Blue Friday is back with a record number of businesses taking part since its inception in 2019.
Blue Friday – an initiative by a group of small Canadian-based businesses as an alternative to Black Friday – reframes one of the busiest sales days of the year.
The goal is to shift the conversation from overconsumption to diverting consumer dollars to eco-minded companies that pledge to donate a percentage of sales for that day.
The Blue Friday initiative, a partnership with Surfrider Pacific Rim, has raised more than $20,000 since its start. Organizers have used those funds to purchase three sea bins to remove about 4.5 tonnes of marine debris from local waterways. They include three in place at North Saanich Marina.
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Data collected from the sea bins over the years shows the top polluter is dock foam at 40 to 80 per cent of Pacific coast marine debris.
Blue Friday is set for Nov. 26 and aims to raise $12,000 to replace the foam dock at First Street Marina in Tofino.
A record 34 businesses will donate 15 to 50 per cent of revenue from the day including Goldilocks, L/L Supply, Vancouver Island Refillery, Salt & Seaweed Apothecary, Justo’s Craft Dips, Vancouver Island Brewing, Laykhaus, Zero Waste Emporium, Hair of the Dog Scrunchies, Shares of Green, Bravocados Bistros, The Market Bags, Swallow Jewellery, SALT Shop, Gaia Grocery, Dew Mighty, Libra Tide Herbs, Birch Babes, At home with Dom, Whistlebuoy Brewing, Hitch, Mini Mioche, ASH Refillery and Co, the Strait and Narrow, the Saltwater Collective, Westcoast Refill, Home Grown Living Foods, Caravan Beach Shop, Pacific Sands Beach Resort, The Purposeful you, Tofino Distillery, Pretty Clean Shop Ltd, Tanit Botanics and the Cedar Nook.
Visit blue-friday.ca for more information.
Greater VictoriaOcean ProtectionSurfrider
The Surfrider Foundation installed three sea bins to catch trash in the North Saanich Marina. (Photo by Mackenzie Duncan)
