We’re saying no to black friday

Black Friday is coming, and you won’t find a sale here. Big sales and frivolous consumerism creates excess, makes an unfair world and is hurting our environment. 

So much of what we buy in these sales simply ends up in landfill. We’d like to encourage you to think twice before buying into the frenzy.

Aotearoa and the entire global community is having an inflation and cost of living crisis. As household budgets shrink, retailers are heavily competing for a reduced consumer spend. Big sales are a huge tactic to attract customers to spend up large, but can often be very misleading and fail to provide true benefits to consumers. As the saying goes, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

And what positive kiwi values are being ignored in the supply chain process? Any mass consumerism event with an increase in the sale of cheap products supports modern slavery practices. Global corporations can force suppliers to front the costs of the sale discounts. This puts financial pressure on the supply chain, which can further increase the risk of vulnerable people falling into modern slavery.

For us, it’s not about not purchasing the things you need or not enjoying your retail experience; it’s how people buy and what products people choose to buy that’s important. Buying cheap in these sales allows big retail to squeeze the little guys and our local industries, who can’t compete with such big loss-leading sales. Big sales push down wages and lead to an increase in forced labour and modern slavery in product supply chains.

So, every dollar you spend has an impact. Being thoughtful and intentional with our spending and choosing good, green and fair, instead of chasing frivolous bargains, is more sustainable for us and the planet. 

Champion a world where trade is fair and sustainable for all. Let’s be more considerate in our society, learn to discard less, reuse and up-cycle more, and spend and consume in healthier ways.

Learn more about why We’re Saying NO to Black Friday here:

https://www.tradeaid.org.nz/goodtoliveby/no-to-black-friday/

Photo by Tamanna Rumee on Unsplash