Blue, Green, Repair and other 'Fridays': The alternative to Black Friday is becoming increasingly varied

The counter-narrative to Black Friday is starting to take on more and more different forms. The inbox is flooded with messages about Green Friday, but now Repair Friday, Blue Friday, Favorite Friday, Swap Friday and No-Fomo Friday are also joining them.

Green Friday at Xandres

Perhaps the most well-known term to choose a counter-voice for Black Friday is Green Friday. This term is also popular this year. Many initiatives can be grouped under this heading, such as repair.

This is also the case with the Belgian brand Xandres. For the fourth year in a row, it is closing its stores and webshop and the Xandres team is repairing damaged clothing for free. With this, the company wants to encourage people to cherish what they already have and extend its lifespan, especially on the day of overconsumption. Consumers could hand in clothing to the brand to have it repaired between 4 and 26 November.

No-Fomo Friday at Armedangels

German brand Armedangels is taking a different approach. With No-Fomo Friday, it encourages consumers to think carefully before making a purchase. Through ‘online experiences’, consumers are encouraged to pause before making a purchase and critically examine the items in their shopping cart. The ‘online experiences’ are described as pop-up messages that consumers see.

“Black Friday has become synonymous with impulse buying, which can lead to regretted purchases,” said Nora Chmielewski, Head of Marketing and Communications at Armedangels, in a press release. “Our campaign shifts the conversation from ‘more’ to ‘meaningful.’ We want to inspire people to take a step back, consider whether an item truly aligns with their values, and make purchases that have lasting value.”

Repair Friday at Veja

Shoe brand Veja has not participated in Black Friday since 2017. This year, the brand is joining forces with several companies to focus on repairs. Veja is inviting people to the brand’s headquarters in Paris to have items repaired, from shoes to clothing, furniture, computers and phones.

Swap Friday at Freitag

Another brand that is closing the (online) cash registers on Black Friday is Freitag. The brand opts for Swap Friday, where consumers can go to a store to exchange their Freitag item for another. “There are hundreds of good reasons not to participate in the Black Friday madness. With the over-the-top discount madness, it is a day that helps few people and harms more, whether socially, ecologically or economically,” the brand says. “So like previous years, Freitag is taking action against mass consumption and saying yes to a sustainable economy.” The motto for Swap Friday is: Have a drink. Bring your own bag. Leave with someone else's.

Blue Friday at JBC

Belgian brand JBC has come up with many different variations on Black Friday in recent years. For example, it already did Flashback Friday, Warm Friday, and Bring Back Friday to distance itself from the overconsumption of the bargain holiday. In 2024, JBC opts for Blue Friday, in which it draws attention to the water use in the fashion industry.

This year, JBC is working together with the NGO Join for Water. For every item handed in during the well-known Bring Back moment of children's clothing, JBC donates one euro to the NGO. The proceeds are used for the Join for Water project in Burundi, which gives a health centre access to clean water and keeps it that way.

JBC has been committed to using items for longer for some time now. The campaign therefore fits in with what the fashion industry has come to know from the brand in recent years. "Our clothing is made to last. At JBC, we believe in pass-on fashion: the longer clothing is worn, the smaller the impact on water consumption," says Ann Claes, co-CEO of Claes Retail Group.

Favorite Friday at Livera

Dutch lingerie brand Livera is opting for a duo approach. The company is celebrating Black Friday, but also has the option for Favorite Friday. In selected stores, consumers can have their favorite item repaired for free, such as a bra with a protruding underwire, a broken bikini closure. This is possible in multiple of the store's brick-and-mortar locations. Livera does indicate that there is no guarantee that every item can be repaired, 'but we do our best'.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.NL, translated and edited to English.

It was translated using an AI tool called Gemini 1.5. .

FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@fashionunited.com