Protests and Direct Action Strike SF Fashion Outlets

What do competitors GAP-OLD NAVY, NIEMEN-MARCUS, and DKNY have in common? They were all objects of protest and direct action this weekend in San Francisco.

Protesters from Animal Liberation, Environmentalist and anti-Sweatshop groups targeted each of the these merchandisers for practices related to unethical production.

Counter GAP protesters urged shoppers to boycott GAP and OLD NAVY since owner, Mr. Fisher, allows old growth deforestation and has not yet reformed his subcontracts to be free of child labor and sweatshop practices. DKNY was also picketed for sweatshop practices related to it's production of clothes.

Anti-fur activists and animal liberation fighters executed a direct action against Niemen-Marcus in relation to it's practice of producing fur coats. Sean Diener, speaking for the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, said, "It takes 40 dead animals to make one fur coat".

Over 40 arrests were made at this action. Activists locked down in front of the main entrance of Niemen-Marcus with a smaller lock down at a side entrance. Police used a new technique for breaking up the lock down. They used furniture moving dolleys to move the lockdown en-masse from out of the doorway to a sidewalk. [so anchor your lock downs unless you want carted off, literally] Non-Chemical Irritant Pain Compliance was used once on one unlocked down protester.


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