Protecting Our Planet, One Gift at a Time
Each year, Black Friday sales continue to grow. In 2017, shoppers spent an estimated $5 billion, and by 2025, that number is expected to reach nearly $11.7 billion.1 Why does this number keep rising? With the increasing ease of online shopping, both Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become incredibly popular, and at the same time, incredibly wasteful.
Studies show that nearly 80% of Black Friday purchases end up in landfills,3 and the number of plastic containers discarded each year continues to rise. In 2018, the EPA reported more than 10,000 tons of plastic packaging in landfills,2 much of it connected to shipping and deliveries. These numbers show that many of us are not shopping as mindfully or sustainably as we could be.
The convenience of fast shipping and instant gratification often leads us to buy more, and to buy faster. Sometimes what arrives is not quite what we expected, or it is something we did not really need in the first place. Before long, it ends up in a closet or the trash. It is a pattern many of us fall into in this era of simple, one-click consumption.
So how can we reduce waste while still celebrating the joy of giving?
Loggerhead Marinelife Center is taking steps to shift that narrative through a program focused on sustainable shopping, upcycling, and making thoughtful choices for the planet. Blue Friday offers a way to enjoy holiday shopping while doing something positive for the environment.
During Blue Friday, you can find locally-sourced and sustainable products that make meaningful gifts for loved ones or something special for yourself. There will also be an upcycled wrapping station to get your holiday gifts wrapped using repurposed materials rather than traditional wrapping paper, which is often not recyclable. For children, a label-making station offers a fun opportunity to design personalized gift tags using repurposed materials.
The Blue Friday event will take place on November 28, 2025 at Loggerhead Marinelife Center. The wrapping and label-making station will be offered from 11 am to 3 pm. Stop by, get your gifts all wrapped up for the holidays, and feel good doing it!
- 2025 Holiday Shopping Statistics, Trends & Forecast | Adobe, business.adobe.com/resources/holiday-shopping-report.html. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
- EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/containers-and-packaging-product-specific. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
Middleton, Claire. “Black Friday’s Hidden Cost: Shocking Environmental Impacts Revealed by Experts.” FM Business Daily News, 27 Nov. 2024,