by Ethan Brooke on November 29, 2024
We don’t like Black Friday. Why? Because the day has become synonymous with overconsumption, FOMO, and, often, the purchase of things we don’t really need. On top of that, it’s no secret that this shopping frenzy has a massive environmental impact. As a company that values transparency, sustainability, and social responsibility, we’ve never been huge fans of what Black Friday represents.
That said, many of you - our community - have reached out to ask if we’re planning to offer a discount this year. For some, Black Friday is the perfect moment to join the community, and we understand that. So, this year, we’ve decided to participate in the event, but in a way that aligns with our mission and values. Our team discussed extensively the best way to do this, and this is what we came up with.
Here are five reasons we don’t like Black Friday sales and how we’ve chosen to address each issue.
One of the biggest issues we see with Black Friday is the culture of overconsumption it fosters. It’s a day often focused on impulse buying - purchasing things we don’t really need just because they’re on sale. This mindset not only adds to waste but also detracts from intentional, mindful purchasing. Both of these bring significant issues as Green Alliance has found that 80% of items purchased during Black Friday sales end up getting thrown away after only a couple of uses.
To counter this, we’ve approached Black Friday differently. Rather than broadcasting discounts far and wide to attract impulse buyers, we’ve decided to share this offer exclusively with our community. These are people who’ve already shown an interest in air quality, and many of them have told us they’re waiting for the right moment to invest in a monitor. By keeping this offer within our community, we hope to reduce the “buy-it-now” frenzy and instead make it accessible to those who truly want and need a monitor. We’ve also extended the sale to run for over a week, giving any potential buyers time to deliberate without feeling a sense of urgency.
We’re not interested in fueling unnecessary consumption. Instead, we want to support those who have already begun considering improving their air quality. We hope our approach has fostered this kind of decision.
Another significant concern - and a big worry for us - about Black Friday is its environmental cost. From the surge in deliveries that contribute to carbon emissions to the mountains of packaging waste and the fate of unneeded products that often end up in landfills, it’s a day that leaves a lasting mark on the planet. Overconsumption, particularly Black Friday, can quickly become a major environmental issue. In fact, a Columbia Climate School study found that between Black Friday and New Year’s Day, American households produce 25% more waste.
We’re addressing this in two ways. First, limiting our discount offer to our community reduces the likelihood of impulse buys, which often result in unused or quickly discarded items. This approach ensures that our monitors go to homes and workplaces where they’re truly valued and needed rather than contributing to the cycle of unnecessary consumption.
Second, we’ve designed our monitors to be as sustainable as possible. Unlike many electronics that are built to be replaced, AirGradient monitors are repairable and built to last. Every part is replaceable, meaning your monitor can stay in use for years instead of ending up as electronic waste. Even if something happens to AirGradient in the future, your device will never be bricked as it’s open source.
We’ve also done our best to reduce waste in other ways, such as designing environmentally friendly packaging. While we’re not perfect (we could do more to lower waste from shipping, for example), we are doing our best to minimise our environmental impact. We create devices to monitor air pollution, and we don’t want to contribute to other forms of pollution in the process.
For many businesses, Black Friday is all about maximizing profit - a chance to sell as much as possible in a single day. The day is so profitable for some companies that they make around one-third of their annual revenue in during the Black Friday - Christmas period.
But for us, this time of year presents a unique opportunity to shift the narrative and focus on something bigger. Our focus on impact over profit has always set us apart from most other companies, and this year, for Black Friday, we want to double down on this.
As such, we’re choosing impact over profit with our unique approach. Instead of running flashy sales aimed at driving up revenue, we’re donating $30 for every monitor purchased with the discount code. That means every purchase is both helping you monitor your air quality and helping to support an NGO that can benefit from better air quality monitoring.
We’ve intentionally designed this initiative to align with our mission. Clean air is a fundamental right, and improving air quality requires collective effort. Through this approach, we hope to offer you, the customer, something while also making our community and company part of something larger.
To be honest, we were considering just offering a $60 donation to NGOs for every use of the code, but we also know that some people would prefer a straight discount code. As such, we decided to strike a balance and give ‘half a discount’ while still staying true to our mission.
We are still contacting NGOs, but we will post a blog post once the chosen NGO and the monitors have been sent. The NGO will be vetted by 1% for the Planet to ensure transparency.
Black Friday often comes with a fair share of gimmicks - inflated original prices, exaggerated discounts, and flashy deals designed to make you feel like you’re getting something special. Did you know that a New Zealand investigation found that 77% of items on sale on Black Friday can be found for the same price or less in the weeks leading up to Black Friday? It’s hard to believe, but true.
At AirGradient, our team has chosen to take a more straightforward and intentional approach.
Our offer is simple: $30 off our fully assembled monitors and a $30 donation for each purchase. No complicated terms, no misleading markdowns, and no hidden strings. We want you to know exactly where your money is going - not just to a product that enhances your air quality but also to a cause that makes a tangible impact. We have also not increased prices in preparation for this - they’re the same as they have been all year.
We’ve also been intentional about how we’ve shared this offer. By limiting it to our community, we’re focusing on people who already see value in what we do and are likely making an informed decision. This ensures that every purchase aligns with our mission of spreading awareness about air quality rather than fueling the impulsive buying frenzy that Black Friday is often known for.
Since we’re already being transparent, we’ll also admit that we would have loved to extend this offer to the DIY monitors, but if we had done so, we wouldn’t have drawn even. Therefore, we decided to run this only on our assembled monitors.
Black Friday thrives on creating urgency through limited-time deals, countdown clocks, and constant reminders that you’ll miss out if you don’t act now. This Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is designed to pressure people into making hasty purchases they may not truly want or need. And often, it works, leading to buyer’s remorse and a pile of items that add no real value to our lives.
This issue has become so serious that an OECD study found that 9/10 of customers have been affected by ‘dark commercial patterns’. These tactics involve using countdown timers and other deceptive tactics to try and make the user make a purchase that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
We wanted to do things differently. Instead of pushing you to make a rushed decision, we’ve intentionally extended our offer over a week, giving you time to thoughtfully consider if an AirGradient monitor is right for you. If you’re considering purchasing with our discount code, please take the time to think fully about whether an air quality monitor is a device you need and one that will make an impact in your life.
Black Friday doesn’t have to be about FOMO. We want it to be about thoughtful decisions, purposeful purchases, and investments in things that truly matter. While we believe an air quality monitor is very important for most people, the final decision is yours and should not be rushed.
As we’ve shared, we’re not big fans of how Black Friday traditionally operates. The overconsumption, environmental impact, and pressure to buy don’t align with our values. This stance hasn’t changed, even though we’ve decided to participate this year.
Our goal with this promotion is to strike a balance -offering a meaningful discount to our customers while staying true to our mission. By pairing a $30 discount with a $30 donation to an NGO, we’ve approached Black Friday in a way our team feels is the most ethical and impactful.
But this isn’t just about us; we want to know your thoughts. Are we approaching this in the right way? Does this align with your values and how you perceive AirGradient? Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continue finding ways to make a difference, both during Black Friday and beyond.
Let us know your thoughts, and thank you for being a part of this journey.
If you’re interested in saving $30 (fully-assembled monitors only) and contributing $30 to a good cause, you can use the discount code 7XHTD0HVFD2B until December 3rd, 2024.
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