The Cost of Black Friday

Food for thought today…

80% of Black Friday purchases, including their packaging, are discarded after minimal or no use. What??

In case you are not good with numbers, that’s $7.8 billion, from the pockets of regular consumers like you and me. Wasted. Not as in after Thanksgiving dinner, but wasted as in money out the window.

In the U.S. waste increases by 25% from Black Friday to the New Year, with packaging materials like plastic and cardboard contributing to the growing waste crisis in landfills and oceans.

But here’s the real motivation. In 2021, over 17% of all Black Friday revenue went to Amazon, the company notorious for workplace safety violations and union busting.

Come on. Really. Shop locally, thoughtfully, and you know what? Let’s give experiences to friends and family for the holidays, not a gift that might be recycled to you a few years later, the recipient having forgotten that you gave it to them.

Just a little food for thought, as you think about holiday shopping.