Hi Hey there!,
Let's talk about Black Friday and its equally evil cousin, Cyber Monday (today!) — I have a lot of thoughts.
Nothing shows how much of an echo chamber the sustainable fashion world can be than a quick scroll through Pretty Little Thing's Twitter feed. On Friday, it was filled with delighted fans of the fast-fashion retailer sharing their "bargains" from PLT's 99% off Black Friday sale. "Just got 3 pairs of shoes & a dress for £1.55 🦄 💖 😭" was just one of many tweets that I found incredibly depressing.
Over the past few days, I've seen arguments for and against these sales. Fashion Revolution has called for a total boycott of Black Friday, with the environmental impact of overproduction at the heart of their campaign. For much of this year, clothing sat unsold in stores, so it's important for us to recognise how desperate big brands are to shift stock and make a quick buck. Buying into the sales essentially sends these brands the message that it's fine for them to continue operating business as usual because, for the right discount, we'll help them solve their overstock problem.
At the same time, I can't ignore the fact that many independent brands are relying on these sales to help keep their businesses afloat after a really tough retail year. Sustainably and ethically made clothing can often be more expensive than "normal" clothes, so if a Black Friday discount means you can now afford to support a small business that was previously out of your budget, surely that's a good thing?
The bigger discussion we should be having is about how we unlearn our deeply entrenched consumerism mindset, but that's a chat for another day, perhaps.
Whether you chose to shop the sales or not, ultimately it's how we treat our purchases that matter the most — only buying the things we know we'll use for a long time, repairing them when they break and disposing of them thoughtfully when the time comes.
Got questions or comments? Hit reply to this email to get in touch!
Meg x