Navigating Hyper-consumerism

Black Friday is a shopping event the many look forward to and one could say it is the biggest retail sales day in North America. Kicking off the holiday shopping season and having a reputation of causing hectic and chaotic behaviour, Black Friday allows for huge savings. But one thing you cannot deny about this event is, it promotes hyper-consumption and is inherently unsustainable.

Like anyone, when seeing markdowns on items it makes us want to buy them, even if it is something we haven’t had our eye on and don’t necessarily need. So how exactly do you navigate wanting to live a slow and conscious lifestyle while being bombarded with all these sales and marketing tactics. Well, the first thing is, if you really can, you should try not to participate in this shopping event. This is because all-in-all Black Friday/Cyber Monday could not be further from the values of slow fashion. Slow fashion pushes for slower productions schedules, minimal waste, lower carbon footprints, and essentially buying less, which is everything this event is not!

Now, with all that being said let’s also not put people down for deciding to participate in the Black Friday event. This event really does allow people to save money and it can be a great opportunity for people who may not usually have the means to get items they need.

What to do if you decide to participate in the Black Friday shopping event? Firstly, make a list of items you need or are hoping to go on sale and stick to it. Also, while doing this, set a budget so you won’t be blindly adding items to your shopping cart. Secondly, you can try to shop from sustainable businesses. Doing so allows you to support the slow movement while getting a bang for your buck! You can still enjoy Black Friday without excessively shopping.

Written by Lola Oduymei