The Earth's Corr: Black Friday can do one

Black Friday can do one in my opinion. Don’t be sucked in by the so-called deals, when there’s reports aplenty that retailers ramp up prices ahead of the event to pretend slash them and suck you in to buying more things you probably don’t need.

I know the marketing and PR push around the event is hard to avoid in the news, on social media, in shop windows and life in general.

But you must know by now that it’s just more clever marketing to keep us all in this bleak spiral of consumerism that’s ruining our planet.

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I often hear from retail bosses about how they provide the goods on their shelves because that’s what their customers want - but if that’s really the case then why do they employ clever PR people and marketers who’ve really done their psychology homework in a bid to keep us buying more and more and more.

In reality, all any of us really need is a warm and happy home; nutritious food in our bellies and clean water to drink; clothes that suit the season; as well as community, friends, family connections and something to do that keeps us sane, feeling loved an fill us with some purpose.

We don’t need ‘buy one get one free’ on things we don’t need; bathroom cupboards full of creams that promise this, that or the other; wardrobes filled with hundreds of garments and shoes or enough toys to fill the family’s main room at home and the latest hot gadgets - no matter what the ads say.

Yet in a bid to fill the void left by loneliness, hopelessness and unfulfillment in our everyday lives because we simply don’t have the time for family and friends and the world seems stuck in a doom spiral; we all rush to buy more stuff for that quick hit of happiness instead of examining our real problem.

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It’s like we’re all little zombie hamsters stuck on an endlessly cycling wheel of working, buying, using and discarding.

I know that in the world our ancestors shaped for us, we need to work to make money to feed ourselves, keep a home and have a family if that’s what you want. But when did incessant consumerism become our factory setting?

When did it stop mattering how much we use up and throwaway - even if we are sending it to charity shops to alleviate our shame. If we don’t soon stop - the imagined world of Wall-e will be real for all of us.

We’ve already seen it in the mounting mountains of waste in far flung places around the world where our discarded clothes and shoes are piled high in deserts, rivers and on beaches - because we somehow stupidly think that sending it to the poorest places on Earth with the fewest environmental protections that it will be treated in a way that doesn’t pollute the planet.

It’s time to wake up people. I know it’s nice to buy new things - I feel that joy too. But when are we going to take responsibility for the burden we are putting on the planet and stop buying things we don’t need?

Yes COP29 was a major cop out - and world leaders yet again failed to deliver a date to phase out all fossil fuels and provide the poorer countries in the world with the money they need to put in renewables and turn their backs on fossil fuels.

Yes, billionaires have a much bigger carbon footprint than most of us put together, buy far more stuff, have much bigger houses and probably a jet and yacht they never tire of using.

But the only thing we can control is what we do personally - so let’s not turn a blind eye to our own weaknesses because we see others doing worse.

We all have a hand in the mess our planet is becoming - not just the rich, not just the fossil fuel execs and not just the politicians and that’s because we are all blindly buying into the world we’ve let them create for us.

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When elections come around - do we vote in the Greens en mass because we know they will take the decisions that need to be made for the best of the planet we call home? No, we don’t.

That’s because we’re all sitting here thinking we can carry on as usual, as the world falls down around us, and someone else will fix it for us. They won’t.

As long as we keep buying massive cars, huge houses and all the clothes and shoes and devices you want and taking cheap flights five times a year while turning a blind eye to the mess we are leaving in our wake - we are all to blame.

We are among the millions of consumers on which this world now rotates - and as long as we keep buying into the reality that we need more of everything, nothing will ever change.

But, what if we didn’t? Imagine the power we would wield. Retailers will no longer be able to use the excuse they are supplying what the customer wants.

So say ‘no’ to a new phone every year, don’t upgrade your TV every time a new model appears and for the love of God, stop with these hauls from Shein and TikTok and wherever else you are buying clothes stitched together by kids using materials that are killing their corner of the world.

We can and must do better - because while we’ve had some devastating floods locally - we’re yet to see the worst of what the climate crisis has in store for us and if we don’t change our ways, we all deserve a share of the blame.

How about a Christmas tree that makes you feel proud of yourself this year?

Well Ulster Wildlife have just made that idea possible through an amazing partnership with the An Creagán Centre in Co Tyrone.

If you head along to their festive event on Saturday, December 7 you could come home with a real that will also help restore Haughey’s Bog to the way it should be.

Sitka spruce trees are not supposed to grow in bogland, but after years of peat extraction that allowed the area to dry out they have started to take over. Now families across NI are being invited to come and cut one down to take it home - while helping restore the bog to help in the fight against the climate crisis because intact bogs store carbon emissions.

Participants will learn about these restoration efforts while getting to pick and cut a real Christmas tree to take home!

Bryan Ward, Senior Peatlands Officer with Ulster Wildlife said: “This is a unique opportunity to make a difference while creating special festive memories. While we wouldn’t typically encourage single-use Christmas trees, in this case, removing the invasive Sitka spruce is vital for the recovery of this precious peatland habitat.”

The event is from 10.30am-1pm, with pre-booked time slots. Booking is essential here.

There is no charge for this event, but a suggested donation of £10 will help support the local nature conservation charity’s vital work to bring nature back. If you are interested in getting involved, email volunteering@ulsterwildlife.org or call 028 9045 4094.

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