With the return of “Black Friday”, today November 25 , it is difficult not to be tempted by the offers, but most of the time these offers are not as juicy as they seem. In addition, "Black Friday" is a consumer activity that harms the environment and penalizes ethical brands and small businesses. You want to know why? Below we give you 5 reasons why NOT to buy during "Black Friday" and their weighty arguments.
1.- Great deals are not always great
During Black Friday stores attract with discounts and promotions that seem incredible. However, not all the offers are real, since if we compare them with the prices of previous months we can discover that: in many stores, prices rise a few weeks before Black Friday to then present the "supposed" discount. This practice encourages unfair competition, since companies that do use their promotions responsibly while respecting the consumer are harmed.
2.- “Black Friday” promotes compulsive buying and aggravates the climate crisis
Black Friday aims to stimulate consumption and empty the warehouses of retailers. On that day, many people around the world buy things that they often don't need, solely because there is a deep discount on the product, which favors the throwaway culture.
In this way, it contributes to CO2 emissions, which cause climate change, and the compulsive purchase of electronic products that have a scheduled obsolescence, generating tons of electronic waste. In addition, large amounts of waste from plastic packaging, cardboard, bags, among others, are generated.
3.- Unfair competition is generated with small businesses
Producing in an ethical and sustainable way requires a higher investment, therefore, small companies and responsible brands cannot fight with the prices and deep discounts of multinationals. Small businesses do not have a large profit margin and this causes an imbalance, since many of these businesses have to undersell their products.
Small brands tend to have the same collection throughout the season and the most consistent thing to do would be to focus the sales in January and July, since that is when they really need to get rid of stock.
4.- Exploitation and precarious jobs are encouraged
For large companies to cut their prices so drastically, they make large cuts in their costs, therefore, many precarious temporary jobs are created and there is a violation of the rights of the people who participate in production. Hence the importance of buying products with ethical certificates such as Fair Trade, since they respect the living wage and the maximum hours to work.
The brands have distorted the perception of the value of the products and these low prices are only possible with poor working conditions in the factories. This makes brands the first responsible for the education that the consumer receives. which harms ethical brands that have a higher retail price.
An ethical alternative to "Black Friday" is to participate in "Green Friday" an initiative created by environmental groups, NGOs, retail companies and sustainable brands that aim to create an ethical and sustainable alternative to "Black Friday". The idea is to use this date in favor of the planet and the actions they promote are: do not buy anything that day; only buy in sustainable stores; limit consumption as much as possible; and avoid buying products compulsively. And you, what are you going to do?
