It’s Black Friday – that one glorious, guilt-ridden day of the year where my inner environmentalist battles it out with my inner treasure hunter.
Happy Friday friends.
Each year, as the leaves drop and the inbox swells with once-a-year deals, I find myself asking myself ‘Can I shop my way into happiness without simultaneously shopping my way into environmental doom?’
The obvious answer, of course, is no. But if that were the end of the story, I wouldn’t have spent the last 10 minutes looking to see if Amazon had any Black Friday deals on a set of Yeti stackable coffee cups.
Don’t judge me, everyone surely everyone loves a Yeti stackable coffee cup, no?
And let’s look at Amazon, for instance. The global titan of shopping sites claims to have made strides toward sustainability, and to be fair, they’ve done some impressive things. The company has pledged to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, invested heavily in electric delivery fleets, and even built wind and solar farms to power their operations.
But here’s the rub, while Amazon offsets emissions and touts climate-friendly initiatives, it also fuels an overconsumption culture that leaves a heavier carbon footprint in the long run.
Arguably, one van making multi drops of goodies concentrated in single postcodes helps to remove countless car trips to shops.
But for every green-powered delivery van, there’s still a mountain of cardboard boxes, plastic fillers, and energy-intensive supply chains behind it that relies on people putting in their re-cycling bins.
In short, shopping “green” on Amazon is like trying to diet by eating vegan cake. It’s slightly better, but let’s not kid ourselves, it’s still cake.
But I’m as guilty as everyone else of enjoying it. Who can put their hand on their heart and say they’ve never experienced the adrenaline rush of buying something they didn’t need to get the ‘before 10pm today delivery’.
The guilt of overconsumption
As Carbon Champion, Chief orangutan saver and Net Zero Guru at Syntech Biofuel, a company committed to advancing sustainable energy, I spend a lot of my time thinking and talking about carbon footprints.
Yet, come Black Friday, that moral compass seems to spin wildly as I hover over the ‘Buy Now’ button. It’s not just the deals; it’s the rush.
And in recent months, TikTok has upped the ante.
If you haven’t scrolled TikTok lately, let me warn you, it’s a digital marketplace disguised as entertainment.
Between videos of people trying out ridiculously clever gadgets and influencers claiming their lives were ‘transformed’ by a product, my self-control has crumbled.
TikTok made me do it
It started innocently enough with the TikTok vegetable chopper. (chopping onions is practically a sport, right?)
But that chopper was just the gateway purchase.
Before I knew it, my app-driven binges had escalated to the robot aurora borealis projector. I mean, who doesn’t need the northern lights in their living room or office.
The ‘reach any window’ cleaning pole and bathroom floor supermop quickly came next, followed by the BBQ cleaner and olive oil spraying bottle. The long suffering Mrs. O still refuses to open the under-sink cleaning kit storage racks I treated her to.
Then came the pièce de résistance, the TikTok remote control excavator and dumper truck set.
At this point, my colleagues were on the cusp of asking one of our on site mental health first aiders to check in on me.
Reconciling consumerism with climate action
So, here I am, caught in a paradox of my own making. On the one hand, I’m fully aware of the environmental cost of my TikTok-induced shopping spree. On the other, I’m human, and Black Friday plays into every dopameine-driven urge we have.
But maybe that’s where the solution lies, in recognising and tempering those urges. It’s not about banning shopping altogether but being more mindful of the choices we make.
For example, when I shop, I try to:
Look for sustainability labels. Whether it’s recycled materials or carbon-neutral shipping, small choices add up.
Buy fewer but better. That’s the goal, anyway. (Though TikTok’s algorithms clearly missed the memo.)
Support local businesses. Not everything has to arrive in a box with a smiley arrow.
Ultimately, the battle between sustainability and consumerism isn’t one we’ll solve overnight, especially not on Black Friday. But as I sit here, slightly embarrassed by my growing collection of unnecessary gadgets, I’m always reminded that laughter is a powerful antidote to guilt.
So, this year, instead of lamenting my shopping sins, I’ll make a new rule, for every impulsive purchase I make, I’ll spend twice as much time thinking about ways to reduce my overall consumption.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll keep the excavator. You know, for ‘research purposes.’
Happy Black Friday, everyone. Let’s shop wisely, laugh loudly, and remember: every small step towards sustainability counts.
Story by Syntech Biofuel
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