# Green Friday Scotland

After months of relentless promotion, Black Friday has returned in a flurry of limited offers, influencer endorsements, and outlandish product promises.

Aggressive marketing campaigns will entice shoppers to splash out on new items that they don’t need, many of which are designed to wear out or break down in time for the next big sale.

The alarming repercussions of this hyper consumerism linger long after the endorphin rush of bagging a bargain fades. Up to 80% of Black Friday purchases are thrown away, while the event alone produces around 420,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year – the equivalent of 435 return flights from London to New York.

This spending spree harms our own wellbeing and wallets too. Nine out of 10 shoppers find Black Friday highly stressful, with 24% admitting that they soon regret purchasing their Black Friday bargains.

As more people wise up to the financial and environmental impacts of shopping holidays like Black Friday, calls for an alternative approach to our love affair with buying and binning are growing.

In response, Circular Communities Scotland is launching its first ever Green Friday today, to champion reusing, repairing, and sharing items that will last for a lifetime. Sustainable organisations across the country are uniting to showcase their zero-waste alternatives to frenzied consumption, and show that buying less doesn’t need to mean wanting more.

At Glasgow Tool Library we are proud to be part of this movement to combat hyper consumerism and redefine the relationship between want and waste. By sharing our catalogue of more than 1,000 items with the local community, we help members to save their money, find a community, and develop skills.

Of course, we wouldn’t dream of stopping you from treating your loved ones to tokens of your affection. That’s why we have created Gift Memberships – so you can share the joys of a slow and sustainable lifestyle for the same cost as a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates.