Black Friday #OptOut, and why we believe in shopping small!?

Visuable & Black Friday Campaign | Califonia

It's that time of year again…

With Halloween behind us and the Christmas holiday season ahead, Black Friday is knocking on every door (or inbox!). But, this year, we're putting down the shopping cart and doing things differently. We’re taking a step back to explore the environmental and social consequences of Black Friday and we’re opting out of Black Friday!

Black Friday is known as THE shopping day around the world. Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving (the holiday celebrated in the United States), often the last Friday in November, when businesses reduce the price of products and offer enticing deals to attract customers who want to start their Christmas shopping.

In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, such as Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes online shopping.

Why does it exist? Where did this tradition start and just how big is it?

One of the origins of this term explains that "Black Friday" was coined to describe the mayhem that ensued when large crowds entered stores to begin their holiday shopping in the early 1960s.

By the late 1980s, it had spread throughout the United States, and retailers began to market around it. Specifically, the event became associated with the notion that stores operate at a loss (or are "in the red") throughout the year but can earn a profit (or go "into the black") on the day after Thanksgiving because that is when shoppers are most likely to spend money on gifts.

Although this day can represent a positive aspect for many businesses, competitiveness has taken over Black Friday. It has exploded with every major retailer looking to offer the biggest discount, the greatest deal, and the best promotion... resulting in massive queues, huge crowds, excessive consumption, violence, mayhem, and chaos.

Black Friday fosters a herd mentality, encouraging people to buy things they don't want or even look for things they don’t need because of the perceived scarcity of deals.

This high volume of transactions has a tremendous consequence in the increase of harmful emissions and waste production. According to EcoCart, Black Friday in 2020 was the most polluting holiday ever to date, as consumers spent $9 billion shopping online—up 21.6% from the previous year.

Black Friday encourages overconsumption by indicating that we need more unnecessary, unwanted, cheap goods made from low-quality, unsustainable materials – which most of us end up throwing it away. In fact, one study has suggested that up to 80% of our Black Friday purchases are thrown away after only one or even zero uses.

Furthermore, the drastic wasteful consequences are not even close to Black Friday's worst results. Between 2006 and 2018, 44 Black Friday incidents in America resulted in 11 deaths and 109 injuries, according to the Hustle. There's even a website dedicated to Black Friday tragedies called Black Friday Death Count, which documents some of the worst unfortunate events.

Why we’re opting out?

The Visuable brand does not believe in overconsumption and strongly opposes actions that increase harmful emissions and waste production in the world. So, for this Black Friday, we’re opting out!

We invite you to join us, whether you are a consumer or the owner of a small business. Instead of participating in the Black Friday movement, we encourage you to consider your choices ethically. Please read on for our tips on how to celebrate Black Friday in an ethical and non-wasteful manner.