"Do you really need it?" - the environmental impact of Black Friday deals
Going to charity shops and avoiding cheap deals could help look after the environment on Black Friday.
The shiny deals of Black Friday beckon - but do we really need those new products, and how does our shopping affect the environment? A member of an East Yorkshire eco group has urged shoppers to be wary of waste.
A 2019 study by think tank Environmental Alliance estimated that around 80 percent of Black Friday Purchases end up being thrown away and in landfill - often after a very short life.
Alan Gribben, member of environmental group Hull Friends of the Earth said: "People seem to get very very excited about it, they're after a bargain and who doesn't like a bargain? But it does come at a significant environmental cost with anything we buy, anything we consume."
Of Black Friday purchases he asked: "Do you really need it? If people can hang on to a piece of clothing or maybe consider getting it repaired or even going to a charity shop, that will help the planet and possibly save a bit of money because sometimes the Black Friday deals aren't quite as good as they're made out to be."
An analysis by Consumer group Which? of 66,000 prices in last year's Black Friday sales found only 98% of deals where actually the same price or more expensive than at other times of the year. That means just one in every 50 deals gave the cheapest price of the year for that product.