Using Mindful Consumption To Fight Black Friday and Protect The Ocean

This week’s Wake-Up Wednesday Wins fall on a particularly frustrating week for environmentalists: the week of Black Friday.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, have no Internet, or don’t use email, you’re aware that this week is home to one of humanity’s most frustrating holidays: Black Friday. I say frustrating, because let’s face it: the holiday has become a monster. It’s a sore spot for any earth-loving, low-waste-living, climate-change believing person.

This is the week we start getting bombarded with emails upon emails screaming “DEALS!” and “SALES!” Also – since when did it become a week-long holiday? Thanks to time and the Internet, this holiday has gone from a once-a-year, on-an-actual-Friday event to days, weeks, and months-long free-for-all. Frustrating.

One the one hand, it’s not so bad. The Internet (and a global pandemic) has made it easier to get away from crowded malls and find more unique deals online. But on the other hand, big-box online retailers like Amazon rake in billions this time of year.

The Problem with Black Friday

Consumption isn’t necessarily the culprit, although it is a serious problem. No, I think the bigger issue here is what we’re consuming, how we’re consuming, and how much.

For starters, money earned from your job and then spent on Amazon doesn’t stay in your local economy. Sure, you get a deal, but nobody else does. Mother nature gets especially impacted, by so much packaging entering the waste stream, coupled with returned items being landfilled. Oh, you didn’t know? Buyer, beware.

The products being snapping up through so many Black Friday deals also makes a difference. New items made in far-away countries carry more impacts with them than something made by hand, sourced secondhand, or purchased from a local business.

And, of course, quantity: it’s hard, but buying less of anything is the best.

Which is why we need an antidote to Black Friday!

The Antidote to Black Friday

Your hard-earned dollars spent locally creates a whole host of community benefits. The least of which is that you get to walk away feeling warm and fuzzy for helping keep that businesses lights on.

Not only that, but the percentage of what the business owner gets back from your purchase is larger. The more middle men are involved between you and your chosen purchase, the less money that goes into the business’s pocket.

And, if you have a problem with your purchase, chances are 1,000x greater that you’ll be able to resolve the issue faster, and likely with the business owner themselves. There is no way you’re getting Jeff Bezos on the phone to discuss why your Prime shipment came with 5 ramekins instead of 6.

Combat Black Friday Blues

This year has proven to be a shit-show of a year and small businesses have taken a serious walloping. Cue another frustration: that I even had to say that is ridiculous. That we live in a society where small, independent businesses have to shut their doors because they can’t compete with big-box retailers is ludicrous, and frankly shameful.

It is for these reasons that this year, it would be a good idea for us all to look around our communities (in-person or digital) and find an independent business or organization we can support. Sure, it might mean we have to say no to that crazy, stupid, helluva flatscreen TV deal, but what is the holiday season about, anyway? TVs? Is it about mindless consumption and crappy products? Or is it about very intention, mindful consumption? Shouldn’t it be about helping to inject our local economies with revenue, save the planet, and feel good? I will take the latter, thank you very much.

The Stories This Week

Below are five stories that share in this sentiment. All of these stories help remind me – and I hope you, too – that mindful consumption is what we need this holiday season (and…all the time, for forever).

So sit back, grab a cup of something hot, and enjoy this week’s Wins!

1. Fill-er-Up at Kelowna’s Latest Refill Store

Kelowna just welcomed a new refill shop – FILL Kelowna’s Refill Store – to its business community and I finally had the pleasure of visiting it earlier this week. It’s the closest shop to where I live, which is practically a dream come true! The shop itself was actually a dream come true: everything was unpackaged, simple, and smelled amazing.

But what I loved most about my visit was interacting with the co-owner and one of her staff members. Harriet (the staff member) kindly helped me figure out which cleaning products would work best in my home. Upon learning that I was struggling with finding the perfect product to keep my floors cleaned, she offered to dispense a few tablespoons of cleaner for me to take home, instead of me having to buy an entire bottle. She recommended I use just a very tiny amount and that if I did, it would last for months.

Gabi (the co-owner) was happy to chat about some of the ins and outs of their purchasing process, when I asked about some of the products on their shelves. Our conversations felt relaxed, like talking with friends.

This is the kind of experience that is virtually non-existent at big-box stores and 100% impossible to experience when shopping online. Being in a shop like FILL, you’re reminded everywhere you turn of mindful consumption: only buy what you need and when you do, make sure it’s of quality and safe for humans and the planet. Not only that, but by me purchasing products at FILL, I’m supporting FILL. I’m not supporting a faceless corporation.

Sure, I may have paid a bit more for my products than I would have if I had purchased the same things elsewhere, but the connections, conversation, and community are really what I came for.

Beat that, Amazon.

2. Instead of Black Friday…Go Blue

One thing I really love about this time of year is seeing all the anti Black Friday sentiments floating about. There’s #BuyNothingDay, #F***BlackFriday, and of course all the “giving” holidays that have sprung up from various non-profits and charity organizations. My new favourite?

Blue Friday! Okanagan-based, reusable bag make to the stars, The Market Bags recently shared about this initiative her business – and several others – are taking part in.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH6pAkpDDaK/

Started by a group of Canadian small businesses, Blue Friday celebrates the ocean big time. This year, the group has pledged – in partnership with Surfrider Foundation Vancouver Island – to donate 100% of their profits from “Blue Friday” sales to support the installation of a Seabin in one of Victoria, BC’s harbours.

What’s a Seabin? The Seabin is a device or “unit” that skims trash from waterways. (Think marinas, yacht clubs, ports, and other calm, protected water bodies where trash might accumulate.) According to their website, it’s a bit like a “floating garbage bin,” sucking up macro- and micro-plastics. It’s an inventive way to deal with floating anthropogenic debris and is well-suited for inner-harbour type environments.

Last year, this group of Blue Friday businesses raised over $15,200 which was enough to cover the purchase and installation of two Seabins. This year, they’re hoping to raise enough funds to purchase one more.

Is it a coincidence that the businesses involved are all small businesses hell-bent on creating products that are better for this planet and helping us consumers become more mindful with our shopping? I think not! This is yet another way for consumers to spend their hard-earned dollars supporting causes and businesses they believe in. #winning

3. Refuse Single Use Coffee Cups (No, Really. It’s Time.)

I know, I know – life is hard. Especially right now. All we want is comfort! With coffee shops the world over refusing to fill reusable mugs, the environmentally-minded have been left to make a choice: BYOCoffee, or buy a single-use coffee cup and try to get over the guilt associated with that act.

It’s easy to justify, right? “Well, I’m supporting a local coffee shop at least…” or “…I really need a pick-me-up today…” I’ve totally been guilty of this these last several months. It’s easier to go with the flow, get the hit of caffeine, and shrug off the guilt.

But I think we need to take a good, hard, look at our coffee consumption and cut it out (sorry to be so frank). The world cannot support each of us everyday buying a single-use plastic-lined paper cup with #6 polystyrene plastic lid. It just can’t. That, and are all these materials really getting recycled? I certainly do wonder.

However – there is some hope here. Circular & Co is a UK-based company tackling coffee cup waste by turning cups into…other cups. By mixing coffee cup waste with recycled plastic, they’re creating a new type of reusable coffee cup and tackling the problem of coffee cup waste at the same time. To read more about their story, I highly recommend giving this a read, from purpose-driven writer and speaker, Katie Treggiden.

There are so many options out there to avoid single-use paper coffee cups. There are myriad tutorials online to help us make better coffee. So please…quit it with the single-use cups. It’s really time. Start making coffee at home and invest in a nice to-go mug. It could be one of those aforementioned coffee cup cups, or something you find local to your region. It could be a jar for Pete’s sake! Anything but those dang paper cups.

For me, making coffee in the morning has become something of a ritual. I make coffee and meditate while it’s brewing. The smell of fresh coffee wakes up my senses and provides me with a peaceful moment to just…be. And, on a more practical level, it’s saving me a crap ton of money and keeping my recycling bin lighter and this planet just a tad healthier.

4. Crafting Connections Between Seaweed & Ocean Health

I recently connected with someone on social media over seaweed. Yes, seaweed. Laura had posted about a forthcoming book that she contributed a recipe to (she is an exceptionally talented storyteller, home cook, baker, gardener, and fermenter extraordinaire) and I wanted to know more. I should mention also that while we haven’t yet met in person (ahhh the Internet), Laura is a wonderful human and we chat semi-regularly about food, chickens, and random other bits. Like seaweed.

It turns out that Laura’s friend, Amanda, is the one publishing this book. It will be called Mermaid of the Pacific’s STORY of SEAWEED: Discovering Food, Medicine & Purpose in the Kelp Forests of the Pacific Northwest. You see, Amanda owns a small seaweed harvesting business (Dakini Tidal Wilds) based on the west coast of Vancouver Island. She has a background in marine science (kindred spirits!) and started hand-harvesting wild seaweeds in 2003. Her mission is to educate people about seaweed and its benefits to both our bodies and the marine environment.

Amanda recently wrote a series of blog posts discussing one on my very favourite topics – ocean health! Her most recent post takes a look at the mounting body of evidence suggesting microplastics are infiltrating every level of productivity in the ocean. Scary stuff – but she also writes about tangible solutions. No surprise that her recommendations are in theme of mindful consumption: avoid single-use plastics, BYOB, and shop at package-free establishments (which typically happen to be independent, small businesses. Go figure!)

Let’s face it: plastic pollution is not a nice topic by any means. So, I really appreciate it when people – especially those with knowledge to share – take the time to actually share the knowledge! It’s even better when business owners use their platforms to educate their customers and readers. I was really encouraged by Amanda’s words, and her work in the world of seaweed.

It’s also wonderful to see people taking the initiative to find a need and fill it: in Amanda’s case, raising awareness about the importance of seaweed and providing her customers with a high-quality product, harvested with intention.

I also haven’t met Amanda (yet) but I look forward to learning more about seaweed through her, and reading her book!

5. Sustainability Sundays

I started a new weekly series on the blog! I’m calling it Sustainability Sundays and it’s my chance to take a deep dive into one specific sustainablity success story. The posts will feature “everyday earth heroes” doing things to make this planet a more sustainable place to be. And, they will always end with a call-to-action (or several!).

Last week, I wrote about a new author – Phil Vincent – who’s connecting the dots between illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and organized crime. He is so passionate about protecting our watery planet and has had some pretty wild life experiences so in the end, decided to write a book – called Varuna – that tied everything together. If you’d like to give our conversation a read, check it out here.

Walking Through the Week, Mindfully

And that’s all, folks! Another week of Wins to help you walk through the rest of this week more mindfully. It’s impossible to escape the clutches of Black Friday shopping madness but with a good pause and a deep breath, we know that this too shall pass.

I hope this week’s wins have provided you with a small dose of hope and a moment of mindfulness. As always, if you hear of a story you think would be a good fit for this series, please do let me know! Thanks for reading, and happy Wednesday. ✌🏼