Shop Closed: go Green for Black Friday

The annual hype is here; discounts, offers, deals, the push for consumerism is never higher than during the Black Friday sales event.

Large companies offer slashed prices on a huge array of items in the run up to the festive season, often relying on impulse buying for gifts just for the deal that’s on offer for this limited time. Many local, small or independent shops have made the decision this year to boycott the event in a growing movement against huge online shopping websites that gained traction during the pandemic, whilst they were unable to open. Black Friday is also known for producing a sea of waste items that were purchased on impulse and subsequently go unwanted.

Many retailers across the country will be shutting down their websites on Black Friday and donating their profits to charity and planting trees to make a stand against thirsty consumerism brought on by large online sellers. The Guardian reported, “the number of retailers boycotting the event is the highest figure ever recorded by the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) and comes as part of a growing movement against huge online shopping websites such as Amazon that has gained traction since the start of the pandemic.”

North Devon Marine will be closing our Sail Electric shop and standing with retailers to emphasise the need for reduced negative consumerism and to promote the need to go green. We also plan to instead spend the time doing an environmental survey, furthering our work towards a carbon negative future.