Boycott Black Friday

If we went on a Black Friday sale today, We could make a lot of sales which would be a lovely cushion to our bank account, but we’re not! And let me tell ya why:

Well, we can’t talk about this without mentioning how it is an American capitalist tradition that promotes mass consumption in a world that has manufacturing emissions as a top polluting, carbon intensive industry..

But also, Black Friday Sales really hurt small business.

In stores like ours, we buy a product (from a small, local business) for 50% of the RRP (retail price). That means we would get 50% when that product sells. That seems substantial BUT! We need that 50% to re-order that same product once again. So in that sale, there is no extra profit to pay to keep our lights on, or to pay our rent that week, etc. That is why there is no room in this business model for any sort of discount!

Now, if a big business store imports their goods from somewhere like China, they can purchase that product for rrrreally cheap and still keep a higher RRP, meaning they have huuuuge profit margins, of which they can then discount from. Whereas, the small businesses who get their goods made offshore would have the ability to have a Black Friday Sale (and would love that cash injection) but at the end of the day still have bills to pay, and simply can’t sell the same kind of quantity a big business can to make the loss of their profit margin worth their while.

Some small businesses simply participate in Black Friday Sales because of the pressure to *keep up* as opposed to *lose out*.

The more transactions a big business can sell in a Black Friday Sale literally takes away transactions from a small business ESPECIALLY leading up to the holidays, our biggest (and most crucial) time of the year!

Now, this is not to shame you! This is simply to educate you about the world of good you can participate in with your spending.

This Black Friday, all small businesses are asking you to please not participate if you can. Sure, if you have had your eye on something that you *need* for a while and it’s finally on sale, go on! Have a sneaky gift. Especially if it’s something that a small business can’t make themselves like a roasting pan or something 😂 But otherwise, please share your Christmas spending with all the little guys who prop up our economy when you #ShopLocal and #ShopSmall