Latin America and Polar Travel Specialists, Chimu Adventures, are turning Black Friday green. They are eschewing the Black Friday tradition of scouring the shops for the ideal Christmas gift and are instead imploring consumers to swap these material goods, which are inevitably thrown away, for sustainable travel memories which last forever.
The phrase ‘Black Friday’ was coined in Philadelphia to describe the day after Thanksgiving when people returned to the roads after the break. It described the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic this day conceded to. Today, Black Friday represents rampant consumerism as people flock to shopping centres in their droves to purchase sale goods – a concept which Chimu Adventures are against.
Chimu’s Green Friday campaign will run between 29th November and 6th December. It will demonstrate Chimu’s opposition to the traditional commercialism of Black Friday through the promotion of its most sustainable travel experiences in Antarctica, Patagonia, the Amazon, and the Galapagos Islands.
Chimu’s Green Friday premise is simple:
- Swap the shopping centre for the comfort of your own computer/telephone call with your travel agent.
- Purchase a holiday which is socially and environmentally sustainable.
- Travel somewhere incredible
- Still receive an amazing discount of up to 40%.
For every booking made during this period, Chimu will also Buy a Bale for drought-affected farmers in Australia. They hope the rest of the industry will join them in turning Black Friday green in 2020. In the meantime, Australian farmers still need help, as do the human and animal fire victims. They urge the travel industry to join them now in choosing a cause and giving generously during the month of December.
Green Friday will see the promotion of Chimu’s own Antarctic ship, the Ocean Endeavour, which has key sustainability measures in place: Chimu will be establishing an industry first with climate neutral Antarctic expeditions by carbon offsetting and neutralising every departure on this ship; plastic reduction measures aboard the Ocean Endeavour include no plastic straws, the provision of soap and shampoo dispensers in guest cabins, the supply of a reusable water to refill at water stations, and a vision to eliminate the use of plastic entirely; and Chimu are working with SeaGreen on recycling initiatives and waste minimisation in the gateway city of Ushuaia.
The campaign will also focus on the Tierra hotel collection in Chile. Located in Atacama, Chiloe and Patagonia these hotels have channelled innovative architecture to blend into their distinctive landscapes and use LED/thermal efficiency to reduce their environmental footprint. Tierra are part of an ambitious reforestation project to plant over a million trees in Chile. In Peru, Chimu will be promoting Refugio Amazonas, Posadas Amazonas and Tambopata Research Center who are part of Rainforest Expeditions – a Peruvian organisation which connects guests with the Tambopata National Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon via immersive cultural and natural experiences in the area. Finally, Chimu will be highlighting Galapagos vessels La Pinta, Santa Cruz and Isabela which will be offering complementary carbon offsetting for all voyages booked during the Green Friday period.
Chimu’s Co-founder, Chad Cary elaborates on why 2019 is the year Black Friday should be turned green: “Environmental activism has exploded in 2019. We have seen climate disasters such as floods, drought, loss of eco-diversity and extreme fires and societal response has come in the form of protests and the Climate Strike movement among others. Key figures such as Greta Thunberg have inspired millions of people to be hugely pro-active about the climate emergency issues we are facing and Chimu want to make sure that as a travel company, which inevitably involves the sale of long-haul destinations, we are making our operations as sustainable as possible and that our marketing campaigns are in line with our values. We want Chimu travellers to make conscious decisions about the holidays they are taking and urge our industry counterparts to join us.”
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