Icebug donates all Black Friday revenue – protects old growth Finnish forests

Shoe company Icebug is not cutting prices on Black Friday. Instead, it sells everything at full price and donates the money to protect old-growth forests in Finland via Luonnonperintösäätiö.

For years, Icebug has boycotted the Black Friday concept, or at least the part of it that involves cutting prices to maximize sales. Instead, Icebug tries to use the attention that Black Friday brings to make a real difference.

During Black Friday, Icebug donates all proceeds from its own e-commerce, as well as its own stores, to charity.

– Icebug's primary purpose is to make a positive difference, not to maximize profit. The last thing we want is for someone to impulse buy a pair of shoes they don't really need. We want to strike a blow for lifestyles that are rich in experiences, but consume few resources, says David Ekelund, CEO of Icebug.

In Finland, the donation goes to The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation Luonnonperintösäätiö, a non-governmental organization that promotes the protection of old growth forests. The foundation has been active since 1995 purchasing old untouched forests with donation funds and applying for a permanent protection for them according to the Nature Conservation Act. In Finland, a mere four percent of the forests in the southern half of the country is under legal protection. This is why the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation’s primary goal is to purchase forest sites from southern and central Finland.

In one of its campaigns, The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation raise funds for the protection of breeding forests for the great grey owl and the Ural owl. Many remember the Bubi owl for soaring above the Olympic Stadium in June 2007, and hence became the power animal of the Finnish national team. However, troubling news is now coming from nature. The great grey owl has been classified as critically endangered, and the Ural owl as near threatened. This is one af many campaigns of The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation, aiming to help owls in distress and jointly protect the breeding habitats of both the great grey owl and the Ural owl.

–Forests are our home, and it is of utmost importance for us to help protect them. Old-growth forests are not only beautiful, they are also very effective in sequestering carbon dioxide, says David Ekelund.