Black Friday discounts are approaching and many people are ready for the best deal.

With Black Friday we attend something extremely damaging for us and for the environment in which we live, starting from consumerism, the carbon footprint and the tons of packaging that accumulate in the waste.

For this reason Rifò has been promoting Green Friday for two years, which this year will be extended for a week: a Green Week.

So let's see why you should refuse Black Friday and what Rifò's Green Week initiative is about.

Black Friday Impact

For millions of people this is one of the biggest events of the year: Black Friday, born and exploded in the United States before reaching the entire world.

It is the day that actually marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping rush and it represents an indication of how sales will go for the holidays.

Black Friday used to last a day, the day after Thanksgiving, celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. Today, however, Black Friday has been extended until the following Monday, the so-called Cyber Monday, becoming a crazy weekend of consumerism.

At first it might seem a good opportunity, especially for disadvantaged consumer, who can buy products at an affordable price. But if you think about it for a moment, you will realize that instead it is necessary to reflect more deeply on Black Friday, which in the end push people to buy even without a real need:

• The honesty of the deals, which are often not as unmissable as they are presented. For example, a study by the consumer association "Which?" noted that in 2018 9 out of 10 items sold for Black Friday were less expensive in other period of the year.
• Black Friday effect on people's minds. Think about all  the news reporting shopping centers stormed by consumers queuing to enter in the shops. Is this a fair relation between consumers and traders?
• The effects on traders. Black Friday is going beyond the limits of e-commerce and it is becoming required even in historic centers, where even small shops have to bow to these market rules, without often a real benefit.
• The environmental impact. The big amount of Black Friday purchases have the main consequence of increasing traffic and pollution, taking into account the tons of packaging that are disposed of with extreme difficulty.

What is Green Friday

In the fashion world, one of the most involved sectors in Black Friday, the return to a more equitable consumption is supported by the slow fashion movement, that promote an idea of fashion industry that sets ethical goals, such as eco-sustainability, a better consumer awareness and workers' rights.

In the same direction of consciousness, some movements were born in the last years to arise as an alternative to Black Friday.

Such as the Green Friday one, a day of responsible consumption that is having particular success in France, also thanks to Envie, a network of eco companies, that were among the first to launch Green Friday in 2017.

Since last year Rifò joined Green Friday with the aim of fighting disposable fashion.

Also this year we will not make any discount for the Black Friday. Our prices are always correct and consistent with our values. Rifò products focus on eco-sustainability and quality. They are made to last, to be loved and to arrive in the closets of those who chose them without being influenced by compulsiveness.

Rifo's Green Week

In the Black Friday week we chose to support Fashion Revolution by celebrating the Green Week, a whole week of slow fashion and a more sustainable way to buy fashion products. How?

Every day Rifò contributes to finance projects with many ONLUS active in the local area, paying them 2 euros for each item of clothing sold on our online shop.

From Monday 25 November and for the duration of the Green Week this contribution will reach 5 € and it will be donated to Fashion Revolution, the movement born with the aim of changing the world of fashion in a fair and sustainable direction.

With this initiative, the movement is raising funds for their annual Fashion Revolution Week 2020 campaign and aims to raise £ 5,000.

Since its inception, Fashion Revolution has been engaged in campaigns to raise public awareness about the need to make the fashion sector more sustainable and transparent. The main idea that is communicated by the Fashion Revolution campaigns is that consumers themselves have the power to demand a fairer fashion industry, and brands will have to respond.

Through a purchase on the Rifò online shop, from November 25th to December 2nd, you can make a sustainable purchase and oppose the frenzy of disposable shopping, all contributing to the Fashion Revolution campaign.