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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.
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