Why you should participate in Circular Monday (rather than Black Friday)

Circular Monday JoyDellaVita Blog

What first started as White Monday, is now an internationally recognized action day titled Circular Monday. Launched just back in 2017 in Sweden is bringing more and more awareness to people worldwide. But what is the message behind Circular Monday? In short: it’s about the refrain from consumption. 

Black Friday and the associated deals and bargains are currently on everyone’s lips and can be found in every advertisement. It’s about the pure desire to consume, for many, whether you really need the products and services or not, the main thing is a good bargain. What once started as just one day, the bridging day after Thanksgiving in the United States, the day Black Friday, retail companies now celebrate Black Friday sales for sometimes for over a week. Buy, buy, buy.

But what are the effects of this consumerism that customers are tempted to do? Of course, a bargain is a valid sales argument for everyone. In the case of products that you really need, it is understandable. But what exactly do you really need? If you use the particular object day in and day out, it makes certain work processes easier, so it brings more quality into life, or is it just a nice gadget that will find its way to the residual waste or to the electrical collection after a few months anyway, because you have no real use for it anyway?

And that’s exactly what it’s about, addressing this wasteful behaviour, and at best not participating in it. Many companies and industries follow a linear economic system. This means that a product is produced (often in Asia), there is already waste there, we then use it and it ends up in the residual waste very soon. In non-recyclable garbage. A short lifetime and garbage at all ends. The opposite of this is a sustainable circular economy, which means that the no longer wanted product is reused at the end of its first use, for example. And here we come to the name of the day of action, Circular Monday.

Use Circular Monday 2020, on November 23, 2020, to either not buy anything at all, or if, instead of Black Friday, at companies that work according to a circular economy principle. Be it at the local shop where you can buy unpacked loose food or a fashion second-hand shop, or give your shoes with the broken soles to the shoemaker instead of throwing them away. If you don’t have any local shops for this, there are of course also many eco online shops, a quick online search will certainly find what you are looking for.

Circular Monday facts

  • It was founded in Sweden in 2017, as White Monday, by the startup Repamera (sustainable fashion)
  • has since taken place annually on the Monday of the same week before Black Friday (on Friday) and US Thanksgiving (third Thursday in November)
  • It’s about abstaining from consumption, but if you need something, you should buy it second hand or be aware of the effects on the environment, and preferably shop at local companies
  • official Instagram account for the day of action: @circularMonday

About

Outdoor Lifestyle Blogger Lisa JoyDellaVita

Lisa is a Blogger for more than a decade now, sharing her adventures exploring the world on JoyDellaVita, as well as excursions into the culinary world, sustainable choices, how to live a healthy active lifestyle but overall, how to enjoy a life full of joys.