Sustainability expert Jenny Foster, warns shoppers about the impact of Black Friday on the planet. “Black Friday is an opportunity for big brands to encourage people to buy things they don’t need during a cost of living crisis.”
Jenny, the co-director of Global Goals Centre and Sparks Bristol, went on to explain the impact of online deals and how they’re even worse for the planet. “They’re lured onto a website and told to buy something, and then when they don’t want it of course there are the returns which create an even bigger carbon footprint.”
According to Inside-Ecology: On average, customers return up to 30% of products bought online, with up to 24 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions attributed to ecommerce returns each year.
A Black Friday bargain is as appealing as ever. However, there may be serious implications for the planet as a result of frenzied clothes purchasing. According to the UN every year 92 million tonnes of textile waste is produced globally.
We took to Broadmead and met many shoppers who were keen to spend. One said “This is my first Black Friday, I’m here for Christmas shopping.” with her friend chiming in with “I’m just here for the cheaper prices”. While motivations vary, everyone seems to be after a deal. As businesses prepare for hoards of customers, a retail worker told us that she expects “footfall to be really high this weekend”.
Some retailers like charity shops and vintage stores opt to give unwanted clothes a second chance with a reduced impact on the environment. Charity shop retail assistant Emma says that recently they’re inundated with donations of large amounts of clothes.
“Some people come in with bags of clothes with tags on that have never been worn, which is great for us, but it makes me think that maybe people are getting a buzz from shopping”. She went on to say that: “I try to encourage a one in one out system, which means that clothes have a life”.
Even politicians like Nigel Farage are selling clothes on the day people will be spending big.
Farage is copying Trump and has put out a video trying to cash in on Black Friday and selling merchandise.£349 quid for a Reform football shirt in a black box.I tell you what THAT is just greed and has no place in UK politics
— Otto English (@ottoenglish.bsky.social) 28 November 2025 at 13:27
[image or embed]
According to the UN, textiles account for 9 per cent of annual microplastics added to the ocean. While some advocate for change, others can’t resist a deal.
