Sustainable Black Friday Alternatives for 2024

November 20, 2024

Black Friday’s overconsumption has inspired alternative sustainable ideas like Green, Blue, and now, Turquoise Friday! Each promotes mindful, sustainable shopping that supports ethical practices, ocean conservation, and eco-friendly, impactful gifts

In 2019, a study found that 80% of Black Friday purchases go to waste: either ending up in landfill, incineration, or unsuccessfully recycled. Unfortunately, Black Friday ‘bargains’ come at the cost of the planet…

But November 29th doesn’t have to be bleak. In fact, there are several initiatives that aim to transform Black Friday with a sustainable splash of colour.

Green Friday

Green Friday originated in Canada back in 1992, known as buy nothing day. Partakers opposed the wasteful, overconsumption of Black Friday by not buying anything all day – it’s in the name!

Now, Green Friday has multiple definitions. Some people stick to the origins and don’t buy a thing, whilst others make an effort to support ethical and sustainable businesses instead.

Blue Friday

Blue Friday is a more recent initiative: promoting quality, sustainable purchases that support the ocean. Profits from affiliated Blue Friday products go to ocean conservation charities, transforming the day from black to blue!

Find out more about Blue Friday from the pioneers who propel it, here.

Although we’re not officially affiliated with Blue Friday, our Bare Kind Arctic Sock Gift Sets donates profits to conservations that protect whales, sea bears, and walruses – and have super cute designs of them, too!

Turquoise Friday

Here at Good Things, we love the ethos of Green Friday and Blue Friday – so we thought we’d coin our very own Turquoise Friday!

We believe in making mindful, sustainable purchases – all year round. Our ethical gifts give back to people and the planet through:

How they’re made

We champion products that are crafted using ethical practices, in Fair Trade conditions that uplift artisans with fair pay and support.

What they’re made of

Our products are made of sustainable materials… only Good Things here! They’re either recycled, recyclable, or made to last across generations as legacy gifts – no risk of landfill here!

The initiatives their proceeds support

Every one of our gifts has an inspiring story behind it. Take our Gogo Olive soft toys, which are personally named by the women in Zimbabwe who handcraft them. Proceeds from these toys provide a living wage, fair work conditions, and access to saving schemes to promote financial resilience.

Whether you’re opting for a Green, Blue, or Turquoise Friday – we hope you have a wonderful day!

And if you’d like to support our small business and give back to the planet this Black Friday, check out some of our ethical gifts here.