The True Cost of Black Friday: Fashion’s Exploited Supply Chain
Black Friday, once a single day of post-Thanksgiving discounts, has transformed into a stark symbol of overconsumption, exploitation and environmental degradation, with discounts emerging at the beginning of November and lasting the duration of the month. The phrase itself reflects this shift, symbolising the moment retailers transition from operating “in the red” (at a loss) to “in the black” (turning a profit). While the event was once rooted in practical holiday shopping, it now epitomises the harmful intersection of capitalism and rampant consumerism. In the fashion industry, it perpetuates a system built on the backs of exploited garment workers, particularly women of colour in the Global South, who are denied fair wages and basic rights. Ultra-low prices not only devalue their labour but also drive a culture of disposability, where garments are bought on impulse and discarded almost immediately—at great cost to both people and the planet. As we face an escalating climate crisis, we urgently need to rethink our purchasing habits and recognise that fashion is never truly cheap - someone, somewhere is paying the true cost.
For many people, Black Friday is crucial, offering rare opportunities to purchase necessities amid rising cost of living. Many people are unable to afford to buy what they want or need without these price reductions - this article in no means references the people shopping for necessity.
The impact of Black Friday on people in the fashion supply chain
In a fashion system driven by overconsumption and reliant upon the systematic exploitation of workers in the Global South, days like Black Friday perpetuate the colonial and capitalist ideologies that drive exploitation, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation. Ultra-low prices during Black Friday devalue the labour, skills and craftsmanship behind garment production and dehumanise the supply chain.
In 2022, ultra-fast fashion giant Shein was exposed for paying garment workers as little as 3p per garment, with shifts stretching up to 18 hours. Despite these abusive practices, the company was still valued at $100 billion the same year. Shein’s business model is not unique but symptomatic of a broader system where fashion brands, both fast fashion and luxury, profit by disguising the true cost of labour and driving production costs as low as possible. This global race to the bottom thrives on the mistreatment of marginalised communities, especially women of colour, who make up 80% of garment workers globally, forming the backbone of the fashion supply chain. Recent studies also reveal that 93% of garment workers do not earn enough to cover life’s basic necessities.
Extreme discounts like those on Black Friday exacerbate this problem. When brands like Pretty Little Thing slash prices by 99% as they did in 2020, or even give clothes away for free, as they did in 2021, it highlights how divorced these prices are from the actual cost of production. The workers and the planet ultimately bear the burden, with supply chains squeezed to their breaking point. These ultra-low prices are only possible because of systemic exploitation. Fashion is never truly cheap—someone, somewhere, is paying the price.
The impact of our purchasing habits doesn’t end here. These heavy discounts fuel a culture of mindless consumption and disposability. Heavy markdowns encourage people to buy items they don’t need, often discarding them after little or no use. It is estimated that 80% of Black Friday purchases are thrown away after just one or zero uses, contributing to the 92 million tonnes of textile waste generated annually. Much of this waste is exported to the Global South, burdening communities with the unjust role of managing the Global North’s cast-offs.
Contributing to the overconsumption and disposal of clothing has detrimental impacts for communities at the end of the supply chain. Take Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana, which receives 15 million used clothing items every week. This relentless influx of used clothing illustrates the impact of our overconsumption. When clothing is practically given away, it erases its perceived value, making disposal easy but leaving communities far from the source to bear the true cost.
The hidden costs of Black Friday demand reflection. Each purchase contributes to a system that harms workers, exploits planetary resources, and burdens vulnerable communities. Before we buy, we must ask: who is truly paying the price?
The impact of Black Friday on the planet
To protect the planet and mitigate the escalating impacts of the climate crisis we need to urgently consume less. The fashion industry is one of the most environmentally destructive sectors, significantly contributing to climate change through harmful pollution, toxic emissions and unsustainable resource extraction. The production of fashion, particularly synthetic materials like polyester, which dominate fast fashion brands, rely heavily on fossil fuel extraction. The scale of the industry’s impact is huge and shows no signs of reducing: fashion accounts for an estimated 4-10 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond emissions, the industry depletes natural resources, generates massive amounts of textile waste that degrades the environment in landfill and incineration, and pollutes water systems. Each stage of a garment’s life cycle from production to disposal takes a sizable toll on the environment.
While fashion brands and governments must bear the responsibility for enacting and enforcing sustainable practices that preserve the environment and address the climate crisis, individual consumption habits also play a critical role.
Mindful consumption in a hyper-consumer society
We live in a hyper-consumer society, constantly inundated by rampant marketing that capitalises on our insecurities, urging us to buy more to feel good. Opting out of sales and ignoring these messages can feel nearly impossible. But as the climate crisis reaches a tipping point and we grapple with living in the Waste Age its crucial to consider what we really need. Our purchasing habits do have an impact and by making better choices we can help build a fashion system that values people and planet over profits.
The pressure to consume new things is rooted in social expectations and the misconception that material possessions bring happiness and fulfilment, Yet, the fleeting satisfaction of a new purchase often masks the exploitative systems behind its creation. Fast fashion thrives on this cycle, devaluating the labour, stories and basic rights of the people in the supply chain. These huge fashion brands that profit from this exploitation must be held accountable for their unethical supply chain practices.
By opting out of cheap fashion and capitalist systems like Black Friday, we can disrupt these systems of exploitation. This doesn’t mean never buying new again but making deliberate choices to support brands whose values align with our own. Many slow fashion brands, independent designers and socially-conscious brands are struggling to survive in the face of fast fashion’s dominance and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Supporting these businesses through mindful consumption - brands that pay fair wages, produce responsibly, and care for both people and planet - can make a tangible difference.
Ultimately we can’t consume our way out of the fashion industry’s exploitation and we need to be buying less, so the most important thing we can do is see the value in the clothes we already own. Behind every garment are people - people with voices, stories, and rights that deserve to be acknowledged and heard. The clothes we wear represent their time, skills and labour and this needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. By cherishing and re-wearing what we have, rather than discarding clothing after a single use, we honour the value in each garment and remember who made them.