Baby, take off your coat . . . real slow
Baby, take off your shoes . . .
Baby, take off your dress
Yes, yes, yes
You can leave your hat on
-- Joe Cocker
They'd rather wear nothing than wear Gap.
So goes the theme for members of a protest group intending to doff their clothes on Stephen Avenue Walk next Tuesday at noon in a demonstration in conjunction with the G-8 summit.
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign accuses the clothing company of using sweatshops and the family of Donald Fisher, chairman and founder of Gap Inc., of engaging in deforestation of California redwoods for profit.
The group has performed the strip in many other cities, including Paris, Amsterdam and San Francisco, but never in Canada.
"It creates quite a stir and people get very engaged in a paradise-regained sort of way," says Mary Bull, the San Francisco-based organizer. "Everyone gets exhilarated. A sort of tribal mentality takes over and an infectious enthusiasm spreads through the group.
"It's like paradise regained, because there you are in the midst of the concrete jungle, stripping off your clothes, and people think, 'Hey, we are animals, we do belong to the Earth, and we only started putting on these clothes when we got kicked out of paradise.' "
Her anti-Gap network extends internationally, and several people from Edmonton are expected to participate.
At other events, Bull says people have spontaneously joined the group.
"We welcome all colours, shapes and sizes; young people and old people," she says.
Spokesmen for Gap Inc. in San Francisco and Gap Canada could not be reached for comment.
Gap Inc. operates Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores, placing orders with about 3,600 third-party owned factories in more than 50 countries.
A statement published on the company's Web site says: "We don't manufacture any of the goods ourselves; we don't own or operate any garment factories. Instead, we are almost always one of a manufacturer's many customers. Nonetheless, we take our role as a company with global reach very seriously. . . ."
Given the number of protesters being turned back at the border, Bull says she is uncertain about being permitted access to Canada and pledges not to engage in anything illegal, except public nudity.
"I won't be wearing anything of a political nature," she says.
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