With videoBlack Friday, which originated in America, must be abolished in its current form. That is the tough demand from researchers and professors to the new cabinet. The bargain festival stimulates an unhealthy appetite for purchasing and is a disaster for our planet from a sustainability point of view, they say. The Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli), an important advisory body to the government, today presents a report with the same advice: the earth cannot cope with our unchecked consumption.
Sebastiaan Quekel
Buying a new phone or television while the old one is still working fine is an unhealthy habit. Especially on Black Friday, we are tempted to spend money on things we don’t really need. “Black Friday is the high mass of waste and the throwaway economy,” says André van der Zande, committee chairman at the Rli. “It is a form of mass hysteria that is exploited to the maximum by entrepreneurs, with government support. We shouldn’t put up with that anymore.”
Black Friday – which ends on Friday – tempts customers with (alleged) bargains that give them the impression that you are a thief of your own wallet if you pass up these benefits. Filling your shopping cart with stuff is exciting and even ‘natural’ during this period. “But that is of course not the case,” says consumption researcher Hans Dagevos. “The production and disposal processes of consumer goods have numerous effects on people and the environment. Besides the fact that the short-term nicety of the Black Friday story turns out to be an illusion, it obscures the long-term pain of our excessive consumption.”
Statement: Black Friday is bad for the environment, stop it!
- Agree (69%)
- Disagree (31%)
This pain not only affects the environment, but also the customer. Manufacturers are more likely to make products that ‘expire rapidly’ or that are of such poor quality that they only have a short lifespan. “Promotions like Black Friday encourage customers to buy more of this junk, all while appealing to a concept of scarcity created by the capitalist model,” says Cees-Jan Pen, head of a research group at Fontys that examines waste. takes. This feeling of scarcity makes consumers think that they really need something because otherwise they would miss out. A kind of fomo (fear of missing out), says Pen.
We are, as it were, trapped in a system of discounts
Manufacturers are making TVs and computers at breakneck speed to meet the huge demand of Black Friday. Some of those unsold products ultimately go to the landfill. To prevent this, retailers tempt their customers with even higher discounts. “That’s how you end up in a spiral,” says Mulder. “Today’s action must be repeated in 2024 to continue to achieve turnover growth. We are, as it were, trapped in a system of discounts.” The mutual competition leads to price pressure, and in many cases even to lower quality, which means we have to throw away that new dishwasher sooner. “And then we have to start buying again,” says Mulder.
A solution according to experts: do not throw away products, but give them a second chance through repair or a reward via return. This only rarely happens, says Arjen Wals, professor of Sustainability at Wageningen University. Slowly but surely, companies are also changing course. For example, the Dille & Kamille stores, including the online store, will close today. The entire staff plants trees in nature on Black Friday. And this week Ikea is placing Marktplaats advertisements on billboards from people who want to resell their Ikea furniture.
Watch our most viewed news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.