Black Friday has become pretty ubiquitous when it comes to shopping. Despite being an American tradition in its origins, every year on the last Friday of November, prices on our real and virtual high streets are slashed, bargains are won, and Christmas lists ticked off. You might think it’s good for your bank balance, but done the wrong way it’s bad for a number of things, including one cause dear to our heart: independent small businesses, and the people who shop at them.
What most big retailers don’t want you to know is that participation in Black Friday requires time, money, and a lot of extra stock waiting in the wings. These aren’t things we small businesses have to spare – especially in this particularly tough year – and often setting up big discounts and longer hours can become a lot more stressful than it’s worth for the number of sales we do get. And although there might be a real bargain out there for you, today’s trends quickly become tomorrow’s trash – UK residents throw away a whopping 3kg of textiles every year, proving that an event like Black Friday encourages more and more waste in our lives. Bad for the environment, bad for your wallet, bad for your wardrobe.
So instead of joining the Black Friday masses, we’re trying to do something better. Here’s the plan.
Meet Bernard is excited to be teaming up with Clothes For Causes, a Greenwich-based (just like us!), entirely volunteer-run non-profit committed to helping the homeless and vulnerable in our city’s capital. They sell pre-loved clothes in their boutique, and all profits go towards securing and distributing essential items – sleeping bags, toiletries, tents and clothing – that are all distributed to those who need them. They help hundreds of the homeless and needy people that populate London’s streets, and we couldn’t be happier to be helping them out.
For every purchase made by you at meetbernard.com on November 27th and 28th (Black Friday and Small Business Saturday), 25% of its final cost will be donated to Clothes For Causes. No discounts, no fast-fashion turnover, no fuss – just good clothes at a good price for a good cause. Simple as that.
It’s time to throw away the throwaway mentality and think about what we really need in our wardrobes. Here at MB, we want you to 'buy less, buy better'. Wear our clothes for longer: look after them, repair them, restyle and reinvent them season after season, then pass them on to someone like Clothes For Causes, who’ll redistribute them to someone else who’ll love them and use your money to bring about positive change. We invest in brands designed for quality and longevity as well as style, and they’re all things money can’t buy. Not even with a 20% off code.
So this Black Friday, invest in a piece from us that you really love, safe in the knowledge that a quarter of your spend will go to a great cause (and the rest will go to a small business trying to keep at it in the big bad world of retail – we think that’s two things that are pretty worthwhile).
Local is the new black. Shop smart, and we’ll see you on the 27th.
Love,
MB x