Bargain-hungry Australians are gearing up for the biggest Black Friday shopping bonanza the country has ever seen, with a record $6.7 billion expected to be spent over the 4-day sales event. But as retailers slash prices in a bid to lure customers, concerns are mounting over the sustainability impact of the American-imported sales phenomenon.
Black Friday Eclipsing Boxing Day as Australia’s Top Sales Event
Once a uniquely American tradition, Black Friday has rapidly gained traction in Australia in recent years. Analysts predict it will overtake Boxing Day as the nation’s premier retail event within the next two years, largely driven by the surge in online shopping.
Unfortunately, I’d have to say I don’t see a sustainable way of doing this, because of the very nature of it being geared towards overconsumption.
— Robert Crawford, Professor of Advertising, RMIT University
Retailers Divided on Participating in Black Friday Promotions
While major retailers have enthusiastically embraced Black Friday, heavily promoting discounts on everything from appliances to fashion, some smaller ethical brands are choosing to opt out due to concerns over excessive consumption.
“[Consumers] buy things they don’t want or need, and brands build crazy profit margins into their pricing to accommodate for expected exponential sales during Black Friday,” said Johanna Ryle-Howe, founder of Australian-made clothing label Caves Collect. “Someone is paying at the end of the day, whether it’s the consumer, or the environment, or the people in the supply chain.”
Other sustainable fashion brands like Sister Studios have also rejected participating in the sales, arguing that the frenzy of targeted advertising, especially on social media, encourages unnecessary purchases. “The pressure of a Black Friday sale, I don’t think it applies to an independent Melbourne label,” said co-founder Emma Cutri.
Balancing Ethical Concerns with Competitive Pricing
However, some brands marketing themselves as sustainable, such as bamboo underwear label Boody, ultimately decided to offer Black Friday discounts in order to remain price competitive and make ethical products more accessible to consumers.
“Our belief is access to a sustainable brand shouldn’t be an issue,” explained Boody co-CEO Elliot Midalia. “If I take a step back, Australia would wake up in late November to everyone in the US trampling each other to get into stores,” adding that e-commerce has broken down international barriers around the sales event.
Black Friday’s Waste Problem Under Scrutiny
Environmental advocates argue that Black Friday’s focus on driving purchases is generating excessive waste, particularly soft plastics from packaging, at a time when Australia is already struggling to meet waste reduction targets. The federal government has set goals of cutting total waste by 10% per person and achieving an 80% average recovery rate across all waste streams by 2030.
Black Friday is just another marketing and promotion activity that is generating waste.
— Jeff Angel, Director, Total Environment Centre
With environment ministers set to meet in December to consider further recycling reforms, the sustainability impact of major sales events like Black Friday is expected to remain under close scrutiny. But for many Australian shoppers and retailers, the allure of steep discounts is simply too strong to resist.
“Fundamentally, Aussies do love their shopping,” said Fleur Brown, Chief Industry Officer at the Australian Retailers Association, framing Black Friday as a chance to “have a bit of fun with the retail calendar” after the “sensory deprivation” of pandemic lockdowns. Whether consumers’ appetite for bargains can be balanced with greener shopping habits remains to be seen.
