Are You Shopping on Black Friday?

This week is Thanksgiving, and that means that Black Friday is coming up at the end of the week. Are you planning to shop?

Americans spent $11.4 billion at the mall last year on Black Friday – chasing deals and stocking up on stocking stuffers. Black Friday shopping is typically a mob scene. It’s stressful, all of that consumption is bad for the planet, and those flash sales tend to bring out the worst in us. People push and shove, and shoppers have even been seriously injured.

Related Reading: 8 Yoga Poses to Beat Holiday Stress

This year, some stores are even planning to be open on Thanksgiving day, which means workers have to be away from their families so that they can sell cheap flat screens and discounted sweaters to go under the Christmas tree. Walmart workers are even planning a strike for Black Friday this year to protest their treatment around the holidays (and all year long).

So, what’s an ethical shopper to do? Luckily, there are a few ways that you can opt out of the Black Friday madness, and two of them even let you get your shop on! Check out some ideas on the next page.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Kathy P.

11:14AM PST on Feb 21, 2013

no. after working retail on Black Friday? No thanks. That was enough madness for this gal

February 21
send a green star

Laurence F.

5:21AM PST on Feb 2, 2013

We don't have Black Friday in Belgium

February 2
send a green star

Stella G.

8:18PM PST on Jan 9, 2013

How long has this article been floating around?

January 9
send a green star

Chi H.

12:03AM PST on Jan 3, 2013

Ralph Nader should have won the presidency with a write-in campaign, long ago.
He has come up with 17 Solutions-viable points, to solve the economic and other crises currently poised to implode.
But bottom line, he related that we, the people, DO have a potent tool to use to refocus and direct where our country is going, that corporations are fearful of [referring to all the laws corporations have gotten passed, to protect their behaviors].
That is, we can still vote with our wallets.
While it will not be fast, nor completely effective to start, "voting with our wallets", informs industry what we DO want in our world [like organic foods and full disclosure].
This has been hugely effective, and increasingly so, gradually picking up momentum.
It is up to people to get serious about learning how to live better, to be the best caretakers of the earth we can.
We can do that, have been doing that gradually.
We need to work faster and more effectively at it.
AND we need to stop allowing oujrselves to keep getting derailed by industries feeding bogus information into the media, and allowing ourselves to be steared by fears promoted by certain factions with agendas even those in those groups, mostly are unaware of.

January 3
send a green star

Daisy K.

7:45PM PST on Jan 2, 2013

Since many go cross-border shopping during this horrible event, now Canadian stores have bought into it in an effort to keep the money here...as some of the comments in the article mention shopping local, supporting small business and using restraint, people should take it seriously. Who are you helping getting out of the red ? Big Box stores thats who ! Often by promoting a cheap product, have underpaid staff and appealing to people's greed.
There are many that feel there is too much commercial aspects to Christmas and I wonder how many of them are in the lineups?,,,of course it's not promoting it, it's something they can't do without !.
Having owned a small business, selling a quality product, offering twice a year sales, am offended by the first words a possible (?) customer asks 'is there's a sale?' Taking custom orders (time and money invested) and educating people so they can make intelligent decisions is what is offered.
If we weren't a 'throw-a-way' society, Big Box stores wouldn't be making their profits off many who should be keeping their cash/credit cards in their pockets...

January 2
send a green star

Lori D.

4:25AM PST on Dec 10, 2012

I will NEVER participate in Black Friday.

December 10
send a green star

A M.

9:18AM PST on Dec 4, 2012

I love going to stores on Black Friday just to watch all the crazed shoppers and be part of the madness...I usually don't buy much though!

December 4
send a green star

Alicia C.

5:49AM PST on Nov 28, 2012

I love black friday shopping! Its so much fun but I would never go to a place like Best Buy because people had been camping out for over a week there, trying to score the best deals so there's really no point going there considering most of the best deals would have already been gone...