Black Friday: Greenpeace invites public to MAKE SMTHNG and buy nothing

MAKE SMTHNG Week is an international makers festival that will teach people how to repair, upcycle, share, DIY and reuse via 85 events that will take place from December 2 - 10 across 5 continents. Greenpeace, its partners Fashion Revolution, Shareable and hundreds of makers from around the world, invite people to MAKE SMTHNG and buy nothing.

Greenpeace hosted events will take place in Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Nairobi, London, Madrid, Moscow, Athens, Rome, Milano, Taipei and Buenos Aires, and many other places around the world.

“Black Friday has become one of the major peaks of consumerism. This shopping binge also generates greater volumes of waste than ever. This dangerous trend is harming our planet. We buy without thinking for a minute, but the waste we create will sometimes last for centuries,” said Chiara Campione, the global project leader of MAKE SMTHNG Week.[2]

“We have been tricked into thinking happiness comes from what we buy, when we know that true happiness comes from what we can create. Making fantastic creations out of things that we already own is much more fun, creative and social than buying stuff. Come join us, create your own events and make something!” said Campione.

MAKE SMTHNG Week, via its events, website and social media, will showcase the international movement of makers that already practice upcycling, repairing, sharing, swapping and making, as well as a zero waste and plastic-free life in the areas of fashion, food, technology, household decoration and toys. Every MAKE SMTHNG event will be co-created with diverse local partners - makers, artists, chefs, fashion and product designers, upcyclers, creatives, models, youtubers and bloggers, zero waste activists, maker spaces and hundreds of dedicated volunteers.

“It is incredibly exciting to join forces with Greenpeace for MAKE SMTHNG Week,” said Orsola de Castro, the upcycling designer and founder of Fashion Revolution. “Reintroducing creativity, crafts and emotions in our relationship with clothes is a brilliant way to take action. We are producing over 100 billion garments per year, and wearing just a fraction of that. How much more stuff do we need? Time to care for the things we already own.”

“We are participating in MAKE SMTHNG Week to uplift the maker movement, which is not only fun and engaging, but plays an important role in developing new, sustainable ways of production and consumption,” says Tom Llewyn, Director of Strategic Partnerships from US-based nonprofit media and action network Shareable.   

During MAKE SMTHNG Week, the use of recycled materials is encouraged wherever possible. Workshops and talks are designed to teach easily applicable skills and share first-hand experiences and knowledge of makers with the public. The only rule all events share is #BuyNothing. MAKE SMTHNG events are noncommercial and don’t sell any products.

On the campaign

For decades, Greenpeace has been challenging big corporations and fighting for stricter regulations towards the elimination of all hazardous chemicals from production. Besides working on pollution, Greenpeace is now also challenging the current make-take-waste business model by directly addressing consumerism. As the world population is producing and consuming too much - from fashion and tech, to food, single-use plastic, toys and cars, Greenpeace is advocating for all of us to quit this wasteful throw-away lifestyle and consider making more of existing resources.

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[1] www.makesmthng.org and Toolkit: How to get involved in MAKE SMTHNG Week

[2] Refer to Greenpeace 2016 report “Timeout for Fast Fashion”

[3] MAKE SMTHNG - Press Kit

[4] Photos and videos can be accessed here

[5] Additional resources can be found at:

Instagram Account @makesmthng

Facebook Page

Announcement of Shareable

How to share - Resources on Shareable

Fashion Revolution Haulternative

Blogpost: Why making can help us consume less