We’ll be the first to say it, Black Friday is a sustainability nightmare.
Endless “flash sales”, “one-day-only” panic buying, overproduction, and next-day delivery promises… it’s basically the opposite of everything most brands say they stand for when it comes to conscious consumption.
But for most ecommerce brands, it’s not as simple as opting out. When you’ve got stock to move, sales targets to hit, and customers who expect a deal, of course you want to maximise profits and make the most of the opportunity, who wouldn’t? But does it always have to come at the cost of sustainability?
The good news: it doesn’t.
You can absolutely take part in Black Friday without fuelling overconsumption or abandoning your values. You just need to approach it differently, with a bit more intention and a lot less chaos.
1. Stop Pushing Panic and Start Promoting Purpose
We’ve all seen those all-caps subject lines: “HURRY! FINAL HOURS! EVERYTHING MUST GO!” They’re loud, exhausting, and honestly, a bit outdated. People are tired of pressure-driven marketing that screams urgency but says nothing about the product or the brand behind it.
Instead, lead with purpose.
If your brand stands for craftsmanship, transparency, or sustainability, make that your Black Friday message. Shift the narrative from “buy more” to “buy better.”
Talk about how your products are made, who makes them, and why they last. Customers who care about quality and values will still buy, and they’re far more likely to come back after the sale.
When you market with intention, you build loyalty, not just short-term spikes in revenue.
2. Offer Discounts That Actually Make Sense
There’s this unspoken rule that Black Friday has to mean 50% off everything. It doesn’t.
If deep discounts eat into your margins or promote wasteful shopping, then they’re not serving your business, or the planet.
The trick is to be strategic rather than reactive. You can still reward customers and hit your targets without resorting to blanket markdowns.
Try this:
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Reward loyalty. Give early access or exclusive offers to your most engaged customers.
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Create value-led bundles. Pair complementary items to encourage thoughtful purchases rather than impulse buys.
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Give back instead. Donate a percentage of profits to an environmental or social cause rather than cutting prices across the board.
Profitability and purpose don’t have to compete. The most successful sustainable brands find a balance that protects both.
3. Make Your Website Part of the Solution
Your website is where your brand’s sustainability story really comes to life. It’s often the first (and last) place customers interact with you during a sale, so make sure it reflects your values.
A few small changes can make a big difference:
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Optimise everything. Compress images and streamline your site to reduce data load, faster site, smaller carbon footprint.
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Offer delivery options. Let customers choose slower, more eco-friendly shipping if they want to.
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Be transparent. Clearly display your sustainability commitments on your product pages and checkout, don’t make customers dig for them.
If you talk about conscious business, your digital experience should back that up. A considered, well-designed website says more about your integrity than any marketing slogan ever could.
4. Stretch It Out and Ditch the One-Day Madness
Black Friday doesn’t have to be a one-day free-for-all. In reality, most brands have stretched it into weeks of offers anyway, so why not do it your way?
You could:
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Host a “Green Week.” Spread out mindful offers over several days, giving customers time to think before buying.
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Champion Small Business Saturday. Encourage people to shop local and support independents.
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Reframe it entirely. Join the growing “Green Friday” movement, where brands give back, through donations, volunteering, or closing the site for a cause.
By slowing things down, you remove the panic from purchasing. People make more intentional decisions, you reduce return rates, and your campaign feels calmer, more human, and more in tune with your brand values.
5. Be Honest About Where You’re At
No brand is perfectly sustainable. It’s an ongoing process, and pretending otherwise only builds distrust.
Customers aren’t looking for flawless; they’re looking for real.
So if you’re working on becoming more sustainable, maybe through greener packaging, ethical sourcing, or offsetting emissions, share that.
A simple “Here’s how we’re approaching Black Friday this year” post can do wonders for transparency. It shows you’re thinking about your impact and taking steps in the right direction, even if you’re not there yet.
Honesty builds connection, and connection builds loyalty, the kind that lasts well beyond one sales weekend.
So, What Now?
Yes, Black Friday is a great opportunity to increase revenue. Yes, brands want to make the most of it. But that doesn’t mean the planet, or your values, have to pay the price.
Sustainability doesn’t mean saying no to profit; it means saying no to the kind of profit that harms your brand’s credibility and contributes to a cycle of overconsumption no one really benefits from.
So this year, take a step back.
Plan a campaign that feels right, not rushed.
And sell with purpose, not panic.
We're a Shopify agency helping brands build sustainable ecommerce experiences that perform without compromising on purpose. From optimising your site's carbon footprint to crafting campaigns that connect with conscious customers, we'll help you turn Black Friday into an opportunity that aligns with your values and drives genuine growth.
Get in touch to see how we can support your next sale season.