x24,Top3,TopLeft,x25,x12
View and Vote
a discovery company

It's Here: Green Your Black Friday

Shop locally, shop sustainably, shop responsibly, shop less.

Josh Peterson

By Josh Peterson
Fayetteville, AR, USA | Fri Nov 28 09:00:00 GMT 2008

shopping photo


Vladimir Pcholkin/Getty Images

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is my least favorite day of the year. It's crazy-bananas-shopping day. A flood of Christmas shoppers descend upon the country and root through our nation's malls and shopping centers with a fervency that mirrors Ponce De Leon's fruitless search for the Fountain of Youth. And I often find myself amongst them with wallet out and eyes glazed over haggling with a withered cashier over the price of a Toblerone bar. There has got to be a better way.

Shop Locally
What can you find at an outlet mall near the edge of town that you can't find in your neighborhood? Not much. I worked as an inventory specialist for a couple years. I traveled the country, taking inventory at various stores. They have the same mass-produced stuff for sale in Minneapolis, Minnesota as they do in Los Angeles, California, New York City and Lawrence, Kansas. If you can't find it locally, buy it online.

Shop Sustainably
When you go shopping for people, don't buy them junk. Buy them things that will last a lifetime. Shoes that can last for years are worth a dozen pairs that can only last a few months. Pick out gifts like tools and sewing equipment, things that can add life to the possessions they already own. Buy practical.

Shop Responsibly
I'm against bric-a-brac in general. People always talk about how we should eat less meat, fly less and drive less. I like doing all those things, but I am willing to make sacrifices when needed. But how much CO2 is expended by the makers of bric-a-brac? I have this crazy theory that if we eliminated mass-produced bric-a-brac from the world, we could eat more steaks, drive more miles and fly in more planes with much less guilt.

For more on Black Friday, check out Plan for a Green Black Friday.

More on Shopping
Don't Buy Eco:Nightmare Collectible Plates
How to Go Green: Gift Giving
Wa$ted Episode: Style Over Substance

 
  • email
  • digg
  • share
  • print
helpful article? vote for it
{ }
close window

CLOSE X

 

comments on this article

view all post a comment

 
 

from our partners

 
 
Channel Finder
 
 
facebook twitter rss
 
Planet Green on Facebook
 
eco-nomics
 
Reel Impact
 
green diy projects
 

tv schedule

view all

On Now

On Tonight

 
Take a Quiz. Enter Our Sweepstakes!
 

today on planet green

view all

Votes

recent
discussed

Emeril's White Sangria
POSTED  6 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Show Off Before You Give: Submit Your Best DIY Holiday Gifts
POSTED  7 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Emeril Green Episode: Full Circle Farming
POSTED  7 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Vote for the Best Agent of Change in the BBC World Challenge '09
POSTED  8 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Emeril's Poblano Chili Stew
POSTED  8 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Ask Emeril Your Green Cooking Questions
POSTED  7 Apr 2009. 48 COMMENTS.

{477}

How To Go Green: Lighting
POSTED  23 Jul 2008. 7 COMMENTS.

{214}

Should You Get a Flu Shot?
POSTED  1 Oct 2009. 3 COMMENTS.

{19}

Renovation Nation FAQ
POSTED  7 May 2009. 13 COMMENTS.

{142}

Do Zoos and Captive Breeding Really Help Endangered Species or Address Habitat Loss?
POSTED  23 Oct 2009. 4 COMMENTS.

{28}

 
 

Ads by Google