Black Friday vs Green Friday 2022: An Animal Lovers Guide

If you’re anything like me, the unavoidable bombardment of Black Friday/Cyber Monday adverts, deals and promotions throughout November gets extremely tiresome extremely quickly! 

I'm all for having a nice Christmas, but, during a time when people across the country and the world are struggling, the consumer narrative from mainstream retailers that seems to promote greed, avarice and gluttony, feels very misguided. 

Thankfully there is an alternative way. Since 2015, Green Friday has been growing in popularity as an alternative to the commercialism of Black Friday and a way to spread a message of environmentalism, small business support and philanthropy.  

So, what is Green Friday, where did it come from, and what is the best way for us, animal lovers, to get involved with this wholesome anti-capitalist movement?

Where did Black Friday Come From?

According to the New York Times, Black Friday began sometime in the 1960s in the US city of Philadelphia. Tourists would visit the city on the day between thanksgiving, which is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and the annual Army-Navy football game held on the Saturday of the same week. Local police took to calling this day Black Friday, due to the increased workload for them, with traffic problems and other issues related to large crowds in limited spaces. Because of the increased footfall in the city, retailers would utilise this day to draw shoppers in with deals and promotions.

This day eventually spread and became the Black Friday we know today, which seems to be mainly focused on spending for the festive period, lasts four days and includes other marketing ploys such as Cyber Monday. 

The most troublesome thing about Black Friday is the way that retailers lure people in, despite the fact that consumer group Which? undertook research in 2020 that showed that 98% of discounts promoted during Black Friday were available for the same or a cheaper price in the six months following the sales. 

How did the Green Friday Movement Start?

Although Green Friday has only been promoted since 2015 various anti-Black Friday movements have been around since the early 1990s. Anti-consumerist groups have been advocating for alternatives to the Black Friday phenomenon since 1992 when Buy Nothing Day was celebrated by some on the same day. Other movements such as Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday also started to pop up to give people a different and more positive way to spend their money.

Green Friday originally came about as an initiative to get Americans into the great outdoors and away from the shops on the fourth Friday in November, with several state parks offering free passes and large corporations giving their employees time off to spend with their families. This has evolved and now incorporates the ideas behind Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday, making it a day to enjoy our natural environment, give back to our communities and support small local businesses that need our help more than ever in this period of economic uncertainty.

At The Pets Larder, we cannot be happier that the Green Friday movement is gaining momentum, we think that a world with more philanthropy, a better connection with nature and the environment, and less corporate greed will be better for every person and animal on this planet of ours. 

What are the Best Ways for Animal Lovers to Get Involved In Green Friday

Here, at The Pets Larder, we are primarily a group of animal lovers and Green Friday presents a great opportunity for us and our fantastic customers to spend some quality time with our dogs and mother nature, support some fantastic animal charities and fantastic local businesses in Cornwall and beyond. 

Over the next few days, we will be highlighting some of our favourite animal charities in Cornwall that need our support more than ever, with a series of interviews and blogs. We will also be giving you a round-up of some super sustainable Cornish businesses that we think are a great way to give a gift at Christmas without any of the guilt! And finally, we will be doing a round-up of some of our favourite outdoor spaces in Cornwall to while away a peaceful few hours, on the fourth Friday of November, with your pets and family in blissful ignorance of the corporate furore going on across the country. 

If, after reading this article, you fancy doing something good right now, why not make a charitable donation to the RSPCA Cornwall with our donations for cats and dogs from as little as 0.65p. We have collaborated with the RSPCA to make sure every donation is appropriate and exactly what is needed for the dogs and cats that are in their care, so you can be sure you are getting something awesomely apposite that an animal in need will enjoy. 

Donate & Support RSPCA Cornwall with NCP Here>

So, if you were beginning to be swayed by the deals in your email inbox or the adverts on your TV, don't forget there is an option to turn your Black Friday green and do a little bit of good in the world instead.