UK rules ‘preventing Black Friday shoppers from saving big on green choices’
The Government’s failure to improve product standards and consumer rights is preventing shoppers from saving big through greener choices as Black Friday arrives, campaigners have warned.
Green Alliance conducted research into the barriers facing UK consumers from finding bargains while shopping sustainably ahead of the international discount event today, 24 November.
It comes as the environmental group warns that large amounts of Black Friday purchases will end up in landfill.
Green Alliance said consumers are increasingly looking to buy second-hand items, citing research from GlobalData, which found that the market for resold fashion grew by 149% between 2016 and 2022.
The group also analysed prices on reselling sites Depop, Vinted and Reselfridges, finding that people can consistently save 60% on dresses, 79% on tops and 90% on trousers compared with buying equivalent new items.
And by analysing companies like Back Market, Green Alliance found that consumers can save an average of 28% on the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel smartphones by buying a warrantied refurbished model rather than a new one.
It also discovered that common repairs such as screen or battery replacement for these models save up to 87% compared to the cost of buying a new phone while helping to reduce environmental harm caused by resource extraction and waste.
However, the research also found that standard repairs for household appliances, like washing machines, can cost the same as buying a low-cost new product, or in some cases more.
It comes as the British public buys more clothing per person than any other country in Europe and our clothes have the shortest average life, according to the European Clothing Action Plan.
Meanwhile, the UN found that the UK currently produces more electronic waste than any country in the world apart from Norway.
Green Alliance said few of the policies put forward by the Government five years ago to help drive a “circular economy” have been delivered, such as adjusting rules for producers so they have targets for reuse or setting new ecodesign standards.
It called on the Government to do more to help people buy more durable and easily repairable goods, by introducing new design standards for products and tax breaks for the repair of electrical goods and purchase of spare parts.
Meanwhile, shoppers’ confidence would be increased by longer warranties – covering replacement and repair for three to five years rather than the average one to two – as well as a broader consumer “right to repair” rule, Green Alliance argued.
Heather Plumpton, senior policy analyst at Green Alliance, said: “People want to be sustainable in the way they shop, increasingly buying second-hand and repairing items rather than buying new.
"Yet they are being let down by the UK’s current rules. It shouldn’t cost more to repair a washing machine than to buy a new one.
After five years of promises but no action, we need to look again at how to create an economy where repairing goods is easy and we are helped to use fewer resources. The result would be more money in people’s pockets and a cleaner, greener planet.”
