Small businesses turn Black Friday into good & fundraise for charity

Guest Blogger | 22 November 2022 | Blogs

Tagged with:
Black Friday

“Donate Not Discount” – Tikkurila UK

Black Friday is one of the UK’s biggest shopping days with billions of pounds spent on consumer goods. But in the last few years, with the rise in ethical business and purposeful shopping, more independent brands have boycotted the sales instead turning Black Friday on its head to focus on raising funds for charity.

For many businesses, the juggernaut of Black Friday has become synonymous with overconsumption and mass production. The massive spike in online sales during this time also means its environmental impact is enormous. In addition, many independent brands cannot offer the same discounts as mega retailers and do not have the capacity to handle the extra operational costs.

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Last year, 85% of independent UK retailers surveyed by The British Independent Retailers Association* decided to reject the discounting on Black Friday weekend. Some joined in with Holly & Co’s Colour Friday, others took their websites down and many fundraised for charity through their sales across the weekend and into Giving Tuesday. And as the sales fundraising platform Work for Good discovered in their recent survey of businesses*, once again many of the UK’s 5.5 million SMEs plan to turn Black Friday into good in 2022.

Here are five independent businesses harnessing the influence of Black Friday weekend to fundraise for charities.

Northcore Europe

Surf and adventure accessory brand Northcore Europe is turning Black Friday blue. Throughout November, they are donating 5% of their sales to ocean environmental charity Surfer’s Against Sewage via the fundraising platform Work for Good. The aim is to encourage more people to shop for Christmas gifts that help do good.

Tikkurila UK

Ethically manufactured paint company Tikkurila UK will once again be turning Black Friday into Give-Back-Friday. The Edinburgh-based business will be donating 5% of sales from their website during the weekend to the mental health charity Mind via Work for Good.

Dip and Doze

“For the duration of the Black Friday weekend, we wanted to add some colour to a historically dark time” – Jennie Blake, Brand Manager of Dip & Doze

Dip & Doze, is a Fairtrade homeware brand that specialises in sustainably and ethically made textiles. During Black Friday weekend they will give customers 15% off and donate £5 of every sale to Rewilding Britain – a charity whose ethos aligns with the brand’s core values.

Bumbleberry Park

On Black Friday weekend, Manchester-based gift brand Bumbleberry Park will showcase their personalised Christmas collection at a local maker’s market. 50p from every sale will be donated to the baby loss charity Tommy’s via Work for Good. Customers can also find the Christmas collections on the Bumbleberry Park Etsy shop.

Rowdy Kind

Rowdy Kind is an award-winning, plastic-free skincare brand for kids. For the third year, they will not be participating in the Black Friday discounting but will donate 10% of the sales of all the Gifts with Purpose collection to the charity YoungMinds. The brand will focus on using Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday after the Black Friday weekend) to amplify its fundraising.

Jules Smee from Work for Good — Jules Smee

Jules Smee is Communications and Content Manager at Work for Good – a fundraising platform helping small businesses support charities through sales fundraising. The company has just published The Generosity of Business based on research that examines what drives giving by businesses.

*Sources: Work for Good & Finder.com