Zero landfill, 100% circular fashion startup takes on Black Friday

The biggest shopping day of the year for half a century in the USA, Black Friday has become a global phenomenon over the last decade.

But consumer trends are also shifting, creating an annual conundrum for brands whose core focus is ethical, conscious fashion. 

Since 2018, Sydney-based fashion label Citizen Wolf has sought to challenge and change the narrative around Black Friday by asking bargain-crazy shoppers to ignore the endless sales and participate in its ‘Black Fri-dye’ instead. 

A re-dying service for shoppers’ favourite t-shirts, jeans, dresses and jackets, Black Fri-dye is the brand’s “antidote to the endless (and mindless) back-to-back sales events that November has become,” says Citizen Wolf co-founder Zoltan Csaki.

For $24 to $44 depending on the item, the retailer will ‘over-dye’ black any garment, by any brand, to give it a second life and keep it out of landfill. 

“Black Fri-dye is the only sale that doesn’t cost the Earth, on a mission to hijack the biggest sales event of the year and help end disposable fashion for good,” Csaki told SmartCompany.

A 2019 study by the University of Leeds claimed that 80% of clothes bought in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales period are worn only once before being landfilled, and according to Citizen Wolf, the problem is getting worse.

“Unfortunately, nothing has structurally changed in the fashion industry in the last five years,” explains Csaki, “with a third of all garments made every year being sent to landfill unsold”.

That’s an estimated 30 billion unworn garments.

Black Fri-dye started as a single email to the Citizen Wolf database in 2018. It’s grown organically since then, with its own identity and website. 

More than 1,315 clothes lovers have chosen to over-dye their favourite pieces. Last year, t-shirts and shirts were the most popular category at 43% of all orders, followed by bottoms (mostly jeans) at 29%.

According to Citizen Wolf, each garment that is ‘Fri-dyed’ emits 95% less carbon compared to a similar brand new item.

“We’ve also collectively saved 6.7 million litres of water since 2018,” says Csaki, “the equivalent of 109 backyard or three Olympic-sized swimming pools”.

The retailer’s co-founder expects this year to be particularly popular due to the cost of living crisis.

“Fri-dyeing your clothes is one of the most economical ways to get that new haul buzz without breaking the bank. Plus you get all the feels of buying new stuff with 95% less carbon – so not only is it affordable, but Black Fri-dye is also one of the simplest and most powerful things you can do to reduce your individual carbon footprint.”

Citizen Wolf’s bold mission is to “unf#ck the fashion industry”, by validating made-to-order as a viable business model at scale that is both better for the planet – zero landfill and 100% circular – and better for customers due to the brand’s custom-made Magic Fit measurement technology. 

Because the brand only makes what it sells, they don’t have inventory that needs to be cleared, and thus consequently, they don’t do sales, Black Friday or otherwise.

2023 has been an economic rollercoaster, and no retailer is immune from inflationary pressures and the knock-on effects of the cost of living crisis.

In this year’s challenging trading environment, Citizen Wolf has spent 26% less on performance marketing, yet claims that it is on track to match their 2022 revenue figures: “proving that our customers are seeing the long-term value of buying better by buying less”, says Csaki.

In May 2022 Citizen Wolf raised $1 million from 500 investors via Birchal to scale their product, their Sydney factory, and their international scale. 

It is in discussion with several Australian brands to licence its made-to-order tech and help other retailers move away from wasteful mass-production models to zero waste.

“Insanity is the only word that comes close to describing the default business model of the fashion industry,” argues Csaki. 

Citizen Wolf is on a mission to challenge the status quo, 365 days a year.