In Halifax, a group demanding action on climate change took aim at Black Friday shoppers.
Nearly 100 activists, mostly Halifax high school and university students, marched to the Halifax Shopping Centre from the Emera Oval as part of a climate rally and to protest over-consumption habits.
The group, School Strike 4 Climate Halifax, organized this climate rally Friday, which coincided with an international day of climate action to raise awareness about overconsumption and hyper-consumerism directly linked to the Black Friday shopping extravaganza.
“Our goal today is to educate consumers on the harms of a holiday like Black Friday and the overconsumption,” said Grade 12 student and rally organizer Julia Sampson.
This is the same student climate group that helped organize the September climate rally that took over downtown Halifax and saw close to 10,000 people march in the streets.
This time, the group — roughly 100 strong — marched to the mall, chanting all the way.
“What do we want?” a voice echoed through a megaphone.
“Climate justice!” the crowd echoed.
“When do we want it?”
“Now!” they responded in unison.
For these students, the climate crisis is an issue they’ve been forced to take on, they say, and now they want to see change.
Demonstrator Caden Flynn waved a sign above his head that read, “Fast-fashion is shoplifting my future.”
“Fast fashion is described as a business model that many retailers like H&M and Zara use, where they are constantly producing clothing and constantly changing their offerings,” said Flynn.
“It promotes a consumerist attitude where clothes are seen as something you wear for a little bit and then are thrown away, and this is damaging our planet.”
When the group reached the mall, they chanted through the halls and hung banners and signs.
It was peaceful and respectful to shoppers. The group said they wanted to recruit people to the cause, not alienate anyone.
“Black Friday is definitely a consumerist event,” said Lydia Ferguson, a first-year environmental studies student at SMU. “But I also have to recognize that sometimes Black Friday is really the only opportunity that people can indulge in something that they may not be able to afford in the first hand.”
The climate rally wrapped up without any major disruptions. Police were on hand the entire way to ensure safety.
Comments