The Green.Positive Week – No to Black Friday

As a continuum to the Friendly Thursday movement started in 2019, the team decided to take it one step further by extending it to the Green.Positive Week. The Green.Positive Week started on the day of our Friendly Thursday, Thursday 25th November, and was on until Thursday 2nd December, both online and in our St Pierre and Grand Bay shops.

What is the Green.Positive Week?

The Green.Positive week is an eco-responsible initiative to reduce the negative environmental impacts caused by the overconsumption of Black Friday and to prioritize local consumption that improves the circular economy. For this week, eco-friendly eyewear is put in the limelight with reasonable discounts and people are encouraged to return their old or broken eyewear for a new one. During the Black Friday sale, there is a drastic increase in purchases made abroad. So there is an increase in CO2 emissions due to the number of goods shipped around the world, whether by plane or boat.

We all know by now, that too much CO2 negatively affects our planet and results in climate change that causes natural disasters. Is this what we want the future to look like for the future generations? Because if it continues like this, it will only become worst and at Helios Eyewear, this is not our vision for our planet.

What is our objective during this eco-conscious week?

During the Green.Positive week, Helios Eyewear encourages Mauritian consumers to buy locally made, eco-friendly products from small businesses.

  1. Buying eco-friendly products assure that the items bought will not cause or cause less harm to our environment if lost or when thrown away.
  2. Purchasing from local artisans, brands and businesses have two positive impacts:
    1. It favorizes a circular economy that is good for the Mauritian workforce and economy as it also encourages people to work within the country.
    2. It reduces CO2 emissions caused by the importing of goods by boat or plane from other countries which in turn reduces our impact on climate change.

The brand also increased the eco discount during this period. This discount is applied when customers return their old or broken eyewear and the discount is given for a purchase of a new Helios Eyewear. By doing this, people are encouraged to buy an eco-responsible product and to return their old pair for recycling to reduce waste that would otherwise be created within our island.

Part of the profits of the week (equivalent to approximately Rs20,000) was given to the “Pa zet plastik dan lamer” project. This project has for objective to raise awareness about the problem of plastic waste in the sea and coastal regions. This is in line with the brands values and our For.Sea collection (link to For.Sea blog article) made from upcycled PET bottles, it is important for our society and resources.

What is “Pa zet plastik dan lamer”?

This project has been initiated by the organization Mission Verte with our partner Reef Conservation.

Mauritius is surrounded by the ocean, it’s the resource for fishing, tourism and water sports as well as many other activities. Preserving this resource is essential and we are all aware of pollution at sea and specially the world-known problem of the accumulation of microplastic in the oceans that come from the land.

To help raise awareness about the problem of plastic pollution in the sea and coastal areas, Mission Verte’s method is education coupled with action.

This project will last for 18 months as from November 2021 and they plan to:

  1. Organize educative sessions and scientific presentations in identified coastal regions all around the island.
  2. Launch a series of awareness videos about the problem of plastic waste in coastal regions and the ocean.
  3. Organize cleaning activities in critical places like beaches and rivers.
  4. Organize events like awareness at the occasion of pirogues regattas and arrival of the sailing vessel Alalila in localities around the island.
  5. Increase the collection of plastic (mainly PET bottles) by placing several recycling bins for plastic in coastal localities of the island.
  6. Empower women and youth through a network of “green ambassadors” who will use cargo bikes for collection of plastic in coastal villages and will participate to the awareness of the inhabitants of the localities by talking to them and distributing flyers, stickers and distributing flyers, stickers and posters.

We know that we will not be able to stop people from mass buying during the Black Friday sale. It is comprehensible that people will look for what benefits them the most especially during the festive season where we usually spend the most. Helios Eyewear does not want you to empty your pockets, but instead, asks you to consume responsibly while benefiting from a discount on an eco-friendly and local product. The way we buy affects our economy and our environment, so it’s best to opt for the choice that positively impacts it all.