Furniture retailer Ecosium is adding a 50% Black Friday surcharge to reduce excess consumption

In a bid to bring awareness and reduce excessive consumption during the Black Friday sales period, sustainable furniture company Ecosium is set to levy a 50% surcharge on orders.

The company is encouraging customers to delay their purchases until the next day to help “take a stand” on the issue.

During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period, retailers are known to offer 20-90% discounts on a range of products both online and in-store.

Ecosium’s founder, Luke Hopkins is confident customers will support the business and avoid making impulsive purchases.

“Shoppers don’t often think about the finite resources used to create the plastics and metals, or the emissions produced during manufacturing and transport, nor the toxicity of these products once they reach the end of their life span,” he said.

“The responsibility doesn’t just lay with the individual and this isn’t about laying blame. It’s about being honest about the situation we find ourselves in.”

If customers do proceed to make a purchase, the company says it will donate 100% of the surcharge to the environmental organisation, Greening Australia.

This article was first published by Inside Retail.