BLACK FRIDAY IS FUELLING A GLOBAL CRISIS
The Clothing Club in Aarhus, Denmark, promotes fashion sustainability.
This week, people across the globe will be celebrating Black Friday; the annual shopping holiday where retailers open early and significantly reduce their prices. We’ve all shared or at least seen the viral social media videos of crazed people trampling each other to be first in line for the sales. It’s so bad that, since 2010, there have been 12 Black Friday-related deaths. But, escalated violence aside, there’s another major factor about Black Friday that many people fail to consider – it’s essentially the antithesis of leading a sustainable and ethical lifestyle.
Discount deals not only encourage us to purchase, they entice us to purchase things we don’t actually need, simply because it’s cheap. And there the vicious cycle commences; the more we over buy, the more companies overproduce. So, while the fashion is cheap, it comes at a colossal social and environmental cost.
85% OF OUR OLD CLOTHES END UP IN A LANDFILL … ONLY 1% IS ACTUALLY RECYCLED.
Not only does the fashion industry produce around 1 billion items of clothing annually, it produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions, pollutes the oceans with microplastics, and is the second-largest consumer of our global water supply (in 2015 alone, the industry used 80 billion cubic metres of freshwater). To make matters worse, 85% of our old clothes end up in a landfill, and only 1% of this textile waste is actually recycled.
Socially, the fashion industry is just as damaging; 85% of the 40 million employees in the industry are women who are often subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Workplace health and safety guidelines are inadequate, meaning poor working conditions go unmonitored. Workers must slave for long hours and low pay, and are always at risk of injury or death.
More businesses and brands like The Clothing Club (pictured) are focusing on promoting sustainable messages.
This is where players like The Clothing Club in Aarhus, Denmark (which the team in Stockholm visited as part of a recent project) enter the game. Founded by Saskia Kjellström in 2018, the aim of The Clothing Club is to reduce the impact of fast fashion; members of ‘The Club’ pay a monthly fee to borrow a certain amount of clothes each month, with the ability to swap items around during this time. It’s essentially a library, but for clothes. It’s a solution to over purchasing and overproduction in the fashion industry, and this movement is growing with more brands and business focusing their attention on promoting a more sustainable message.
REPAIR, SELL OR RECYCLE CLOTHES BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING NEW.
Recently, more than 300 clothing brands are urging consumers to consider the environment and not succumb to the pressure of buying in the Black Friday sales. Instead, they’re encouraging shoppers to repair, sell or recycle clothes before buying anything new.
Swedish outdoor brand Haglöfs will be doubling their prices in stores this Black Friday (which they’ve dubbed ‘Green Friday’) and their global online store will be closed. All sales from anyone brave enough to purchase anything double the price will be donated to the Nature Conservation Association. Another outdoor clothing brand, REI, will close all stores as well as their online store for the fifth year in a row. They’re also paying their employees to take the day off to connect with nature and are encouraging consumers to do the same by organising nationwide clean-ups.
What will you choose to do this Black Friday? Renting a new outfit is both a fun and sustainable option.
Thoughtful initiatives, such as MAKE SMTHNG, are celebrating creativity by holding international workshops to show people how to create special and unique things from reused materials. Coinciding with Black Friday and the start of the crazy Christmas shopping season, their aim is to lead people to reflect on their consumption patterns through the experience of creating an original. To date, almost 40,000 people from 48 countries have joined MAKE SMTHNG events.
What will you choose to do this Black Friday? Take a leaf out of the book of one of these pioneering brands; rent a new outfit, donate to a charity, take a walk in nature, make something!