The non-profit initiative to promote
Circular Consumption
Time to go Circular
..and find dao!
Just another anti-campaign? Well, not really. You can think of it like this; On one side you have Black Friday, known for it’s linear consumption & shopping hysteria. On the other side we have “Buy nothing day”, that was born as a anti-dote to Black Friday.
We believe the future is right in between these two poles, right on the border between Yin & Yang. Here you find circular consumption, which means that you can consume as much as you want, but it doesn’t require new resources from Mother Earth. With other words, circular consumption is dao, you follow?
Economic growth
..it’s impossible, right?
Imagine a company that produce & sell clothes, let’s call them Suitbuddy Inc. They produce one yellow suit, market it and sells it for $200 to a customer, let’s call him average Joe. He uses the suit one evening during his whole lifetime. The rest of the time it’s just waiting there, in Joe’s basement.. unused - simply wasteful.
All of a sudden Suitbuddy recruits a new CEO who’s blessed by White Monday. This CEO decides shift their business to a rental service instead. “Just like you stream music” - he says at the boardmeeting when he convices the stockowners.
So, back to Joe. He is invited to a new party with the theme “Red”. He goes to Suitbuddy again, but can now rent a red suit over the weekend for $50. “Thanks, what a great service!” he says while he pays.
Suitbuddy is on fire and manage to rent out the same red suit over 200 weekends during it’s full lifetime. And each time they earn $50, so that’s $9800 more than they sold the yellow suit for, and way more convenient for Mother Earth, right?
Founded in 2017
..from a play with opposites to a global movement.
White Monday was founded in 2017 in Malmö, Sweden, by the circular cloth-repair start-up Repamera AB. They played “the opposite game” with Black Friday and saw the need for a day that promotes circular consumption. In 2018 the Swedish non-profit association Medveten Konsumtion joined the team, and they arrange it together since then.
Everyone who works with White Monday (PR, the website, graphics, initiating in new countries etc.) does it completely voluntarily. Thanks everyone, you’re great! But hey, we don’t do this alone. Since it’s a participatory initiative, our 300+ buddies do that toghether with us. Everyone shares the same message, the same day: The future is circular!
And you, just one last thing. We have never, and will never, accept money in exchange for exposure, ads, nor sell any data. We do the opposite.
2017
2018
2019
• 30+ organisations
• #whitemonday seen by 6+ million people
• 1 country (Sweden)
• 120+ organisations
• 60+ influencers
• #whitemonday seen by 25+ million people
• 200+ newspaper articles 40+ clips in radio & TV
• 1 country (Sweden)
• 7 countries
• Get ready for a record!
FAQ
What is White Monday?
White Monday is the day for circular economy that is the antidote to Black Friday. It always occurs on the monday before Black Friday, so this year White Monday happens on November 25th.
Why is it called White Monday?
White Monday simply started as a play of opposites with the mega-sales day “Black Friday”. It was named Black Friday in the early 60’s, when businesses in the U.S. changed colour of sales numbers, where red means loss and black means profit. Black Friday stands for linear, wear & tear consumption and competition. The opposite is circular consumption & collaboration. So we chose Monday instead of Friday, and to illustrate the opposite as clearly as possible, we chose the colour White, like Yin & Yang.
Why White Monday?
The world is already full of wardrobes stuffed to the brim, unused tools and huge piles of trash. We have produced enough, and Mother Earth is tired. It’s time for us to take responsibility, and turn the waste into resources. Internet makes it easy for us to rent & buy second hand items, and gives us the knowledge of how to reuse & repair. We believe that the future is a circular & sharing economy instead of the old, boring and linear wear & tear economy and Black Friday. And we believe that we’re the ones that will make the difference, by creating White Monday together. Join the circular movement, together with 200+ organisations, influencers & companies worldwide.
What happens on november 25?
• During the day, all the buddies (organisations, influencers, companies) share a picture on social media with the hashtag #whitemonday. • Some of the buddies give discounts on circular goods and services (you will find them on this website.)
What is circular economy?
DEFINITION "A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems." (source: Ellen McArthur Foundation) To make it simple, circular economy is about sharing, renting, mending, borrowing, upcycling, redesigning and recycling. It is the new way of doing things, instead of the good old "wear and tear".
What’s in it for you/your company?
Show your customers, followers, colleagues and yourself that you want the future to be circular, instead of linear. Take a stand against unnecessary consumption of new things, and re-love what’s already produced. And hey, why not give your customers a circular discount during White Monday? Most of our buddies had all-time high in sales during White Monday 2018.
White Weekend/Week?
We believe that great impact is created if there’s only one day to focus on. Although some of our buddies choose to have ”White Weeks” on their own initiative, which is completely fine. The more circular businesses and campaigns, the better!
But We/I embrace circular economy all the time?
That’s great. Let’s do it together as well. Then you’ll have more circular buddies to collaborate with! We all share the same goal.
How and where?
We have buddies from both Europe and America who will participate with activities both in the digital and the physical world. You’ll see stores furnished and employees dressed in white, and social media will be filled with content under the hashtag #whitemonday. Join the circular movement!
How do I participate?
On White Monday, November 25th, share a photo of yourself (or a group if you are more than one person) holding up a sign that reads #whitemonday and share on social media including the hashtag #whitemonday. Please feel free to be as creative as you want with the photo! Check out our instagram for inspiration.