Opinion: Any company promoting Black Friday cannot be truly sustainable

By Anders Lorenzen

Today the frenzy consumerist festival Black Friday officially begins, that to begin with was held on the last Friday of November, and has now grown far beyond this with some brands having even extended it to a full week. It is also the beginning of the mass overconsumption agenda that after Friday truly leads into the Christmas overconsumption. This frenzy does not stop before early January when people realise they have spent all their money and lived beyond their means. 

Let’s be clear about what Black Friday is; it is all about profit and making people feel guilty about not buying enough products, and it is products that in most instances people don’t need, will hurt their pockets and will also hurt the planet. It is driven by shameless advertising and marketing that literally every single brand is conned into and it is bringing the worst out in humanity, greedy and desperate behaviour is a common scene across the world and it offers absolutely no societal benefits, the only benefits are to the bank balance of brands.

Unfortunately it also clearly identifies how much greenwash there is out there and divides the companies that are truly sustainable and understand the mindset that captivates sustainability. 

Indirect greenwashing

A large number of companies would throughout the year proudly declare how sustainable and green they are, because of the efforts they have made in producing more sustainable products with lower carbon footprints and fewer environmentally damaging materials as well as policies that support workers. While they must be applauded if they have generally made strides and improvements in these areas, they take a very narrow-minded view that highlights they do not understand what sustainability really is.

One of the important strands of sustainability is absolutely to reduce the carbon footprint of the manufacturing of products, reduce harmful chemicals that pollute the environment, eradicate the use of harmful materials, reuse as many materials as possible, and ensure the welfare of animals and workers alike. Another critical element of sustainability is encouraging responsible consumption, having a repair policy, making long-lasting materials and encouraging buying second-hand products. There’s an indirect high-carbon footprint around mass consumerism such as the emissions of travel miles as the product travels from manufacturer to warehouse and to consumer.

Therefore a brand taking part in promoting Black Friday cannot be deemed truly sustainable at all; its hypocrisy must be called out.

If you strive to be a responsible consumer the very best thing you can do is to not take part in any Black Friday promotions. The second-best thing you can do is to seriously consider if you should be buying products from any brands promoting Black Friday.