FOUR in ten British consumers would like to end the Black Friday phenomenon, which hits shops today, a survey for the fair trade organisation Traidcraft suggests.

In a survey of 400 shoppers, 43 per cent of those questioned said that they would like to see an end to the day, which began as a tradition in the United States, on the day after Thanksgiving, when retailers offered large discounts to lure customers to start their Christmas shopping. More than half of those surveyed — 53 per cent — said that Christmas shopping made them feel “stressed, anxious, ill argumentative, [and] violent”. This year, it is estimated that more than £1 billion is likely to be spent online today alone.

Traidcraft is running its own “Just Friday” initiative instead, in order to encourage people to take time away from the shopping frenzy, and think of choosing ethical gifts instead.

Traidcraft’s marketing director, Larry Bush, said: “With some of the biggest UK retailers scaling back their involvement in this year’s Black Friday sales, it’s obvious that consumers are growing tired of this materialistic ‘consumption culture’.”