In the United States, “Black Friday” follows Thanksgiving Thursday ( 3rd Thursday in November), a traditional festival celebrating the harvest. Imported to Switzerland a few years ago, “Black Friday” is not part of any local tradition. It is a simple mercantile operation, intended to increase attendance and purchases in stores, through often significant discount offers. This commercial operation is an incentive to hyperconsumption that we consider unsuitable at a time when sustainable development, ethics and "rational consumption" are major societal priorities.
In Switzerland, more than half a million people, including 100,000 children, live in poverty (sources: Caritas ). We believe that it is useful and necessary to raise awareness and mobilize consumers and citizens in the fight against poverty. We have therefore decided to propose an operation entitled "Fair Friday", and to join forces for this with Caritas and its program "Poverty, let's make it disappear!", launched in 2009 and also aimed at the integration of people in precariousness: "These people are dependent on aid to cover their vital needs. But this can only be a minimum objective. Caritas projects also aim to guarantee a social existence, including participation in social life. They are guided by the principle of promoting self-reliance and broadening the room for maneuver available to people affected by poverty.”
The money collected will be used to help people living in poverty in French-speaking Switzerland. It will allow them to follow training and professional integration programs organized by Caritas in Switzerland, including Caritas Fribourg , Caritas Geneva , Caritas Jura , Caritas Neuchâtel , Caritas Valais and Caritas Vaud .