LET’S ENJOY THE Christmas shopping this year but next year, let Black Friday become Green Friday.

Every year, Black Friday gets bigger.

Over 80% of Irish consumers report that they will use the Black Friday sales weekend to buy Christmas gifts.

Nearly a quarter report that they tend to buy more items and spend more on Christmas gifts during this period than they had initially planned.

Originally conceived as a one-day event, when businesses went from “in the red” to “in the black”, it has morphed into a season of run-up sales, deals, bargains and push notifications.

Brands spend millions on ads and influencers, pushing content on social and traditional media. While people rush to get the best deals, a rare few stop to consider the long-term consequences of such short-term spending.

It is the opposite of responsible consumption.

Instead of businesses moving from “in the red” to “in the black”, we can also think of Black Friday as pushing the environment from “in the red” to further in the red.

Emissions

The damage to the environment is well documented. In 2022, an estimated 1.2 million tons of CO 2 were released into the air in Europe by trucks delivering Black Friday packages.

That is an almost 100% increase of CO 2 emissions compared to a normal week.

The extra pollution in one week is equivalent to about 3,500 return flights from Paris to New York.

In addition to this environmental damage, 80% of items bought only survive a couple of uses and 50% of consumers regret their purchases given the compulsive nature of Black Friday.

Carbon emissions from returns in the US alone were equivalent to three million cars.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Just like everyone, I want consumers to have a wide range of choice, at affordable prices.

People should be able to enjoy Christmas shopping and get good deals. We’re just not getting the balance right at the moment.

New legislation

In Brussels, I have been working on ways to ensure that the products that you buy are not damaging people or the planet.

We have new legislation that will be up and running in a few years such as the Forced Labour Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

The names are a bit of a mouthful, but these laws will force companies to x-ray their supply chains for human rights abuses and environmental damage.

We must follow through on good legislation such as the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Directive, which aims to ensure that products placed on the market are durable, recyclable and repairable, and the Waste Framework Directive which includes new rules on used textiles.

While we’re waiting for these new laws, we can take matters into our own hands here in Ireland.

Shopping local and buying Irish helps support your local community and small businesses.

Big retailers are some of the biggest winners of Black Friday, while smaller ones are the biggest losers as retail moves online.

There are also second-hand clothing shops dotted around Dublin, and I would urge everyone to support them.

Secondly there are websites and apps that sell good quality second-hand products; Back Market, for example, for refurbished phones and laptops or Vinted or Depop, which both sell pre-loved fashion.

Thirdly, consumers can also choose to support more sustainable brands, albeit at a higher price, such as Patagonia, Osprey or Jack Wolfskin.

You could even support outlets like Freitag, who actually close their outlets on Black Friday as a statement against over consumption.

Recent events are hopefully turning the tide on particularly problematic companies such as Temu and SHEIN.

The recent scandal when child-like sex dolls were available online and the growing awareness that ultra-fast-fashion does great damage to the environment have caused the French Government to seek a three-month suspension of the SHEIN platform.

The Paris prosecutor has also been investigating Temu, AliExpress and Wish for other breaches of consumer laws.

Given the scale of the issue, with over 4 billion items delivered directly to homes in Europe each year, the EU is considering a €2 levy on each item bought on these Chinese platforms.

I’m not convinced that this will make a difference, and that is why I am pushing for the EU to agree on a €5 levy on each of the billions of low-cost packages from outside the EU.

Thankfully, the EU recently agreed to remove the threshold of €150 below which products are duty free.

This is an important step to protect Irish retailers and Irish clothes designers.

Fast Fashion is driving massive environmental pollution, widespread exploitation of workers and the undercutting of more sustainable Irish businesses.

Social media is full of young people showing off their ‘SHEIN hauls’ in a gorge of consumerism.

We should enjoy our Christmas shopping, we should treat ourselves and our loved ones, but we should not destroy the planet and destroy Irish jobs in the process.