Twitter Buying Trends: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Holiday shopping is increasingly being influenced by social media platforms like Twitter, this is particularly true of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As indicated in a 2013 poll, those who use Twitter spend more and use the portal as a strategy resource that informs their buying decisions.

According to a DB5 survey of 1,000 US adults 7 out of 10 of our users will rely on Twitter to enhance their Black Friday and Cyber Monday experiences. A total of 85 percent of Twitter users shop on Black Friday and 81 percent shop on Cyber Monday. Unsurprisingly, Twitter uses are bigger online shoppers than non-Twitter users. While 54 percent of all adults plan to shop on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday days, that number jumps to 68 percent among Twitter users.

A Green Christmas and a Sustainable State of Mind

The holiday season is here and many of us are making more responsible choices, however, while personal actions are critical, this time of year is also a wonderful opportunity to green our consciousnesses. While we all must strive to reduce our energy consumption and eliminate the waste we produce, there is a psychological dimension to environmental stewardship that may not be so obvious.

People who are interested in being more environmentally and socially responsible do a host of things at Christmas time and throughout the year. 

Decorations

When it comes to decorations, they use natural materials like organic cotton and sustainable wood. They avoid plastic containing PVC and toxic chemicals like phthalates, as well as decorations that contain lead and mercury.

Video - Unsustainable Christmas Statistics and How to Make Christmas Greener

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Electronic Receipts are Convenient and Save Trees

Electronic Receipts are Convenient and Save Trees

Instead of printing out a paper receipt, many stores you now give you the option of sending your receipt by email instead. This is both convenient for consumers and it saves a precious resource. Around ten million trees are cut down each year to make receipts in the US. Trees both provide oxygen and sequester CO2. 

In addition to being better for the environment it also is a great way to organize your records. They can be kept in a separate folder for future reference. This is ideal in the event that you need to return an item or for filing tax returns.

Green Market Oracle's Gift Guide: A Summary of More Responsible Gifts

Are you someone with a green conscience looking for a last minute gift idea? Look no further than the Green Market Oracle's summary of green gift ideas that are sure to please everyone on your holiday list. These gifts are not only more environmentally responsible they also communicate something about your own ecological attitudes.

Here is a quick review of 18 gift recommendations as well as a dozen catalogs each full of green gift ideas.

Event - Halton Halton Environmental Network (HEN) Holiday Social & Enviro Guide Release

Halton Environmental Network (HEN) Holiday Social and 2014 Enviro Guide Release will take place on Thursday December 12, 2013, at Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre in Oakville Ontario. The gathering will start at 5 pm in the multi-purpose room, C-094, near the front entrance. It's also the launch of HEN's 10th anniversary year! They will be sharing some holiday enviro tips and doing a re-gift exchange! Bring a new unwanted gift you've received, leave it on our table, and take one you want. (Participation is optional.) They will donate any leftover gifts to a local charity. If you haven't seen their new office yet, they will be happy to take you on a tour. All are welcome. Light refreshments provided.

Green Tuesday: The Best of Thanksgiving Consumerism Strives to be Both Sustainable and Profitable

In 2011 Green America launched Green Tuesday to promote sustainable products and services during the period of rampant holiday consumerism. Green Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend, it is designed to inspire consumers to make "thoughtful, purposeful, eco-minded choices." Green Tuesday has a lot of competition from other sustainability initiatives including those associated with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. The day is also being claimed by another event called "Giving Tuesday," which encourages Americans to donate to charity.

Video - Small Business Saturday Contributes to Sustainability

Small Business Saturday has been around for three years and in that time people are increasingly seeing the value of shopping at mom and pops instead of the big boxes. As explained in a Treehugger article,

"[T]he best tool for greening our lives is Urbanity- building communities that you can get around in without a car. Where you can get what you need within walking or biking distance. That's where small businesses come in to play. They are local, they support the community, and they make our main streets come alive."

Waste is an Unfortunate Thanksgiving Tradition

The holiday season represents a high point for retailers and a low point for the environment. There are two major things we can do to help minimize our impacts. The first is to be more mindful of purchasing behaviors and second is to do a better job of managing our waste. Waste is one of the biggest problems associated with the holidays. Waste is highly detrimental to the environment and according to the EPA, 32 million tons of plastic waste are generated yearly, 14 million tons of which are used in packaging. During the period from Thanksgiving to the New Year, Americans generate 25 percent more waste than average. This includes

Black Friday Purchasing Behaviors: Shopping Locally and Learning from the Great Recession of 2008

What can the environmentally conscious consumer do to be a more responsible shopper? One obvious thing we can do to help offset environmental impacts is to buy local. We may also benefit from reflecting on the implications of the economic meltdown of 2008. Black Friday is a fascinating conflagration of consumerism kicking off a spending frenzy worth more than $59 billion in 2012, which was up from $52.5 billion in 2011. To capitalize on this orgy of consumerism, retail outlets are opening earlier every year. This year many big box stores opened their doors on the Thursday prior to Black Friday. Just five years after the start of the Great Recession, consumers are battling each other in retail outlets to save a few dollars. This may be a good time of year to remember what happened in 2008 and why.

Green Tuesday's Sustainable Consumerism

Green Tuesday is one of several ways people are trying to brand the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.  The Green Tuesday event was started on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 by a non-profit environmental group. This group and others are now advocating that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving be dedicated to "green" shopping activities. Green Tuesday encourages holiday shoppers to make “eco-minded” choices and seek out fair-trade, sustainable, and artisanal products.

All Indications Suggest a Banner Year for Cyber Monday Shopping

By all indications, Cyber Monday is likely to set records this year. Buying online is a greener form of consumption because it reduces the amount of fuel used to find, price and purchase an item. Online shopping is also a greener way to shop due to the fact that trucks can deliver goods more efficiently and it takes a lot less energy to run a warehouse for boxes of goods than a mall. Online shopping can be a more beneficial option for the planet particularly when it is paired with more responsible purchasing (ie: purchasing items with smaller footprints).

Patagonia Shows the Way with Responsible Business Leadership

Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company that is showing real leadership by asking consumers to think twice about whether they really need to buy a new jacket. They offer services to fix the jacket you have rather than buy a new one. They will even help you sell it without charge. If it is really beyond repair, they will recycle it.

Black Friday 2011 Saw a Big Year-Over-Year Spending Increase

Early reports indicate that the 2011 Black Friday spend saw a huge year-over-year increase. According to the data group ShopperTrak, retail sales on Black Friday grew 6.6 percent this year compared to just 0.3% in 2010, raking in an estimated $11.4 billion dollars compared to last year's $10.7 billion of annual sales. This is the most total sales in the history of Black Friday.

Retailers Incorrectly Expected Frugal Holiday Buying on Black Friday 2011

Frugal buying would make the holiday spend less than some had hoped for. But what is bad for retailers would have been beneficial for the Earth. Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that US retail and food services sales for October were up 0.5 percent from the previous month (economists expected a 0.3 percent rise) and 7.2 percent above October 2010. Excluding gasoline, retail sales rose 0.7 percent.

Video: Retail Shopping from a Sustainability Standpoint

This video takes a look at sustainable holiday shopping. How to spend thoughtfully and reconnect with the spirit of gift giving. This video focuses on alternatives to buying things. Look at where things come from and how they are made and what they are made of. Consider externalized costs when buying something. Try to buy things that are sustainably made. One example involves buying experiences instead of stuff.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Video: Sustainable Shopping

Although the idea of putting an end to shopping may be taking the idea to an extreme, many are now acknowledging that we should replace rampant consumerism with more sustainable shopping. That means considering the footprints of the objects we buy. In this video you can learn about
sustainable shopping and simplifying holiday celebrations.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Video: The Story of Stuff

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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New Methods of Manufacturing and New Patterns of Consumption

For the Earth to survive we need new patterns of consumption and new manufacturing methods. Our planet cannot sustain current rates of consumption or current methods of production.