Black Friday: brands using the day to do good
A growing number of brands are choosing to do some good over Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here’s a round up of some of them.
Frugi donates to Clemie’s Clothes
With soaring prices and families struggling, Cornwall-based organic children’s clothing company Frugi has decided to do Black Friday differently this year – with the aim to help as many children as it can with a ‘Buy One & We Donate One’ campaign. The sale, which runs from 21 to 29 November, will see Frugi reducing prices by up to 40%. For every item sold at sale price, Frugi will donate an item to the charity Clemie’s Clothes whose aim it is to rehome pre-loved items to those families who need a little extra support.
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SEE ALSO: Small businesses turn Black Friday into good to fundraise for charity (22 November 2022)
Armani does Blue Friday in support of Acqua for Life
Each November, Armani beauty turns Black Friday into Blue Friday. This Blue Friday, make your purchase count. For every purchase on armanibeauty.com Armani beauty will donate 30% to the Acqua for Life cause, while customers save 30%.
AYM celebrates Green Friday & donates to World Land Trust
This year slow fashion brand AYM will be celebrating Green Friday. Instead of relying on heavy discounts to drive sales, it will be activating its 10 for 10 initiative from Friday until Monday 28 November. All purchases over the 4-day period will automatically be discounted at 10%, in addition, 10% of each sale will be donated to the World Land Trust as part of AYM’s Save an Acre Programme. For every £100 donated 1 acre of habitat can be protected.
ChattyFeet invites people to be a #SecretSockSanta
Shop with ChattyFeet this weekend and you can become a #SecretSockSanta.For every pair of socks bought, ChattyFeet will donate 2x pairs to Crisis, so they can give them to the people they’re helping this winter. Last year, ChattyFeet donated over 2000 pairs. The Black Friday promotion ends at midnight on Sunday 27 November.
Paddy & Scott’s closes online shop to help charities instead
Coffee supplier, Paddy & Scott’s, has taken the decision to literally close down its online shop from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday (25 to 28 November) in a boycott of a period that it believes contributes to national debt, cripples small businesses and often forces consumers to make unnecessary purchases. Instead of operating its online shop, its staff will be going out into the community to help four charities chosen by staff: Little Lifts, Suffolk Libraries, St Helena Hospice and The Coffee Caravan. Every member of Paddy & Scott’s staff will have the opportunity to help with these charities. Over the Black Friday weekend, Paddy & Scott’s will also be shining a light on each of the charities and small businesses it is supporting on its social media pages.
Givematch encourages shoppers to GOGOF this Black Friday
Match-funding platform Givematch is encouraging shoppers to ditch buy one get one free (BOGOF) offers this Black Friday and go for ‘GOGOF’ – give one get one free donations – to help struggling charities. Its research suggests that more than a third of UK adults plan on giving less than they normally would this festive season but that 50% of UK adults feel guilty they’re not able to do more for charities this year, with one in ten saying they would rather receive no gifts at all so that charities could receive the money instead. People who donate through Givematch can ‘earn’ a matched donation through the power of social sharing. Each Givematch donor is given a link, and when two friends donate via that link, Givematch with match the original donation. Friends can give whatever they can to a charity of their choice for the original donation to be matched.
Lucy & Yak help girls go to school
Lucy & Yak have been doing Good Friday differently since 2018. Between the 21 and 28 November, half of its profits will be donated to Fior Di Loto, helping girls to go to school. Last Black Friday, together with the Yak community, it managed to send 220 girls to school at the Fior Di Loto Foundation. It costs just £250 to send a girl to school for a whole year, while £1 pays for a girl’s lunch for a week, £7 pays for a pair of school shoes, and £11 for a girl’s uniform. People can also donate on the Lucy & Yak site.
Virtue provides tips for retailers
Stores signing up to Virtue can start supporting charities in just a few minutes and instead of giving away massive discounts on Black Friday (and Cyber Monday), can turn it into a Give-Back-Friday by supporting a cause that their customers care about. The platform has also published some tips to help retailers use the weekend for good.
Morecoco is donating all profits from any products sold to Shelter, and is also encouraging those that don’t see anything they want to buy to donate on Shelter’s site anyway.
Buy your winter cycling clothing at Sonder Bikes and they’ll double their donation to the Alpkit Foundation with every order.
Alpkit is doubling its donation to Alpkit Foundation with everything bought in its Black Friday sale.
Lots of charities are reminding people to shop using Easyfundraising so that they and others can receive a donation.
Others are reminding Amazon shoppers to use AmazonSmile.
And others are encouraging people to shop via Give as you live.
Pala Eyewear isn’t discounting but it is doubling donations to Vision Aid Overseas between 25-28 November.
More Black Friday giving alternatives
- Independents say no to Black Friday and support charities instead (25 November 2021)
- British Heart Foundation invites donated items by Freepost ahead of Black Friday (9 November 2020)
- Black Friday – Pieminster renames it Black Pie Day for Shelter (19 November 2018)