Willemijn van Dolen | Happy Green Black Friday!
Can you do Black Friday in a sustainable way? For businesses and consumers who care about sustainability, Black Friday presents a dilemma, observes columnist Willemijn van Dolen. “The Black Friday period is one big marketing campaign.”
Although it is officially one day, this year Friday, November 24th, is actually a discount week beginning the week before Black Friday through “Cyber Monday.” These are days when companies advertise hefty discounts on all kinds of products. So the Black Friday period is one big marketing campaign.
You could say that the most sustainable way to participate in Black Friday as a business owner is not to participate. There are more and more brands and stores doing just that, such as Dille and Kamille. They will close the doors of all their stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany and their web shops on November 24th. Not only that, they and their employees will help plant 16 food forests in the Netherlands. Incidentally, this is also just marketing, of course. With this action aimed at sustainability, they draw attention to the company as a brand and, in this case, to nature. They call it “Green Friday.”
Bever has yet another angle. They call it “For Future Fridays.” Instead of giving discounts on products, people can go to Bever for a comprehensive check and free maintenance of their hiking boots. People can participate in workshops that teach them how to best care for their gear, such as patching holes in outdoor jackets. Finally, they give discounts, not on new gear but on repairs. With these actions, they push for consumer awareness and behavioral change.
Consumers pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle struggle with the question of what they should do on Black Friday. “Don't shop” is the most sustainable action, because buying nothing is always better in terms of sustainability than buying something “green” or “sustainable.”
At the same time, targeted buying doesn't have to be a problem. If you need something anyway, a discount can help. Perhaps it would be wise to prepare before venturing out into the (digital) city, because we turn into different people when we go shopping.
Research shows that before shopping, we are in a secure consideration mindset, carefully weighing the pros and cons of a purchase. But once we go into a store or online, we experience what is called “shopping momentum,” and from then on we make purchases more easily. Rationality is out the window.
Also, an entire day of hunting for bargains on Black Friday is exhausting. And we know that when we get exhausted, we become even less rational. We then simply no longer have the willpower to resist temptation or make good decisions.
We also know from research that it hurts to spend money. But after spending a large planned amount on Black Friday, like for a game or laptop, all other purchases feel like peanuts, and the pain of paying for it is gone.
Plus, no one wants to be left out and FOMO, fear of missing out, can kick in on Black Friday. And when everyone joins in, it seems, guilt soon goes by the wayside.
By the way, we often mistakenly think that every deal is a good deal. The Consumers Union showed that many Black Friday deals were barely better than during the rest of the year. Especially online, consumers should be careful. If it doesn't matter much anyway, you can let it pass by without FOMO. And if you do go but don't want to make unnecessary purchases, make an agreement with yourself to buy only what you were planning anyway, possibly instructing someone to remind you of that the moment you plunge into the buying frenzy. Good luck!
