Is green the new black?

Is green the new black?

Whilst Black Friday has become increasingly ingrained in French consumer habits over the last few years, a boycott movement is gaining momentum: Green Friday! With 400 participating companies in 2019, the event promises to attract even more participants in 2020 thanks to the “Make Friday Green Again!” collective. Let’s take a closer look at this protest movement. 

What is Green Friday?

Green Friday is an eco-citizen movement that emerged in 2017, spearheaded by a collective of businesses and organisations, to denounce the overconsumption associated with Black Friday and to promote responsible and sustainable consumption, without making people feel guilty. 

Indeed, from its first edition in 2014 to its most recent edition in 2019, Black Friday saw the volume of orders increase 5.6-fold, representing a 465 per cent rise in the overall volume of online orders. Between the 2018 and 2019 events alone, on Friday itself, the Webloyalty Panel recorded a 21 per cent increase in the overall volume of online orders. And yet, every year, more than 500 million items of clothing and 23 million household appliances are thrown away in France. 

The first Green Friday was a resounding success with the general public, and the “Make Friday green again!” movement – launched by Faguo and supported by over 700 brands – is back in 2020 with even greater momentum. 

“We didn’t want to take part in Black Friday, which encourages overconsumption. We felt uncomfortable that it was being imposed by the market. The true cost of this day is both social and environmental. It undermines job security by failing to pay manufacturers, brands and shops. It also contributes to climate change by encouraging overproduction.” Faguo 

What does Green Friday offer?

The Green Friday movement aims to raise awareness of responsible and sustainable consumption, to reduce waste and to put consumer choices back at the heart of environmental and social issues. It fits perfectly with the behavioural changes observed among the French public, which were the subject of one of our ebooks, “Towards more responsible consumers and brands?” 

Among other things, it suggests the following best practices: 

• Repair or donate rather than throw away
• Sort through our cupboards to resell or recycle items we no longer want
• Extend the lifespan of items
• Buy locally
• Choose products with eco-labels
• Take stock of what we really need
• Shop sensibly and at a fair price 

Companies participating in the movement commit to not offering discounts to their customers and to donating 10 per cent of their daily turnover to selected charitable organisations chosen by the collective. 

Does Green Friday have even greater significance in 2020?

In our article ‘Black Friday: the next victim of the health crisis?’, we wondered whether Black Friday would escape the upheavals caused by the pandemic.  

Indeed, like many European countries, France is in its second lockdown and many of its so-called ‘non-essential’ shops are closed. Will the French now turn to handmade or ‘Made in France’ products to support the local economy and limit the environmental impact? Will they seek to support all the small and medium-sized enterprises suffering during these lockdowns by buying at a fair price and, as a result, boycott the American e-commerce giant? 

One thing is certain: many retailers’ associations are not waiting for the answer and are speaking out against Black Friday, calling for it to be banned outright. Under pressure, the government has already asked Amazon to suspend its pre-Black Friday campaign. 

“Black Friday is ‘a real provocation in 2020, given the lockdown, as high-street retailers are unable to respond’,” says Jacques Erhmann, president of the National Council of Shopping Centres. 

Could Green Friday dethrone Black Friday this year? Nothing is less certain. Indeed, according to a YouGov poll for L’internaute, 47 per cent of respondents still have a positive view of Black Friday, and 44 per cent make no secret of their intention to shop online this year. 

Unsurprisingly, Amazon is by far the most popular e-commerce platform (68 per cent), followed by Sephora (34 per cent), Fnac (31 per cent), Zalando (29 per cent) and Cdiscount (27 per cent). 

Despite this, 60 per cent still consider Black Friday to be a source of waste. However, only 23 per cent will support Green Friday by not taking part in Black Friday 

Perhaps it’s not all black or all green

At Actito, we have clients who will be taking part in Black Friday this year whilst others will be taking part in Green Friday, and we will support them equally in their marketing activation strategies. We believe it is possible to strike a balance between overconsumption and greenwashing, and would prefer to see this rivalry give rise to initiatives by large retailers in support of small businesses – such as Intermarché’s ‘solidarity drive’ service, six months’ free subscription to the Fnac marketplace, or free Click&Collect points at Auchan. And what if, in the end, the winning initiative this year were solidarity and mutual support from everyone to ensure the survival of many small and large French businesses? 

#letssticktogether #thatsperfectitscovidfriendly