Re(dress) Leicester
Media and Communications volunteer Caroline Fielding reports on Leicester University P&P's action on the second national day of action on Topshop in March.
Leicester Uni P&P take on Topshop on the high street
It was ten past eight and I was still in bed (I am a uni student after all). “Ok, Caroline, you’ll be on in a second and remember it’s live, so don’t swear.” Live?!
I was on the phone to BBC Leicester about to do a telephone interview advertising Leicester’s P&P’s group action outside Topshop later that day. I spoke about Philip Green’s record breaking bonus and the conditions that garment workers experience being tantamount to slave labour and I think it went alright.
We were culminating Fairtrade Fortnight by demonstrating outside Topshop on our local high street. Leicester Uni P&P group had come together to make cardboard pants, t-shirts and vests and pegged them to a washing line. We aired Topshop’s dirty washing, talking to Topshop shoppers and passers by about the ethical standing of the Arcadia group.
It wasn’t easy as Topshop had a Fairtrade Cotton poster in its window and was handing out leaflets with purchases, but our group did a fantastic job of explaining that Fairtrade cotton did not necessarily mean fair conditions.
Most people were incredibly receptive to the ideas we were talking about. We weren’t calling for a boycott and you’re not a bad person for shopping in Arcadia stores, it was simply about being more aware about where your clothes come from and what other people have to go through for our society’s desire for fast fashion.
It was a great afternoon and I felt that we really had helped to raise awareness. We even made the local paper…