Like every year and eagerly awaited by many, Black Friday is making its comeback with its ever more insane promotions: -20%, -40%, -60%, -70%. The problem? This event, which sometimes lasts more than a week, pushes buyers to overconsume and therefore has a negative impact on global warming.

And since at BellePaga, respect for the environment is at the heart of our concerns, we thought of an alternative to limit the impact of Black Friday: Switch Friday! We want to encourage our customers and future customers to consume less but better.

Originally this day of sales, born in the United States in the 50s, launched the Christmas shopping period after Thanksgiving Day. It was an official way to encourage the American population to consume. Today popular in many countries, Black Friday is followed by Cyber Monday since 2005 and represents a cash inflow of nearly 7 billion dollars in the United States. The event not to be missed... Except that its impact on the planet is disastrous.

Indeed, Black Friday, encouraging consumption, encourages at the same time overproduction and unnecessary or unthinking purchases, especially in the textile sector. And let's not forget that this industry is the 2nd most polluting in the world.

But Black Friday is also responsible for a lot of waste and pollution. And yes, through the multitude of purchases, it contributes to global warming and the emission of greenhouse gases. Especially since this event generates a lot of extremely polluting internet traffic via e-commerce sites.

This year, the COP 26 is a failure insofar as the States have postponed their commitments to next year. We therefore decided that we could not wait for the actions and restrictions of governments and that we had to act at our scale. This is why at BellePaga we try every day to strengthen our actions at our scale. Even the smallest actions are useful. Each of us must be an actor of change.

So this year, we wanted to give others the opportunity to change their way of consumption because we are well aware that the price of our products may be out of reach for some of you. So this year our Switch Friday goal is to encourage people to buy environmentally friendly and quality clothing with sweet promotions. A BellePaga product is not to be thrown away.

It is therefore an opportunity for you to test and to let your friends test new original products made from baby alpaca fiber. Switch Friday is also a chance to try new materials and make discoveries in terms of eco-responsible fashion.

Don't forget that alpaca fiber is an alternative to cashmere wool to stay warm this winter. The BellePaga tip is to consume less but better by investing in our high quality products that do not pilling and last in time.

Like us, other brands have found alternatives to Black Friday.

The best known initiative is Green Friday. Now a registered trademark, this collective wants to raise awareness about how to consume and to avoid hyperconsumption in France and Belgium. According to their website, "The goal is not to make people feel guilty, but to make them aware of a more responsible consumption". It is in a way a day of awareness to the protection of the environment. The initiative thus encourages to limit waste, to encourage recycling as well as up-cycling!

On the social side, you may be familiar with Social Friday. Invented by the Red Cross in France, it allows low-income people to access second-hand clothes at a discount. It's a way to integrate the whole population into the circular economy.

As for the animal cause, different types of brands work on the occasion of Black Friday. At Nature et Découverte, it's Fair Friday to protect animals. Or the Blue Friday launched by 1% For the Planet whose objective is the protection of the oceans.

So there is plenty of choice to find an alternative to Black Friday.