Highest-ever Black Friday protest planned by independent retailers against online giants

Up to 85 percent of smaller sellers are planning to protest against online giants such as Amazon by closing their websites, donate their profits to charity and plant trees this Black Friday.

As per British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), most of the independent retailers will not participate this year in Black Friday, the day sellers claim to offer bargains and slash prices in an attempt to shore up

The number of retailers boycotting the event is the highest figure ever recorded by BIRA and comes as part of a growing movement against huge online shopping websites such as Amazon.

“I am donating 10 per cent of Black Friday weekend sales to my local food bank,” The Guardian quoted said Zoe Roberts, founder of Out of the Box Gifts, an eco-friendly gift box shop based in Cheshire, as saying. “There is more than one reason that I dislike Black Friday – the main one is that I think it encourages us to purchase things that we don’t need and therefore increases waste.”

A few other retailers said they will plant trees on Friday as an antidote to the waste created by consumerism.

Another sustainable brand has declared it will switch off their website on Black Friday.

Andrew Goodacre, head of Bira, said, “The pandemic has been very difficult for those retailers classed as non-essential. In the past 18 months they have suffered three lockdowns, weeks of restrictive regulations and are now just starting to build back their business. Christmas is going to be an incredibly important season for independent retailers.

“We know shoppers have returned to shopping on the high street as they start to prepare for the festive period but we need stronger sales in November and December to help retailers take on the many challenges that await them in 2022.”