 million online on Black Friday 2022, or €66,000 every minute, according to research published by the bank.
[ Almost three-quarters of consumers expect Christmas to be more expensive this yearOpens in new window ]
There were over 900,000 online card transactions on Black Friday 2022, the bank reported, making it the busiest day for Irish online spend ever, it said.
The busiest hours for spending were between 10am and 11am on the day, with over 59,000 transactions in that hour, AIB said. Westmeath shoppers had the biggest Black Friday year-on-year spending increase.
But Black Friday is Bleak Friday when it comes to the environment. Yes, some shoppers wait all year for Black Friday to make necessary purchases they would otherwise not be able to afford, but others are enticed to buy things they otherwise wouldn’t.
“Discounts” limited to a single day foster panic buying.
Some 15 per cent of fashion items bought during Black Friday will be returned, according to clothing sizing company, True Fit. Purchases made during that time will be responsible for millions of tons of CO² emissions, contributing to climate change.
Some brands are twigging the discordance between inciting unbridled consumerism and their sustainability credentials.
Last year, UK fashion label Rixo explained it did not partake in any excessive sales.
“We’re excited to say that we won’t be participating in Black Friday this year. As female founders with no investors, we have the power to make these decisions and are proud to do so … we won’t follow mass consumer trends and be forced into markdowns,” said co-founders Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey.
Leisure brand Patagonia has gone further, this year calling Black Friday “a frenzy of deep discounts, limited-time offers and last-ditch efforts urging you to ‘save’ by spending more. But we believe a healthy planet (and economy) needs a better model than buying and selling more and more things people don’t need.”
Treat the things you already own better, learn how to repair what’s broken, and buy new things that will last, only when we need them, Patagonia advises.
[ Black Friday: Yes there are bargains, but don’t be fooledOpens in new window ]
Men in Ireland planned to spend more on Black Friday than women last year, with 29 per cent of them and just 18 per cent of women expecting to spend at least €500, according to the CCPC research. Of those likely to shop in the sales, 48 per cent were planning to buy electronics, with laptops, tablets, phones and TVs featuring heavily.
Some 65 per cent of those aged 15 to 24 planned on shopping, and more than half of them said they trusted that advertised discounts are accurate. Not all discounts are real, however, and every year some retailers will hike the price up for a few days, then advertise a massive discount based on that artificial charge.
Opting out this Black Friday will save you money, and do something towards saving the planet. If you feel the itch to spend, spend it on repairing or altering something, or buying second-hand. If you still want to shop, then make it a Green Friday by spending on sustainable and ethical brands. But before you click “Buy”, ask yourself, “Do I really need this?”