Not the 51st State: Britons want a Black Friday boycott
Despite spending an average of £3billion each year, around one-quarter of the country would prefer not to see pre-Christmas discounts, and the waste stream they create.
Originating in the US, Black Friday falls directly after Thanksgiving, and sees everything from clothing to electrical items and homeware slashed in price to drum up additional sales as the holiday shopping period begins.
However, this retail institution has a huge impact on the environment, with an estimated 429,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions resulting from associated home deliveries alone. Meanwhile, 16% of buyers admitted to realising their ‘deal’ wasn’t really a ‘deal’ at all and a further 8% said they bought things they didn’t really need. Shockingly, around 80% of everything bought on Black Friday winds up in landfill, recycling or incineration within 12 months.
Now a new poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of Keep Britain Tidy has revealed that 70% of people agree Black Friday promotes excessive consumption, 42% think it’s bad for the environment, and 14.5million Britons would be willing to ‘boycott’ the capitalist celebration altogether. In a bid to encourage behavioural change, Keep Britain Tidy is once again launching its Buy Nothing New Month campaign, which will run throughout November.
‘The waste our nation generates is a huge issue all year round, but is exacerbated at this time of year, as seemingly large discounts persuade people to buy items they don’t need and can’t always afford,’ said Allison Ogden-Newton, OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy. ‘The public are awakening to the idea that this level of consumerism is environmentally and economically unsustainable. Today’s figures show that people are ready take up the challenge to ‘buy nothing new’ for a month – and that could make all the difference to our planet.’
More on waste & recycling:
Recycle Your Electricals launches The Great Copper Challenge
Image: Markus Spiske