Why EcoCubs is Skipping Black Friday This Year
We’ve had a few customers reaching out and asking if we’ll be having a Black Friday sale this year. While we’ve joined in the past, this time we’re giving it a miss…
I got so passionate about this topic that I even created a reel on Instagram, you can check it out here if you want to see my creative skills 😉 But because not everyone follows us on socials, I also wanted to share our reasoning here for all our customers.
The Simple Answer:
At EcoCubs, we’re a one-mum-run family business, and a small-batch, plastic-free model is central to how we work. Sadly, the commercial world doesn’t value plastic-free + small batch in the same way we do (not yet anyway!), and this model means higher manufacturing costs.
High manufacturing costs = less room to slash prices like bigger retailers who can make huge volumes for cheaper pricing.
We also care a lot about conscious consumption and the environmental impact of Black Friday sales. It’s such a difficult balance as a sustainable, product-based business. While we know manufacturing of any kind comes with a footprint (including us), we also want to make sure we do what we can with what we know and minimise our environmental impact where possible.
If you want to know the longtail answer, however, feel free to read on…
Small-Batch Production and Why It Affects Discounting
Making things in small batches is a big part of how we do things at EcoCubs. Our priority has always been to create high-quality, safe & sustainable kids’ products that homes actually need! We don’t want to create:
- A product that others are already doing well (hence why we were first to the market with our dinnerware- we couldn’t find it anywhere else!)
- A heap of product that isn’t actually going to be used and will end up as waste.
However, there is a trade-off: small batches cost more per item to make compared to large production runs. Here’s why:
- Economies of scale: Large Australian retailers like Coles or Woolworths can order tens of thousands of units at once, spreading setup, manufacturing, and shipping costs across many products. Our small batch runs can’t do that, and we couldn’t even afford to, even if we wanted!
- Minimum order fees and fixed costs: Factories often charge the same setup fees whether you order 50 or 500 units, so small orders end up with a higher cost per item.
- Ethical and eco-conscious choices: We choose suppliers who manufacture responsibly and minimise environmental impact. That usually costs more than mass-production options that cut corners on ethics or sustainability. We also choose plastic-free packaging every step of the way — and yes, that comes at an extra cost. Plastic is cheap! In fact, retailers who pop their product in a single-use plastic bag often don’t even pay for it, as it’s already included in the product price.
- Quality vs Cost: Quality = higher cost. Because we’ve chosen to manufacture a high-quality product with the best supplier we could find, we simply pay more. It’s also much harder to do QC on 100,000 products than 100! This is how we can stay on top of customer feedback and continually improve our offerings, keeping our personal approach to the brand.
Big retailers often build high profit margins into their products, which gives them room to run massive sales without losing money. For a small business like EcoCubs, our batches are tiny and our margins are already tight. Deep short-term discounts would mean either compromising quality, sustainability, or selling at a loss and those just aren't options for EcoCubs.
Having said all of that, we know that families are feeling the cost-of-living squeeze. We always try to price fairly and stay accessible. In fact, we’re still cheaper than the newer plant-based dinnerware brands out there, and we hope that shows how committed we are to offering real value for sustainable, safe products.
The Environmental Impact of Black Friday
Trust us, we get the appeal of a big sale- we’re just as guilty as anyone else! And we certainly don’t want to judge what you choose to do. But the reality is that massive overconsumption and waste comes at a real cost to the planet.
In Australia alone, 75.8 million tonnes of waste are generated every year- that’s over 9,700 Sydney Opera Houses stacked in rubbish! Around 40% of that waste goes straight to landfill-enough to fill Melbourne Cricket Ground almost 14 times.
Black Friday is a huge contributor to overconsumption. Globally, it generates an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of extra waste every year.
While we know any business making products comes with a footprint, we still hope for our customers to be mindful with every purchase they make- even ours. We don’t want you adding items to your cart just because we've slashed prices!
How We *Try* To Make Making Mindful Shopping Accessible
We know that families are feeling the cost-of-living squeeze, so instead of temporary deep discounts, we focus on everyday ways to save. This includes a 10% off coupon available year-round and bundles that genuinely offer value, like our current holiday gift bundles. These have been thoughtfully curated based on what our customers love to buy and offer a perfect plastic-free and practical gift option that won't go straight to landfill.
We hope that by skipping the Black Friday frenzy, we can continue to support conscious consumption, grow our small business sustainably, and create products that truly matter for every home.
As always, thank you for choosing EcoCubs 💚
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