Give the Forest a Discount on this Green Friday!
The 3rd edition of “Green Friday” took place from 25 to 29 November. Under the motto “Give the Forest a Discount!”, the proposed challenge was to support local business while contributing to the reforestation of the Aveiro region.
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© Helder Berenguer
“Green Friday” is an action that takes place annually that overlaps with “Black Friday” and which demands for a conscious and sustainable consumption in local business. In this challenging year, with an unprecedented pandemic crisis, the economic and social consequences have been increasing; small and medium-sized companies have been particularly affected, enhancing the relevance of this awareness. Aligned with this objective there is the need to mitigate the negative impacts that human activity has caused in Nature. Thus, each purchase of 5 or more euros, in one of the 25 participating stores, will be converted into a native tree that will be planted at the Reserva Natural das Dunas de São Jacinto, in Aveiro.
This year, in addition to the usual reusable bag made of recycled paper, a flyer was offered to each participant with a Waste Separation Guide, prepared with the collaboration of Sociedade Ponto Verde. The client could find as well a description of the project, the association and the species of trees that will be planted at the reserve.
The challenge was accepted and as a result of this 3rd Edition, nearly 900 trees will be planted, exceeding this year’s expectations, with increasingly positive feedback from local owners and customers. Maria João Cravo, owner of the Pássaro de Seda store, tells us:
This year some customers waited for the “Green Friday” to do their Christmas shopping and thus contribute to the reforestation. I think we are all to be congratulated for the increasing importance that this initiative is having in our city. For those who, like us, have collaborated since the first year, it is a small feeling of victory that invades us, here in the nest of the Pássaro de Seda! Thank you so much for the opportunity you give us!
Here, at Agora Aveiro, we are pleased that this initiative has had such a positive impact on local businesses. Afonso and Luísa, from “Aqui à Volta" store reveal:
We think it was a very important edition to help street owners, especially in the current scenario we live in.
We believe that this action will spread the seed to grow the idea that there are alternatives to large stores. That we must privilege what is local and national, and that we can be more sustainable and aware that a simple gesture can have a great impact.
This action is a part of the project “Plantar o Futuro”, jointly organized by Agrupamento de Escolas de Rio Novo do Príncipe - Cacia, CORDA and the Município de Aveiro. It's sponsored by DreamMedia, as a Main Sponsor and EcoMobile Rent-a-Car, as a Golden Sponsor. It also had the support of IPDJ - Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude, I.P..
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