Thanksgiving break: it’s a time for food, family, and most of all, Black Friday. It's interesting that Thanksgiving, a holiday focused around being thankful, is followed a day later by an event that is solely focused around consumerism. Though this day may have been initiated as an encouragement to buy gifts to friends and family for the upcoming Christmas season, it recently has become an event surrounded by a materialistic obsession with goods.
Many stores have gone to great lengths, advertising all month long about their blowout sales, some even opening on Thanksgiving to encourage more business and gain more revenue. Year after year, we hear about the injuries, mistreatment of workers, and overall bad outcomes that occur as a result of this day, but still no change has come about. However, this year offers hope for all of us to hold on to.
This Friday, we are able to have faith that one company will indeed be closed. REI, a company focused around outdoor clothing and products, has publically announced that they will not be open this Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Not only will they be closed, but all of their employees will be getting paid for this time off.
For years, stores have been working their employees to hours on end, trying to make as much money as they can. In doing so, they have created this competitive and destructive atmosphere. But this year, REI has given us hope that some companies will continue to hold themselves to high standards, even if it holds the potential to lose business.
REI has started a campaign using the hashtag #OptOutside on social media as their way to encourage people to enjoy time outdoors with their families rather than running around malls and stores consuming themselves with things that are not important. Americans spend so much time on Black Friday, and sometimes even Thanksgiving, tirelessly scrambling around trying to find the best deals. REI is fed up with the mindset that has begun to tarnish the value of Thanksgiving, and we have to applaud them for this bold business move.
Though we cannot expect every company to follow suit this upcoming holiday, REI has taken the first step towards helping our country stray away from this vast consumerism. Nothing is wrong with going out and splurging for yourself or others, the problem is when it begins to impede on holidays such as Thanksgiving.
Therefore, we have to hope more companies will start making initiatives similar to REI's and perhaps give them the business these next few days as a way to thank them for their great precedent.
