This year our Fridays have all been quite eventful, haven't they?
Well, this particular Friday surely is. You may have noticed that today is both Black Friday but it's also the day of the Fourth Global Climate Strike.
So I have been wondering whether to write about shopping or pollution.
But then I started thinking about the irony of all of this. I mean, the same spirit of constantly buying as much as we can and as fast as we can, which basically is the engine of the Black Friday machine, is exactly the underlying problem of the climate crisis we are in now.
Well, this particular Friday surely is. You may have noticed that today is both Black Friday but it's also the day of the Fourth Global Climate Strike.
So I have been wondering whether to write about shopping or pollution.
But then I started thinking about the irony of all of this. I mean, the same spirit of constantly buying as much as we can and as fast as we can, which basically is the engine of the Black Friday machine, is exactly the underlying problem of the climate crisis we are in now.
I mean, it's not irony. It's purpose. The majority of the strikes in Italy are actively protesting against Black Friday, under the name "Block Friday". And the reason is precisely to boycott this event that openly challenges the climate. Plus, this strike takes place exactly the week before the COP25 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) that will be held in Madrid from the 2nd to the 13th of December.
Plus, some nations like France have been doing their own colourful Friday for some years now. The "Green Friday" initiative is up since 2017 and it works like this: some companies have decided not to apply any discount for Black Friday, but to give a 10% of the turnover to environmental organization.
I think this is brilliant because it comes from the companies themselves!
Plus, some nations like France have been doing their own colourful Friday for some years now. The "Green Friday" initiative is up since 2017 and it works like this: some companies have decided not to apply any discount for Black Friday, but to give a 10% of the turnover to environmental organization.
I think this is brilliant because it comes from the companies themselves!
So, think this through. Would you rather spend your day with people screaming around you and rushing into the shops of a packed mall or with people screaming around you and rushing into the streets of a packed city? It's your choice.