Black Friday, Black Friday Weekend, Black Friday Week. I am against Black Friday and think that Haglöfs’ Green Friday is a brilliant answer. Please keep reading!
Like many people, I am deeply concerned about global warming, nitrogen and PFAS. More and more people are taking part in environmental protests. High school students shout for attention for their future during high school climate strikes. We seem to understand more and more that we can do with a little less consumption. And then … it’s Black Friday. Products are offered with extreme discounts and we start to consume massively. I do not participate in Black Friday and find Green Friday from the Swedish outdoor brand Haglöfs a beautiful statement.
Double prices
Instead of participating in this global discount day, Haglöfs doubles the price of all clothing and equipment in their own stores. The income from the Haglöfs stores is donated on this day to Naturskyddsföreningen (the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation). The brand will also close its worldwide webshop on 29 November. Haglöfs calls this day Green Friday. Haglöfs is already doing this for the fourth year in a row and is taking a stand against the Black Friday phenomenon.
“As an outdoor brand, we are deeply concerned about nature and we are aware that buying things you don’t need just because it’s offered for a bargain price is not good. By taking a stand against Black Friday, we want to encourage our customers to think twice before buying a new product. Because who really pays for a bargain when products cost less than production costs, “said Carsten Unbehaun, CEO of Haglöfs.
Not a sale
I think this is a super statement from Haglöfs, but unfortunately for most of us all these own Haglöfs stores are in Sweden. Awkward – regrettably – is the fact that on the official Haglöfs website Green Friday is not mentioned and doesn’t lead to any page if I search for it. Despite this I pay attention to this because Haglöfs’ statement deserves to be followed. Certainly if you know that Black Friday once started as a sale day, but that there is now a lot being produced especially for this discount day. It’s not a sale; its just more, more, more. On the other hand, I do understand some people. Black Friday is certainly a nice day for people who have less to spend. Whether you participate or not, be aware of your own actions.
Black Friday, Green Friday?
Producers and stores should also be aware of their actions and can do something themselves and it does not have to be as extreme as Haglöfs. Donating a day’s profit or a percentage of it to a nature charity would also matter. In addition, it may be an additional reason to make your purchase as a consumer on that very day. Do we make Black Friday, Green Friday?
And if you still want to buy stuff on Black Friday, you can also make it Green yourself… Try to buy something second-hand, donate to a nature charity or plant a tree. If we spend all the discount that we receive on nature development, then perhaps something good will come out of this black day.
Of course I am curious what you think of Black Friday: so please share your thoughts in a comment or – if you prefer to do it privately – in an email to gijs@outdoorguru.com
More on Haglöfs’ and sustainabily here and on the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation here.
