The end of November signals the coming of Black Friday; a day of massive discounts and absolute mania. Instead of getting swept up in over-consumption, mass production and unbelievable amounts of waste, we’re encouraging you to get involved with some anti-Black Friday activity instead. We’ve rounded up some of our faves to help you take a stand for the planet and for the people:
Eco-Age and Global Fashion Exchange’s #TAKEBACKBLACKFRIDAY
This year, Eco-Age have partnered with the Global Fashion Exchange to Take Back Black Friday. Take Back Black Friday is a digital protest, encouraging consumers to raise awareness and create positive impact on the day by highlighting individual acts of circularity and fashion sustainability. For example, you could attend a clothes swap and post about it on your socials, showcase items you’re repairing or upcycling before the festive season, or simply show up and stand up for the environment.
Stories Behind Things – The Big Clothes Switch (& Natalie Glaze’s Book Swap Club) and The Christmas Collective
Stories Behind Things founders Jemma and Ella have two events going on over the Black Friday weekend to help you make better, more conscious choices; on Thursday 28th November they’ve partnered with Who What Wear UK and WeWork to host The Big Clothes Switch. Take clothes you no longer wear or love and switch them for clothes you’ll never want to take off your back again. Then, from Friday 29th to Sunday 1st December, they’re hosting The Christmas Collective, a curated market full of sustainable, ethical brands to help you shop with a clear conscience.
And So To Shop’s Colourful Friday
As And So To Shop are an independent marketplace, they use Black Friday to rally against unsustainable discounts and demeaned value. Instead of offering discounts, they encourage their sellers to add something extra and meaningful into each order. This way, consumers still feel like they’re getting a great deal, but ASTS are still showing that what small businesses do is worth paying for.
Buy Me Once’s #GreenFridayFriends
Buy Me Once will be spending their Black Friday spreading a message of calm, conscious consumerism, and are encouraging people to do the same to become their Green Friday Friends.
At Patchwork our aim is to help you reject unnecessary consumerism and waste all year round; our gifting patchworks allow you to get one big thing that you really really want, rather than lots of little bits that will go to waste. You can check out our alternative gift patchworks here. Alternatively, we’ve noticed a trend this year that we absolutely love, where people are using their patchworks to spread joy and kindness in lieu of presents – we’re calling this the Give List, and you can make your own here.