Between Click Frenzy, Single’s Day and now Black Friday, it feels like the whole world is constantly on sale, right? But just because it’s true, that doesn’t make it right.
We don’t do sales here at Citizen Wolf because we make only what we sell. Every single garment we produce is made to order, and we don’t have stock lying around. It’s a radically simple idea with profound implications at scale.
That said, it is literally impossible to get away from Black Friday, and so rather than fight against it, we created Black Fridye back in 2018 as our antidote to the madness, and we’re on a mission to hijack the biggest sales event of the year to help end disposable fashion for good.
An impossible task?
Maybe. But we’ll happily dye trying. Because the alternative is that we die anyway under a suffocating tidal wave of polyester crap that no one really needs.
Black Friday might be worth billions, but our planet is priceless.
80% of the clothes bought in the sales last year were worn only once before being landfilled – University of Leeds
Americans spent US$9.12 billion on Black Friday in 2022, equal to about $6.3 million per minute. Last year, some fast fashion brands sold clothes for a few cents each. And whilst saving 99% is psychological catnip, it goes hand in hand with perception of value. Is it any wonder that a recent study by the University of Leeds has shown that as much as 80% of the clothes bought in the sales last year were worn only once before being landfilled.
This year, more than 1 in 3 Aussies plan to shop on Black Friday, yet we already buy about 27 kg of clothes each year. That’s already a pretty wild stat, given that one Tee weighs only 250g. But it gets worse, because we’re also throwing out 23 kg of clothes, most of which ends up in landfill releasing methane be it locally or abroad (dead white man’s clothes).
This is happening because of the ever quickening pace of fast fashion: 52+ micro-seasons in lieu of the four actual seasons. Globally, we consume 400% more clothing than we did just two decades ago. And with both price and quality in a race to the bottom, we’ve lost our appreciation of the skill required to make clothes, which is why just 2% of garment workers are paid a living wage.
But worse, we are wilfully ignoring the fact that clothes consume finite planetary resources. We keep taking from the planet without giving back, or giving it a rest.
95% Less Carbon Than New Clothes.
Black Fridye breathes new life into any piece of clothing from any brand by making them black. You get the same dopamine hit as hauling new, with 95% less carbon.
While some people save up and wait to buy things they really need on sale, most of Black Friday isn’t about that. It’s about the sport of consumption. And we get it – in our brains, getting a bargain is equivalent to getting high. But it’s high time we stopped putting short term pleasure over the long term health of the planet.
With the IPCC calculating the fashion industry’s climate impact at 10% of global carbon emissions, it’s no surprise sustainable fashion organisations are calling for the cancellation of Black Friday. But that genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and rather than piss against the wind, we think there’s a better way.
The most sustainable clothes are the ones we already own, and if you open your wardrobe you’ll likely find loads of clothes that you haven’t worn in ages. Maybe they aren't your colour anymore, or perhaps some are stained, or simply faded.
Black Fridye makes it easy to love these clothes longer and help you do your bit for the planet in the process by overdyeing them black. Yep, we’ll breathe new life into any piece of clothing from any brand by making them black so you can get the same dopamine hit as hauling new, but with 95% less carbon.
Our Impact Last Year.
Black Fridye saved over 2.4 MILLION litres of water in 2022 – the equivalent of 39 backyard swimming pools!
Our co-founder Zoltan has done the maths, and found that on average, “it takes around 7,547 litres of water to grow and process the cotton to make a pair of jeans, but it only takes five litres to re-dye your favourite pair black again and make them good as new”.
In 2022, Black Fridye saved over 2.4 MILLION litres of water compared to creating those same clothes from scratch. That's the equivalent of around 39 backyard swimming pools! This year, we’re aiming to save over 5 million litres of water, or enough to fill two Olympic swimming pools. This is important because freshwater is a prerequisite for life, and it’s rapaciously guzzled up by the fast fashion industry.
So if you’re looking for an incredibly easy and affordable way to reduce your carbon footprint, save fresh water and refresh your wardrobe at the same time, it’s safe to say that Black Fridye has you covered.
