The American eCommerce giant, Amazon’s 13 fulfillment centers across the UK has been targeted by climate activists on Black Friday, the biggest sale day of the year, as part of the protest against the company for being the carrier of obsessive overconsumption.
The Extinction Rebellion (XR) group, a global environmental movement, said that Amazon’s largest UK warehouse’s Black Friday working condition and output will be halted because it exploits people and the planet. “Amazon and other giants have capitalized on our desire for convenience and stoked rampant consumerism at the expense of the natural world,” the group said.
The protest group claims it has targeted Amazon as it is “responsible” for environmental damage. According to reports, In 2018, Amazon emitted 44.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, greater than the carbon footprint of Switzerland. The impact it has on the environment by pushing and delivering cheap goods has also been criticized.
In 2020, Amazon’s overall carbon footprint increased by 19 percent, to 60.64 million metric tons, up from 51.17 million metric tons in 2019.
Extinction Rebellion said blockades were also being held at Amazon depots in cities including Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol as well as at depots in Germany and the Netherlands.
The protests with banners saying “Amazon crime” and “Infinite growth, finite planet, aims to disrupt Amazon’s business in order to force the global giant into changing its “highly climate-destructive corporate practices” as well as the wastefulness of Black Friday, the group posted in social media.
The rebel group also said that this is in solidarity with activists and workers from the global ‘Make Amazon Pay’ campaign, demanding better working conditions, clear environmental commitments, and for Amazon to pay their fair share of tax.
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