Conscious Content - Green Friday

Welcome to this week’s social and sustainable impact blog, Conscious Content. 

Each week we share opinion, insights, and headlines that have caught our attention in an effort to spread information about issues that affect us all, locally and globally. 

So, here’s this week’s round-up of the stories you need to read about:

The Green Eco-alternative to Black Friday

This year several brands chose to discard the Black Friday and Cyber Monday scramble to offer the lowest prices and promotional discounts and instead opt into the Green Friday initiative.

Black Friday often sees buyers wrestle to buy as many discounted products as possible, which in the past has turned ugly as shoppers fight each other in the aisles. Contests even spill online search for last-minute deals before stocks go. 

An alternative to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, the Green Friday initiative helps raise awareness of shopping habits and instead spur consumers to either forsake the promotional campaign altogether with more environmentally-conscious activities or shop more responsibility and to buy from brands who promote greener causes.

This year IKEA reintroduced their Buyback & Resell scheme, where customers sell back furniture, whilst Vodafone launched a scheme to encourage buyers to return old phones to help reduce waste. 

Whilst the green alternative to Black Friday is progressive, particularly in the lead up to Christmas, can more be done to persuade buy-in to the circular economy and reduce waste all year round? 

In marketing, we often give buyers the label ‘consumers’, but does this incite over-consumption? Is there an alternative phrase we should adopt that urges people to shop responsibly and contribute to green initiatives, reduce waste, and recycle products?

After COP27 left many campaigners frustrated by the lack of progress, responsibility of reducing carbon emissions will be put upon businesses and consumers. Collectively, we must reconsider our buying trends and make space for alternatives. What can brands do throughout the year to turn one-off green initiatives into a year-round habit? 

The 3-D Printed Recyclable House Made with Natural Materials

Building new homes takes up a lot of resources and space. With an increasing growing population, and more people living in cities, finding sustainable building methods is more important than ever. But scientists at the University of Maine have constructed a viable approach to building new homes with the first “Biohome3D” House – a 3D printed, fully recyclable home made of natural materials.

NatWest Creates Digital Carbon Planner Tool to Help Businesses Lower Energy Bills

The cost of living crisis in the UK has brought on hardships for homeowners and businesses alike, with rolling blackouts possible to help save energy. NatWest has decided to help businesses manage the crisis and help cut their carbon footprint with the launch of a free digital Carbon Planner tool.

Was there a story you found that you think is worth sharing? Let us know and we’ll include it in our next feature. For a free consultation on how CSR can play a part in your marketing and PR, email growth@makehoney.com, call 0203 488 4253 or reach out to us here.