Black Friday takes place the last Friday of the month in November every year.

On this day, people spend more money than any day throughout the year. Why? Because the stores have sales and great prices, which makes customers want to buy their shopping list items on this particular day instead of regular days to save money. This makes a lot of sense to many people. Why wouldn’t you want to buy that new Iphone with 40% off instead of regular price?

Since it takes place less than a month before Christmas day, this is also the perfect time not only to shop for yourself, but to get all the Christmas shopping done in one, plus get a cheaper price on them. Sounds like a good deal to me. But is it really a good deal in the long run? Many people feel obligated to buy Christmas presents to all of their friends and family, even though we all know that pair of socks just ends up in the back of the closet and will never be used, until you find them two years later and throw them away…

I love fashion, and therefore I like shopping. What I also like is our planet, and the surface we are living on. What we don’t understand yet today, although there are a thousand studies and explanations, is that our earth can’t survive and resist what we are doing to it in the same speed we humans are destroying the planet.

There are so many things that everyone living on earth can do to prevent an early death of the planet. This includes the smallest things that everyone can do. You don’t have to put up  solar cells on your roof or start sorting all your trash into 47 different categories. It’s as easy as saying “no receipt please” or bring your own bag. Shopping second hand and only buying what you need, not always what you want helps too. We can’t be selfish when it comes to this planet’s lifetime. 

Listed below are some examples for people that are going to shop for Christmas, because let’s face it: Most people will end up buying presents either way, because of lack of inspiration and creativity. 

• The bags. Do not buy plastic bags for every item you buy. If there is room in your bag from the first store, don’t buy another one.  Try and bring your own bags, and use reusable ones instead of plastic ones. 
• Buy second hand. Vintage shopping is hotter than ever, so why not Depop your Christmas items instead of going to Macy’s? It’s cheaper for you, and for the environment. I love vintage shopping, because what you buy is one of a kind. No one else will have that exact thing, and there is only one of it in the store. 
• You don’t even have to buy an actual present. There are lots of things you can give people without making such a big mark on the environment. Cook dinner, go out to dinner, movie tickets, concert tickets, and so on. If you are like me and like to help other people in the world that doesn’t have anything, buy a donation instead. 
• Buy one good present each instead of 20 cheap ones. It will cost you just as much money, but the planet won’t suffer as much. 
• Receipts. If you for sure know that you will not have to use the receipt, don’t make them print one. It’s just unnecessary paper. Most of the times you do need it, but you will for sure not need every receipt that a store prints for you in your entire life. 
• Avoid impulse shopping. If you need something or have wanted it for a long time, buy it.  Although, we can all try not to buy things that we don’t actually need or absolutely want. 

To summarize, we all have to start thinking about the way we consume. I’m not saying we should stop buying clothing; but we do have to rethink the way we buy clothing. There are multiple ways to reduce emissions, and everyone can do something.