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5 Minutes Friday Fuel:1

  • SENA TÜRKER
  • Nov 10, 2025
  • 2 min read

BLACK FRIDAY AND SUSTAINABILITY: THE HUGE SALES THAT ARE COSTING THE PLANET

 

As we could not break the perception of discount imposed on all of us, we also started to adopt the habits of cultures that do not belong to us. It's not very long, maybe it has become more popular in the last 5 years. So, what was the starting point? It refers to the Friday following the fourth Thursday of November, which is Thanksgiving in the United States (USA), and since 1952, the first day of the Christmas shopping season is considered and discounts begin.

 

How did it become such a big trend?

 

Since people saw this as an “opportunity” and marketing communication led people to this perception of profit, this avalanche-growing trend entered our lives.

 

Why Black Friday is unsustainable ?

 

The perception of discount puts people on this path that seems like an opportunity they will never see again.

 

Buying different sizes of the same product and thinking that they can return them anytime and anyway increases the number of shopping.

 

As a result, we get a discounted product, but at what cost?

 

In the US, this effect was measured: 15 million tonnes of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere due to returns alone, that adds up to the equivalent of emissions from three million cars over a year.

This doesn’t just mean we’re pumping more greenhouse effect gases into the air, but the extra waste we generate from Black Friday is significant, too. Cardboard boxes, bags, packaging, etc. Put simply, there’s more trash, because we’re also buying the packaging.

 

 

 

Is there an alternative ?

 

We have a better choice in this matter, as in all other matters.

 

Here are sustainable days to explore : Green Friday, Giving Tuesday, Buy Nothing Day

 

Brands who stood against black Friday

 

This much ecological damage will be doomed to come to an end with economic constraints and unsustainable trends. Which brands will survive when this happens? The fact that brands are already keeping up with these trends and developing different perspectives draws attention especially in the field of fashion.

 

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, with steep discounts and huge sales. But a growing number of brands are branching away from typical Black Friday sales and using the day to take a stand, make a difference, or connect with customers. Customers care about what a brand stands for 82% of customers want a brand's values to align with their own and will take their business elsewhere if that's not the case.

 

Feel free to read more below :

 

 

Wish us all a sustainable and healthy Black Friday

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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