As e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers gear up for their busiest quarter, marketing campaigns often nudge consumers to over consume, typically on low-quality, cheap products that are designed to have short lifespans. The result? Warehouses clear out stock, and shoppers end up with items that rarely stand the test of time. To challenge this, we’ve launched a Green Friday campaign to turn traditional buying habits into opportunities for sustainable change. We’ve decided to break the mould, offering small discounts on high quality, sustainable and minimal waste products. But first, let's break down the Black Friday funnel and what we’re really up against.

The Problem With Black Friday

The conventional Black Friday model thrives on high-margin, low-quality goods, capitalising on surges in footfall and online traffic. Companies use emotive campaigns that appeal to the brain's reward systems, driving impulse buys that close the gap between production costs and high business waste. By moving stock through significantly reduced prices deals, retailers inadvertently increase household waste, plastic packaging, and high-turnover demands. Combined with unsustainable supply chains and energy-draining fulfilment practices, the environmental impact can be staggering, increasing carbon emissions exponentially compared to typical operations.

As discussed in our newsletters, which can be subscribed to here, we summarise why mindful purchases are so important. Here’s a little more detail as to why due diligence is so important when considering your everyday purchases.

The Importance of Mindful Purchases

Just like any major purchase, researching the brands you support is crucial. Capitalism, while central to economic success, often battles itself by slashing costs and raising margins, sometimes at the expense of ethical practices. This includes sustainable packaging, high-quality materials, and conscious manufacturing processes. B Corp brands (or ones working toward B Corp status) prioritise balancing profit and purpose, using business as a force for good. They minimise their environmental impact and strive for lasting change that’s recognised globally.

Mindful buying doesn’t just positively impact your carbon footprint, it also taps into our brain's reward systems, scratching the same itch that retailers desire within these promotional periods, sparking joy when making sustainable choices. Which dopamine spike would you prefer this Black Friday? When businesses share revenue or donate to environmentally-focused causes, they unlock meaningful change at a manageable cost. Our My Green Routine initiative dedicates substantial portions of sales to reducing carbon emissions and plastic waste, building an eco-friendlier future one purchase at a time. Find out more about our partnerships here.

By transparently discussing Black Friday’s darker sides, often ignored by many, we reaffirm our commitment to Green Friday. Coupled with the efforts of acquiring new consumers, converted from non eco conscious habits, are effectively building a better buying environment one step at a time. Reducing the lifetime carbon & plastic consumption of each person is a major focus for organisations, using their platform to facilitate exponential environmental benefits with each purchase.

Explore our previous blog posts for more sustainability tips, and subscribe to stay updated on our journey and your contributions to the planet’s wellbeing. Every purchase helps remove up to 1kg of plastic from our oceans and plant 2 trees. Kickstart or double down on your green routine with our carbon-neutral range by click this link.

For more about our Green Friday campaign, respond to this email or reach out at info@mygreenroutine.earth.