2008 Woodie Awards
Not Black Friday--Green Friday
Consumers decide not to shop the day after Thanksiving
David Garrison
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Culture
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Last Friday kicked off the 2007 holiday shopping season. The people who fared the best might be those who stayed home.
Jesse Wheeler, 25, of Trinidad, Calif., isn't much of a shopper, but she shopped a little on "Black Friday." Coined in an article in the New York Times that was written in the late 70's, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving.
Retail stores nation-wide open their doors before the sun comes up on Black Friday. It is usually a hectic day. Large crowds of people flock to stores to get good deals on clothes, electronics, and other Christmas gifts. Wheeler didn't see much flocking this year.
"It seemed normal," she said.
Wheeler went to Redding, Calif., on Black Friday to buy some clothes. She expected be held up in traffic. She thought that she would have to elbow her way down the aisles as she shopped. She expected to see people everywhere. She didn't.
David Campbell, a psychology professor at Humboldt State University started to teach environmental psychology two years ago. He sees an increase in the number of people who choose not to shop on day's like Black Friday. The reason, he said, is that these days more people are concerned with the impact their actions have on the global community. He said that the items people buy won't be around forever. It takes resources to make them. When people are done with them, they take them to the landfill.
Campbell is a conscious consumer. He's been one for most of his life. He chose not to shop on Black Friday and only shops when he needs to.
Campbell said that the anti-consumerism trend is picking up speed. More people are watching what they buy. He said that people are aware that humanity is in a global crisis. This crisis includes extinction, lack of resources and climate change. It prompts people to be more efficient with their lifestyles, he said.
Campbell said that there are added benefits for people who don't shop on days like Black Friday. They don't feel stressed. They see themselves as part of the solution to a global crisis. They go to bed at night with a sense of self satisfaction. They can't fix the problems of the world, but under their own influence, "[they] help reduce environmental problems," Campbell said.
Jesse Wheeler, 25, of Trinidad, Calif., isn't much of a shopper, but she shopped a little on "Black Friday." Coined in an article in the New York Times that was written in the late 70's, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving.
Retail stores nation-wide open their doors before the sun comes up on Black Friday. It is usually a hectic day. Large crowds of people flock to stores to get good deals on clothes, electronics, and other Christmas gifts. Wheeler didn't see much flocking this year.
"It seemed normal," she said.
Wheeler went to Redding, Calif., on Black Friday to buy some clothes. She expected be held up in traffic. She thought that she would have to elbow her way down the aisles as she shopped. She expected to see people everywhere. She didn't.
David Campbell, a psychology professor at Humboldt State University started to teach environmental psychology two years ago. He sees an increase in the number of people who choose not to shop on day's like Black Friday. The reason, he said, is that these days more people are concerned with the impact their actions have on the global community. He said that the items people buy won't be around forever. It takes resources to make them. When people are done with them, they take them to the landfill.
Campbell is a conscious consumer. He's been one for most of his life. He chose not to shop on Black Friday and only shops when he needs to.
Campbell said that the anti-consumerism trend is picking up speed. More people are watching what they buy. He said that people are aware that humanity is in a global crisis. This crisis includes extinction, lack of resources and climate change. It prompts people to be more efficient with their lifestyles, he said.
Campbell said that there are added benefits for people who don't shop on days like Black Friday. They don't feel stressed. They see themselves as part of the solution to a global crisis. They go to bed at night with a sense of self satisfaction. They can't fix the problems of the world, but under their own influence, "[they] help reduce environmental problems," Campbell said.
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