Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or even its weekend variety Black Friday and Internet Week … These promotional events that have become inevitable before Christmas are sources of multiple pollution: parcel deliveries race, packages pile up and overconsumption demands harmful overproduction the goods …
Average 255 euros per person
Today, the period between Black Friday and Christmas accounts for a turnover of over $1.3 trillion (about 1,246 billion euros) for the retail sector, i.e. 30 % of its annual turnover. Despite strong concerns about rising prices, the French people average basket It is estimated At 255 euros for the occasion. She’s 15 % less than in 2021.
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66 % of French people will turn to home appliances or electronics
anxious to grab “ An opportunity not to be missed »the French are good customers: according to A Public opinion poll Conducted this year by Harris Interactive, almost all French people are aware of Black Friday and more than half of them (55 %) intend to shop online or in-store on this occasion. 71 % of them say they have a positive view of the event, while goods purchased online mainly come from the fashion or high-tech sectors, which are two of the most polluting products.
- © Anna Sardin/Reportie
76 % of French people buy online
E-commerce, whose rise has been fueled by the period of restrictions due to Covid-19, has seen its annual turnover multiplied by ten Between 2006 and 2020. Today it accounts for 14 % of retail trade in France. If the exact environmental impacts of Black Friday purchases aren’t easy to assess, Vincent Drizet, a spokesperson for Attack, notes that “ The characteristics of online commerce make it particularly harmful to the planet: digital orders, for example, require data centers, which today account for 3 to 4 % of the global carbon footprint, and is expected to be responsible for 7 % of France’s carbon footprint by 2040. » today, 76 % of French people buy online.
- © Anna Sardin/Reportie
2.5 million parcels are delivered daily in Paris
During Black Friday, the number of packages delivered each day in the capital city nearly doubles by ten (and will reach 2.5 million deliveries) compared to the average for the rest of the year—approx. 200,000. One of the many side effects of e-commerce, as Vincent Drizet notes: “ Last-mile transportation, i.e. home delivery, generates significant waste co2 : Ademe shows that 25 The percentage of emissions in the city is caused by the transportation of goods. » Parcels, overpacked and returned to the sender in droves for return, generate unnecessary traffic and waste. There are many sources of waste added to the environmental consequences associated with the manufacture of goods sold.
“ Excessive consumption peaks during Black Friday, but it is the entire chain of production and consumption of goods and services that must be called into question »Supports Vincent Drizet. Several environmental societies have called for a boycott of Black Friday for several years due to its disastrous environmental and social impacts. L’non Governmental Organization Oxfam favors Green Friday, a “ Citizen anti black friday event » Which brings together 560 brands “ United by a desire to raise awareness of the need to “consume better, consume less” » Who will not be offering discounts on Friday, November 25th. Thus many alternative events are organized in France and Belgium to offer reuse, repair and recycling services to promote responsible consumption in the face of consumer abuse.
Birth The black Friday : The ANNeES 1960
If tradition goes back further, the term Black Friday appeared in the United States in the 1960s to designate the day after Thanksgiving, an institution for many Americans who took the opportunity to make purchases in anticipation of Christmas. The expression refers to the traffic jams caused by affluence and the crowds that darken the shopping streets.
The concept was imported to France and Europe in the early 2010s, notably through the development of e-commerce and Amazon’s online sales platform. Internet Mon, or “ Digital Monday »was quick to cross the Atlantic after him.