Buy Nothing New Day 2025

We’re all familiar with Black Friday (taking place this week on 28^th November), but many people won’t be familiar with “Buy Nothing New day” – which falls on the same day. 

In attempts to combat negative environmental impacts caused by the annual Black Friday sales, Buy Nothing New Day is a campaign run by Reuse Network. 

A report by businesswaste.co.uk estimates that about £3bn are spent on Black Friday in the UK, and it generates an extra one and a half million tonnes of waste. 

Half of this waste comes from the packaging alone. 

Reuse Network is a charity that supports other reuse charities across the UK. 

They aim to tackle climate change and alleviate poverty by reducing waste. 

Ellis Roberts, the Marketing Manager at Reuse Network, said: “This was a campaign that we started eight years ago really to encourage people to ditch Black Friday and choose to shop second hand.

“Buy Nothing New Day is really a call to the public to think about who they’re shopping with and who they’re supporting on one of the biggest consumer days of the year.”

Some data suggests that people actually hold off buying things in the lead up to November in order to benefit from Black Friday deals. 

According to the Office for National Statistics, retail sales fell by 1.1% in October 2025 (the first monthly fall since May) and some retailers attribute this drop to people waiting until the last week in November before buying something. 

Reuse Network is encouraging people to empty their online baskets and “buy nothing new” this Black Friday. 

Their website allows people to enter their postcode to find their closest reuse charities.