Each year, Black Friday’s tempting deals and deep discounts make it one of the biggest shopping days around the globe. Black Friday started as an American event after Thanksgiving. Now, it is a global event, and many UK brands participate to boost sales.

But while consumers rush to grab the best bargains, this surge in shopping has a hidden cost on the planet.

In 2023, companies shipped more than 3 million parcels during Black Friday weekend. This was a 45% increase from last year. This year, we can expect the numbers to climb even higher.

The environmental cost of Black Friday

With the rise in online shopping, the carbon footprint of these transactions has grown significantly. According to estimates, Black Friday online sales generate approximately 386,243 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, largely from transportation alone.

But there’s more. Using our environmental calculator tool, we found that shipping 3 million more parcels in new cardboard boxes this Black Friday would make a big impact:

• 13,257 trees would be cut down to produce these boxes.
• The process would release 3781 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to nearly 6000 return flights from London to New York.
• 63 million kWh of energy would be used, enough to power 4262 homes for a month.
• 770 million litres of water would be consumed, enough to fill 308 Olympic-sized pools.

Why Reuse Over Recycling?

Most of us assume that recycling cardboard is environmentally friendly. Cardboard is indeed one of the most commonly recycled materials, with over 70% recycled in the UK alone.

However, each recycling cycle degrades cardboard fibres, which means people can’t recycle them infinitely. Even recycled boxes often have some new pulp for extra strength. This means that we cut down more trees just to turn a box into another box.

Reuseabox, in partnership with the University of Lincoln, developed a tool to measure environmental impact. This tool compares reuse to recycling. This tool shows that reusing cardboard boxes before recycling them greatly lowers environmental impact. When someone reuses a box just once, they save trees, carbon, energy, and water.

How to Make a Difference This Black Friday

While it’s hard to resist a good Black Friday deal, there are steps we can take to reduce our impact:

• For Businesses: E-commerce companies can make eco-friendly choices. You can use couriers with electric or hybrid vehicles. You can also offset your carbon emissions. Additionally, you can choose second-hand cardboard boxes instead of new ones to reduce the impact of your packaging.
• For Consumers: Consumers can make a positive impact by supporting sustainable brands. Shop locally to reduce emissions from long-distance shipping. Considering whether you genuinely need to buy that item just because it’s on sale is also important.

According to World Counts, if everyone lived like an average American, we would need the resources of more than five Earths. Clearly, we need to find more sustainable ways to consume and protect the only planet we have.

Beyond Black Friday

By reusing a cardboard box just once, we can greatly cut down the need for new materials. This helps lower our overall impact on the environment. As consumers and businesses, we all must make important choices this Black Friday that can lead us to a more sustainable future.