Bad weather not enough to deter Topshop protesters
Two of our Media and Communications volunteers describe their experiences of the National Day of Action on Topshop in December
Kate McHale reports from Leamington, where Warwick Uni P&P braved inclement weather
Despite the horrendous weather, Leamington was bustling with shoppers as we started our protest. Luckily for us (it seemed) Topshop is in the Royal Priors Shopping Centre, and I’d have to admit that we were glad not to have to stand in the pouring rain, thinking as well that shoppers would be more likely to pause to listen if they would be able to stay dry while doing it. We attracted a great deal of attention straight away, with a combination of posters, the chants of our braver members, and a washing line full of pants. There was the odd disparaging remark (the most memorable of which was the rather perplexing “haven’t you got anything better to do?”), but on the whole the reaction was positive. Most people were content with a leaflet, but several passers by stopped to ask us for more details about our cause, which we were extremely heartened by. We even managed to entice out a member of Topshop’s staff, and someone from another clothes store nearby.
Warwick P&P demand that Topshop cleans up its act on the national day of action to Redress Fashion
However, we soon experienced the downside of not being outside on a public street: security staff arrived after only a short time and informed us that, as this was private property, we would have to leave. While the rest of us tried to use the extra attention this generated to our advantage, a few of our members discussed the matter with security. To be fair to him, the Head of Security appeared reasonable enough, even seeming interested in our reason for being there, but explained that a part of his job was to look after the interests of the shops in the centre, Topshop included, and that this was exactly what he was going to do. Although we managed to stretch it out a little, it was extremely frustrating to have our protest shut down so soon.
After being escorted outside, we set ourselves up again on the street by the main entrance. Here too we got a lot of interest, but not being able to target Topshop’s customers specifically, combined with the steadily increasing rain, hampered our efforts somewhat. Overall however, we felt that the protest had been largely successful. Our presence had certainly made an impact on shoppers, and enough of them had been receptive to make us feel that we’d managed to get our message across, hopefully making some think twice about what that new pair of jeans would really cost.
Kate Evans, York Uni P&P
York P&P says ‘no to sweatshops’ on the national day of action to Redress Fashion
On Thursday 6th December 2007 students from York Uni People & Planet braved the weather to hang out Topshop’s dirty laundry, one of the 16 groups of P&Pers to take part in the national day of action to Redress Fashion. Passers by could not fail to notice the brightly coloured washing line on which we had written messages demanding an end to sweatshop labour. Several hours were spent handing out flyers and engaging with the public, raising awareness of the conditions in which many people who make our clothes are forced to work. Those we spoke to were receptive to what we had to tell them, and a few congratulated us on the job that we were doing. Let’s hope that they spread the message.