Because yes: a basic shirt must cost more than your coffee. And painting Black Friday from Green Friday is no solution if the problem is still there, just masked in another color.
Black Friday: that ritual of all years where some people are already prepared in the comfort of their home in front of the computer at midnight to enter a website overloaded with visitors who pray they don't go down at checkout — until those of the old school who go directly to the store to dig up piles of clothes looking for something worthwhile with luck someone doesn't want the same item the other one already has in hand, without looking at the label to know ''where, how and what'' kinds of materials were used to make that piece.
On the other side: those brands that at this time of year bite their nails with worry due to the radical cut in sales from September to November that makes them want to go bankrupt and start something else, because after the summer vacation consumers only think about Christmas gifts who will take the opportunity to buy at the minimum prices that Black Friday's crazy discounts provide — and thoose who try, almost in vain, to hang on with the rope around their necks as much as they can.
But let's face it: it was the market that ushered in this crazy consumerism, wasn't it?
That's why it's time to end the Black Friday madness. Say no to Black Friday, shop smart. Buy sustainability, ethics. Wear your values.
Black Friday: how did it all start?
Let's start with the name: BLACK says everything but something good, nice and beautiful, don't you agree?
It originated in the USA and the first time the term was mentioned was as a reference to stock market crises! From then onwards it was used in different types of calamities.
It even seems like a correct name considering the terms in which it was mentioned. So how did it get to something related to consumerism?
As the general public is aware, Thanksgiving is very important in the United States. Several parades and parties are celebrated in celebration of this event, and one of them is the Santa Claus parade that officially opens the holiday season and, consequently, the shopping season.
What if we told you that it was the beautiful Thanksgiving Day that created Black Friday?
It sounds impossible, but it isn't. Note: The official Thanksgiving day in the times we live in today was determined on base of holiday season sales opening.
Let's explain better: for decades this date jumped for different days that varied between the end of November and the beginning of December. At the end of 1941, as request of the shopkeepers to the US president, the congress made official that that festive date from that on would always be celebrated on the last Thursday of November — since it was the Thanksgiving Day parades that opened the holiday shopping season, shopkeepers had one more week to promote this season and make more sales.
So far we understand why Friday was named the opening of the shopping season, but where does the ''BLACK'' part come from?
Believe it or not, the myth is based that it was the ''policemen frustrated by the traffic and disorder caused by the consumers that day'' who started referring to Black Friday in this way.
Who would have said that the name caught the mouth of the world?
Green Friday: what is it?
Born as the savior of the motherland against the consumer reaction of Black Friday, Green Friday is born.
This is not intended to annihilate the end of purchases, but to hold customers accountable and make them reflect on the importance of not acting without thinking and choosing to buy on demand.
Several Portuguese brands have already joined this movement, from NAZ, to BASEVILLE, WONTHER, until LEMON JELLY, between others.
It's a movement founded by slow fashion brands — which ''values diversity; prioritizes the local over the global; promotes social and environmental awareness; contributes to trust between producers and consumers; it practices real prices that incorporate social and ecological costs; and maintains its production between small and medium scale'' — that defend a timeless, quality and environmentally friendly fashion, the complete opposite of fast fashion brands as well-known good friends ZARA, H&M, C&A and many others that today try to mask their social and environmental responsibility with the greenwashing theory just to send the sand to the consumer's eyes giving the idea that they are supporting a good cause that doesn't exist — but that's another story that deserves to be told with its due prominence in the future.
That said, we can understand the need to revolutionize the market with a more positive wave!
Will Victoria Handmade join Black Friday?
We made the mistake of doing Black Friday twice in the first years of our existence. And we've concluded — not surprisingly — that discounts are the worst enemy of any sustainable and ethical brand.
In addition, we are not in the market today to follow big companies like little lambs, and in order to work with an ethical and conscious production, socially and ecologically speaking, that you appreciate and the world needs, as well as taking into account what we've all been living with, with raw materials adjusting their value with increases of 300%, crazy portuguese fuel rates, and a small team that wants to make a living from their work and stay with the door open, In order to avoid a price increase this year for our wicker basket bags, we decided that the best thing for you was to keep the values, and the best thing for us was to cancel the discounts.
However the shipping costs around the world are still free!
With the great news that, from now on, all orders destined for Europe and the Rest of the World will be delivered by FedEx within 24 hours after dispatch.
A reminder to make you smile this Christmas:
You change the world by your example.
Yes, Black Friday brings great discounts and it's not all bad and taking advantage of a Black Friday discount doesn't make you a bad person! However, this day exempts excessive consumption, which contributes significantly to environmental pollution. Whether you shop in physical stores, or in e-commerce, you will also be contributing to that outcome.
But remember: change starts in yourself. So make sure you buy on-demand products from brands that represent your life values: ethics, justice and labor and environmental dignity.
A lot is said nowadays about COP26. A lot is said nowadays about COP26. The way we consume largely dictates the rules of the game for the biggest companies in this world that pollute nature. If all of us, as conscientious people, changed our consumption habits, factories and brands would have no other option but to follow the same path, to meet what we, the customer's, are looking for. So let's give them the reason they need to change for the better. For us, for our children, but mainly for others and future generations. Because the blame is not only on the entrepreneurs, it is also on the consumer.
As such, make sure this Christmas offer above all love, from the carefully chosen piece for someone special, to the people who were proud to make it for you and the honor that the gifted will feel when receiving it. Because more than ever, we must offer pieces with soul, passion, history and tradition.
In doubt about what to offer that reflects all of this?
Well, it has to be said: our timeless artworks are the perfect gift to reflect your own story and individuality. But beyond us? You can read our article on 13 Portuguese Brands that Give Value and Ethics to Your Lifestyle and confirm if you would like us to make a special article with Christmas suggestions of Portuguese brands! Comment below.
Until then we say goodbye with the confirmation that we are officially accepting Christmas orders! Remember that, as everything that is good and made with care takes time, the sooner you make your purchase, the better, because it not only helps us not to have an overloaded artisanal production — because my hands can't handle it all! — as well as ensuring that your ideal gift arrives in time to place it under the Christmas tree!
Find it in our online store here or come to visit to our Atelier & Showroom in Porto de Mós, 15km before Fátima!
See you soon,
Esperança Vitória - Founder, Artisan & CEO
