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This Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Fashion Revolution will tackle the environmental and social damage of hyper-discount culture with positive change.
The consumer habit ignites visions of violent stand-offs and e-commerce website crashes; Fashion Revolution wants to reposition Black Friday as a moment to reflect on and campaign against overproduction.
People around the world are increasingly aware that the fashion industry’s impact on people and planet is out of control.
The effect of Covid-19 on the fashion industry has left brands with mountains of unsold stock.
While it’s impossible to estimate just how many clothes have been landfilled or incinerated, Bangladesh alone has seen more than $3 billion in cancelled orders, representing an estimated 982 million garments.
‘Black Friday is a scam. It’s one more way to get citizens to think they are finding a bargain, when in fact they are hunting an illusion.
‘Don’t just buy because it’s cheap, think of why you are intending to buy, inspect your potential purchase and only then decide.
‘Black Friday is about the rush, the speed, the compulsion. At Fashion Revolution we are asking you to stay conscientious, to buy with purpose.’
ORSOLA DE CASTRO
Fashion Revolution cofounder and creative director
The majority of the people who make our clothes live in poverty, and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow.
It’s estimated that it would take a major fashion CEO just 4 days to earn what a female garment worker in Bangladesh will earn in her entire lifetime2.
Black Friday represents a sore spot in an industry that runs on overproduction. When we buy into the seemingly good deals, we send a message to brands that it’s OK for them to thoughtlessly produce at the cost of people and the planet, because their customers will help them get rid of stockpiles as long as they are steeply discounted.
Last year in the USA, Consumers spent $7.4 billion on Black Friday, representing a 19.6% year-on-year growth.
Throughout November, Fashion Revolution has been asking people to take part in the campaign by abstaining from shopping the discounts, and spreading the message that overproduction costs the Earth.
Participants can also use their voices by reaching out to the big brands and asking #WhoMadeMyClothes? and #WhatsInMyClothes?, or simply confronting brands about making less stuff.
The campaign will also celebrate clothing longevity by asking participants to make, mend, upcycle, share and swap clothes instead of buying new.
Click here to learn more about the campaign and to take part.
Ethical footwear brand Po-Zu calls for shoppers to champion an ‘Alternative Black Friday’.
WRAP’s advice will help shoppers press pause on impulse buying this Black Friday.
More than half UK public worry about the environmental cost of their clothes.
Cross-party MPs call for government intervention to fix fast fashion.
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