Blue Friday

Follow the live streaming “Blue Friday vs Black Friday” – November 25th at 6.00 pm

UNESCO launches BLUE FRIDAY: the sea-friendly alternative to Black Friday

On November 25 and 26 we are waiting for you in Venice for Blue Friday! The activities will take place in different locations of the city and at Palazzo Zorzi, seat of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Culture in Europe.

A call to action for citizens, institutions, companies and research centers to transform together with UNESCO the blackest Friday of the year into a moment to safeguard and regenerate our Mediterranean Sea through Ocean Education initiatives dedicated to all generations.

These two days will be dedicated to different cultural initiatives in which IOC-UNESCO aims to promote the protection of the sea, the restoration of its biodiversity and critical and conscious consumption in the context of the United Nations Decade of the Sea. A rich program is planned – available on this page from the end of the month -, with panels dedicated to entrepreneurship, fashion and blue finance and activities suitable for everyone.

Access: free entry.

Why Blue Friday?

Blue Friday was born as an initiative to reflect on the impact that our choices have on the ocean. The name of the initiative recalls the global marketing campaign Black Friday, born in the United States to promote the purchase of products after the Thanksgiving days and a month before the Christmas holidays.

Black Friday does not only bring with it purchases and discounts, but it has a very high impact on the Planet:

• In 2020, in the United Kingdom alone, Black Friday emitted 429,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020, equivalent to the weight of 61,308 elephants, contributing to global warming and extreme events linked to the climate crisis.
• In Italy – where 50% of purchases are made online – during Black Friday, urban congestion increases pollution in urban centres and travel times by +34%.
• Purchases made on Black Friday are often motivated by impulse rather than by real necessity: up to 80% of purchased items are thrown away after just one use or even zero.
• In Italy, e-commerce consumes on average 35% of all plastic produced in our country. During Black Friday, this percentage soars.

Change course and join Blue Friday

9 out of 10 Italians said they would like to do more to make Black Friday and their daily lives more sustainable. In fact, people are willing to make more conscious purchases and learn more about environmental issues related to the climate crisis. Precisely because of the growing awareness, 64% of consumers said they were less inclined to buy during Black Friday compared to previous years.

UNESCO has been active for years in the protection of the sea through the promotion of Ocean Education programs for all generations and sectors of society. In 2022, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, asked the 193 Member States to make Ocean Education part of the school curriculum by 2025. The aim is to promote greater awareness of the importance of the ocean and a more responsible lifestyle in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.

The event is organized by IOC-UNESCO in the framework of the Decade of Marine Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).