How to combat Black Friday slump?

Dear Sustainable Fashion CEOs,

Brace yourselves; the darkest day for sustainable fashion brands is approaching. As 25th November comes closer, you will start noticing the drop in sales, because alternatives will be available at a cheaper price, bigger discounts.

The impact of black Friday on your business is not fun! Here’s what you can do to counter the effect.

1.    Discount the dead stock – pull out everything that is over 1 year old, that’s your dead inventory, you have money blocked in it, lets liquidate it by sharing attractive discounts on it during the same time.

2.    Offer non-financial incentives – I would go to the length of saying – “x kgs CO2 discount on each garment” or “5 trees discount on each garment”

3.    Take a stand - Spell out the fact that you do not participate in consumerist propaganda and that your clothes remain as valuable as they were yesterday. 

4.    Pledge together with your followers – I pledge that this black Friday I will not indulge to harm the planet.

5.    Promote Small Business Saturday – Strategically placed, it’s a shopping holiday that falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

6.    Stop your ads – Facebook or Instagram will be too expensive during this weekend, don’t waste your money.

7.    Liquidate defective inventory - if you have a rescue program, this is the right time to list all your slightly damaged inventory, rescue customers would prefer to buy these rather than from black Friday sales as these products come at comparable discounts. Get listing.

All the best!