Black Friday has become a fundamental part of over-consumerist culture that encourages people to buy desired goods with no understanding of their longevity. It stems from fast fashion culture with values encouraging the accumulation of high amounts of goods of poor quality that, for the most part, find themselves in a landfill not long after. Traditionally, companies taking part in Black Friday usually gave away their excess product for a cheaper price. Now, companies, (particularly in fast fashion) produce excess stock in advance specifically for the Black Friday weekend as a strategy to increase their revenues.

In an effort to reduce plastic pollution, several single-use plastic items have recently been banned for production in, and import into, Canada. This includes, among other things, some plastic food containers, plastic straws, six-pack rings, and plastic checkout bags. The ban on the actual sale of these items will take effect in December 2023.For Canadian consumers, this means that when grocery shopping, customers will no longer be able to rely on single-use plastic bags to carry groceries home. Instead, we will need to bring reusable bags, or purchase a reusable bag at the store.

The holidays are a time of giving to your friends and family; It symbolizes the love and Gratitude we have for one another. Gratitude can also be defined as the joy of receiving and giving to others by showing thankfulness in offering appreciation or a return of kindness. Not only can gratitude offer satisfaction, optimism, well-being and happiness, but opting for this view of life opens the possibilities of improving you and your peers’ physical and psychological health. Giving gratitude for what you already have often promotes morals such as patience, wisdom and humility.

The hanger has been reimagined so many times in so many ways, it is a thing to be infinitely repurposed. The modern clothing hanger that we use today was first invented in 1860 by O.A. North, who fashioned a space-saving clothing hook. The original hanger that North created consisted of a piece of wire that had two narrow ovals joined together in the middle with a twist, and a hook for the rack above it. Basically picture a standard wire hanger, but with two conjoined ovals where we'd now see a triangle shape.

Every year during the holiday season, BEDI Studios offers its help to the DANS LA RUE foundation by organizing a “Warmth Campaign”. We know how cold the winter can be here in Montreal and cannot begin to imagine how hard it is to live outside during this time of year for teenagers and young adults. We are asking our community this year to join us in this spirit of GRATITUDE and GIVING.