opping within the circular economy.  The brands that are taking part must fit the framework set down by the Green Friday team to ensure they are actively aligned with the event and its customers’ beliefs.  Event founder Peter Krideras said his goal is to shine a light on all brands that are making an effort. “We’re not here to say everyone [in the event] is perfectly sustainable, but they are on a sustainability journey,” Krideras told Inside Retail.  “We want to showcase where they are in line with our publicly facing framework so that the consumer can have a look, see what they’re doing, and find brands that represent what is important to them – be that a focus on supporting indigenous workers, or zero-carbon emissions. “I’m very excited to be able to give these brands a platform where they can showcase not only their journey, but the products they’ve been able to make which are better for the consumer and the environment.” Spotlighting the sustainable Krideras and his team soft launched Green Friday last year with a smaller selection of around 20 brands. Following the sales event, the Green Friday team asked the customers and brands that participated what they wanted from an annual sales event. It found that while saving money was important to shoppers, spotlighting brands within the conscious-consumer space was imperative.  Snuggle Hunny chief executive and event spokesperson Julie Mathers added that customers trying to shop consciously often have to do their own research to find brands that meet their own criteria. “I’m hoping this event will help people understand and get some clarity around what these businesses are doing, and give some guidance as to the brands that are purposeful to the core,” Mathers told Inside Retail.  “Even the ones that are just dipping their toe into sustainability deserve to be highlighted, because the more we look at it, the more it’s in demand, the more they’ll do it.” Krideras agreed, and noted that the main goal of the sustainability movement shouldn’t be to have thousands of brands doing sustainability perfectly, but to have millions doing it imperfectly. “We all need to do better,” Krideras said. “Hopefully we can help create some better practices, not just from retailers, but customers too.” More on the horizon One of the biggest issues surrounding events such as Black Friday, Prime Day, and the wider Christmas holiday period is the carbon footprint of the online deliveries and packaging waste they create. Green Friday hopes to sidestep this issue through a number of key partnerships: with Sendle providing carbon-neutral fulfilment, and Hero Packaging providing sustainable packaging solutions.  Although sales events are typically known for delivering high-volume sales of discounted products, that isn’t necessarily the case with Green Friday. There will be deals, of course, but customers aren’t likely to find these goods at a 90 per cent mark down.  Instead, the point will be to buy fewer items, but from more ethical brands. “It’s really important that we talk to customers in a different way. Black Friday is a really excessive time, and people are shopping primarily for deals,” Mathers said. “We’re doing something quite different, [and] you see the younger customers asking everyday for more sustainable options. It’s very important to showcase the brands that are doing this, because customers are asking for it.” Next year, the Green Friday team aims to launch more online shopping events, including one for Earth Month, one for Indigenous businesses, as well as an event highlighting female-founded businesses. “We’d love to create as much awareness as possible over the four days, and get more retailers involved in years to come,” Krideras said.