Black Friday: let’s make this Friday BLUE…
Black Friday: let’s make this Friday BLUE… đź’™
Black Friday is a day that encourages over-consumption and over-production…
Growing awareness of the negative impact of this day on people and the environment has led to considerable growth in the sustainable market. But at the same time, Black Friday purchases are increasing every year as this commercial event becomes a global phenomenon accompanied by greenwashing and/or bluewashing strategies claiming to have a sense of environmental and social responsibility.
In 2021, in France people spent 129 billion euros on these few days of promotions according to a study published by the French Federation of e-commerce sales. And, according to a study published by Greenpeace in Germany, a quarter of the packages purchased are returned only a few days later. The number of kilometres travelled by delivery companies therefore doubles, while trucks and vans generate 40% of the CO2 emitted by road transport (ADEME, 2018).
So this year, rather than buying things we don’t really need…
Why not act to protect the oceans instead?
As you may already know, we are working with a local nonprofit in Spain, Coral Soul, to restore and protect a species of Mediterranean coral, Dendrophyllia ramea, which is threatened with extinction according to the IUCN. The high level of pollution in the area breaks or damages the corals present, which can eventually die.Â
Our team cleans the seabed of pollution, recovers the damaged coral fragments and places them on structures called “nurseries” at a depth of 30 to 40 metres, where they are cared for over several months to recover their health and then transplant them back onto the seabed using a non-toxic resin. Thus contributing to the recovery of Mediterranean marine biodiversity, as well as the recovery of benefits for the local communities through tourism or fisheries.
The results of the project are already impressive:
- 900 kg of pollution recovered from the seabed
- 681 corals restored
- 1270 local people involved in the project
- 3 nurseries present in the Mediterranean for the recovery of the most damaged corals
- 2 universities involved in research related to cold water corals and pollutants present on site
Help us to counter this Black Friday week by spreading our positive message to show that solutions exist to protect our planet… If we all act together to counter this high impact day on our environment, we may be able to reverse the trend and create a strong positive impact.Â
Let’s make this Friday blue: support our actions! 👇
References:
ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique). AIR ET MOBILITÉS. https://expertises.ademe.fr/air-mobilites/mobilite-transports/chiffres-cles-observations/chiffres-cles. Avril 2018.
Sailer, A.; Wilfing, H.; Straus, E. Greenwashing and Bluewashing in Black Friday-Related Sustainable Fashion Marketing on Instagram. Sustainability 2022, 14, 1494. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su14031494
Fevad (La Fédération du e-commerce et de la vente à distance), Bilan du e-commerce en France en 2021 : les Français ont dépensé 129 milliards d’euros sur internet https://www.fevad.com/bilan-du-e-commerce-en-france-en-2021-les-francais-ont-depense-129-milliards-deuros-sur-internet/. 3 février 2022.