8 brands doing something better this Black Friday

Black Friday can be… overwhelming. With every brand and their mothers screaming 50% OFF!!! 50% OFF!!! into your socials, inboxes, texts (how did they even get there?) it becomes impossible to tell what's a real deal and what’s actually nothing more than a 24-hour frenzy forcing you to mindlessly buy stuff before the fabricated time limit is up.

If my opening paragraph hasn’t already made it obvious, I’m dubious about Black Friday. I’m not convinced half the sales are even real. In fact, this year, a Which investigation discovered that every Black Friday ‘deal’ they checked was available for the same price OR LESS at other times of the year. And according to Money.co.uk, in the UK, Black Friday sales have released 386,243 tonnes of carbon. Gross.

Inspired by a talk from the folks at Passenger who do a little something called Green Friday instead, I decided to see what other alternatives are out there. And I was not disappointed.

There are loads of brands abandoning the Black Friday ship to do something cooler, quieter, and more impactful. Let’s dive in, shall we?

1.       Passenger – Green Friday

Let’s kick things off with my inspo for this blog. Passenger have replaced Black Friday with Green Friday. For every order placed between 21st November and 1st December, they plant 5 trees and protect 1,000sqm of rainforest.  Nice.

2.       Deciem – Slowvember 

Now this one’s still a sale, but it’s one with a more mindful approach. Deciem (you might know them for their brand The Ordinary) do a calm, month-long 23% discount instead of a frantic 48 hours of flash sales. They’re encouraging consumers to make informed and conscious shopping decisions.

3.       Asket – Black Friday shutdown

Clothing brand Asket takes a total polar opposite approach to Black Friday by closing their stores entirely, inviting customers to repair existing pieces instead. Does it get them sales on Black Friday? No. Does it boldly reinforce their brand values? Yes. Does clear commitment and strong values get them sales the rest of the year round? Most likely, yeah.

4.       ColieCo – Donations with every order

Sustainable lingerie and swimwear company ColieCo make their garments from recycled, upcycled, or sustainable textiles.  With each order placed this Black Friday, they’ll donate to the Awaj Foundation – a grassroots labour rights NGO in Bangladesh that supports female workers and advocates for their voices, safety, and fair treatment by the garments industry.

5.       SEEP – Putting Black Friday in the bin

B Corp SEEP create eco-friendly, plastic-free household cleaning tools. With strong values rooted in sustainability, Black Friday doesn’t quite align. So instead of flash sales and panic-inducing promotions, they’re giving away free Eco Bin Liners with every purchase over £15.

6.       KEELA – Christmas donations

Another outdoor brand teaching us to shop with a healthy dose of mindfulness. They’re donating the equivalent value usually set aside for Black Friday discounts to Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas Appeal – 15% of their online sales, to be precise. Out with the shouty deals, in with purposeful purchases. Now that’s Christmassy.

7.       ECOALF – No to discounts

Another sustainable clothing brand, ECOALF, have never done Black Friday. Instead, they use this specific moment to talk about sustainability and the true cost of fashion. Last year, President Javier Goyeneche and filmmaker Stella Banderas (yes, that’s right – Puss in Boots’ daughter herself) travelled to the Atacama Desert in Chile to show the 39,000 tonnes of second-hand clothing illegally dumped there every year.

8.       Mud Jeans – Blue Friday

Each year, Mud Jeans directs shoppers to its second-hand collection. They offer discounts that encourage a more circular way to shop, instead of feeding the frenzy for the latest and greatest.

So there you have it. Eight brands you can buy from if you’re not comfortable with the Black Friday madness, and eight examples of brands using this sale season to reinforce their values.

Each alternative campaign tells a story about what the brand believes in and the kind of world it wants to help build. I don’t know about you, but I find that far more compelling than “20% off sitewide”.

A note from me: I’m currently finishing this blog at 9:43pm which is usually when I’m in bed with my book. Why am I here, doing this? Because I promised myself I’d write this but I really don’t actually have the time to write my own blogs. If this sounds familiar, you know where to find me.