Black Friday sees retailers pulling out all the stops to woo customers to their stores with some retailers starting their “Black Friday” promotions and sales before the actual day which has now turned into Cyber Week. 

While Cyber Week and Black Friday gives us consumers a chance to purchase items we need at discounted rates, they have received a lot of backlash over the last few years as they encourage overspending and impulse buying. With the frenzied nature of time sensitive discounts, we focus on quantity rather than quality, often buying items we don’t even need.

The first thing to remember is to pause before your purchase, do you really need that item? If shopping online, place the items in your basket and walk away, give it a few hours, or wait until the next day. You’ll be amazed at how often you’ll change your mind. 

There are of course times when you need to purchase items and the best advice we can give here is to invest in quality items be that clothing or pots and pans and you’ll need less of them. Buying good quality items will mean that they last longer, something like a cast iron skillet is a once in a lifetime purchase, several lifetimes in fact when it's cared for. Investing in good quality clothing will also encourage you to take care of it and if you get tired of an item, rather than it sitting in a wardrobe you can sell it on or donate it to a charity shop to ensure it gets maximum use. 

Buying less is better than buying “green”

We need to allow ourselves to slow down, look at the bigger picture and make decisions about our consumption which don’t have such a negative effect on the planet. We have the power to drive change by the choices we make.

Be deliberate in choosing what you consume.

Shared with thanks from My Waste