Every year Black Friday is synonymous with overconsumption and environmental disaster. Since 2017, the term “Green Friday” has appeared in opposition to Black Friday, it encourages healthier and more responsible consumption habits.
Now, there are many sources of information to educate yourself and assess your environmental impact.

The carbon footprint of Black Friday 

Black Friday is now a global phenomenon: by encouraging consumption, it contributes to a sharp increase in CO2 emissions.
Inspired by the United States, it leads to a record number of purchases online or in stores each year. We estimated 22 million tons of CO2 emitted for more than 6 billion online purchases during Black Friday 2020.

Among the most purchased items are electronic devices and fast fashion with ready-to-wear.
Carbon emissions are certainly linked to the production of the product and its packaging (generally plastic) but also to the method of storage and transport used before the product reaches the hands of the consumer.

Le Green Friday et le collectif Make Friday Green Again

In 2017, faced with the growth of Black Friday, the Envie network (a player in the circular economy since 1984) developed the idea of ​​“Green Friday”.

This initiative grew and other well-known players joined it the following year: Emmaüs, Refer, Ethiquable, Altermundi... to create the Green Friday association.

In the same spirit, the Make Friday Green Again collective was created in 2019, an initiative from the committed brand Faguo . This collective of brands encourages people to adopt a more responsible approach and reminds us that we can also choose to recycle, reuse, repair, donate...

The conditions for participating in the collective are simple: 

• your brand will not do Black Friday next November
• it is committed to communicating good consumption practices to its community

In 2022, the collective brings together more than 1,300 brands committed to changing consumption patterns. Among these brands we find N'Go Shoes, Joone, Lemahieu, Maisons du Monde…

How to calculate your carbon footprint and adopt a more responsible approach?

Today, it seems necessary to redefine the notion of need and give meaning to our purchases. Before making a purchase I ask myself: 

• Do I really need this product?
• Can I repair a product I already own?
• Can I buy a reconditioned product?

Scientists are warning us of the urgency of limiting global warming by 2030, in particular by reducing the carbon footprint. To do this, it is imperative to change consumption patterns and raise awareness among the entire population.

According to the definition given by INSEE: 

“the carbon footprint represents the quantity of greenhouse gases (GHG) induced by the domestic final demand of a country (household consumption, public administrations, non-profit organizations, investment), whether these goods or services are produced domestically or imported. »

 

It is therefore a matter of adding up the different GHG emissions linked to a country's consumption.

In practice, to calculate the carbon footprint, we use the CO2 equivalent, because it is the greenhouse gas with the greatest impact. The other gases are therefore converted into tonnes of CO2 equivalent (noted t CO2 eq).

Many resources exist to learn more about your carbon footprint and existing alternatives. The ADEME website offers a simulator which gives you information on the environmental impact of your daily actions. You can then benefit from advice on how to reduce your footprint.

Soieries du Mékong, a brand committed since its creation in 2001, does not practice Black Friday and participates in the Make Friday Green Again collective.