>>>> MEDIA ADVISORY <<<<
They'd rather wear nothing than wear Gap
Protestors strip for redwoods and workers rights
Denounce "Gapitalism" at pre-G8 warm-up action
WHO:
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign (SRBG) & F-R-I-E-N-D-S!!! Contact info in Calgary (June 22--28): 415-509-1188 (cell). In San Francisco before June 22: chalicenew@earthlink.net 415-731-7924. Redwood office (Greenwood Watershed Association, Elk, California): 707-877-3405. Members of the SRBG Core Group will be arriving in Calgary on June 22, where we will meet with Alberta Gaptivists on our network and our Canadian host-organizers for a POWERFUL PROTEST ACTION!!! ***ALL ARE WELCOME, clothed or unclothed!!!***
WHAT:
"We'd Rather Wear Nothing Than Wear Gap!!!" A PRE-G8 WARM-UP ACTION, where protestors will STRIP for REDWOODS and WORKERS RIGHTS to focus international attention on GLOBAL DEFORESTATION, the resulting WORLD WATER CRISIS, and the proliferation and abject misery of SWEATSHOPS world-wide.
The CANADIAN government is CRACKING DOWN on CIVIL RIGHTS--they won't let us bring any props or costumes, that's why we settled on our PROP & COSTUME-FREE number: "We'd rather wear nothing than wear Gap!" We'll have songs, chants, and a few key speakers (see below) to BUILD to the CLIMACTIC MOMENT when we STRIP for JUSTICE IN FOREST & FACTORY!!!
Speakers (unconfirmed): Tony Silvaggio, Secretary/Treasurer of Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment (Steelworkers and Earth-Firsters!!!); STARHAWK, global justice activist extraordinaire; an organizer from the Council of Canadians to speak on water privatization issues, Bechtel's lawsuit against Bolivia, and the link between deforestation and the world water crisis; an organizer from the Calgary District Labour Council to speak about the impacts of G8 policies on workers and the trade union movement; and an organizer from CPAWS, to speak on local forest issues in Alberta! DON'T START YAWNING - Speakers will be limited to FIVE SPELLBINDING MINUTES EACH, and we'll pepper the talk with our great, FUN anti-Gapitalist / anti-corporate SONGS & CHANTS!!! ...ALL BUILDING to that climactic moment, when we strip for REDWOODS & WORKERS!!!!
WHEN:
Tues, June 25, 2002, 12 NOON.
WHERE:
TD Square Gap (on the promenade side of the mall on Stephens).
317 7th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
WHY:
Gap, Inc, is the largest specialty clothing retailer in the US and second largest in the world, with over 4000 stores world-wide, and $1.1 Billion in profits off $11.6 Billion in sales in 1999 (lately, they haven't been doing so well, thanks at least in part--some say in large part--to the international boycott ;-). Gap contracts to 300 sweatshops in 55 "developing" countries. DONALD FISHER, founder and Chairman of Gap Inc, helped draft the textile rules in these trade agreements that paved the way for the proliferation of SWEATSHOPS WORLD-WIDE--maximizing corporate exploitation and profit, while minimizing corporate accountability. The Fisher family, who control Gap Inc, took the profits they made off the backs of sweatshop labor and bought 235,000 acres (350 square miles) of REDWOOD FORESTLAND, spanning 28 major watersheds in Northern California. They are currently scraping off the last merchantable timber from these once majestic forests, and have begun the process of conversion to housing developments, EXTIRPATING ENDANGERED SPECIES and DESTROYING this priceless ECOSYSTEM FOREVER.
THE G8/GAP CONNECTION:
The G8 works for mega-corporations, such as Gap, Bechtel, Enron, Chevron, and So-on. Our so-called political leaders are either members of this CORPORATE ELITE, are paid by them, or are coerced by them. The G8 implements global trade agreements that serve these CORPORATE EXPLOITERS--trade agreements like the GATS, NAFTA, WTO, & FTAA, which blatantly usurp democracy, trample workers rights, and destroy the environment, putting profits above the health and well-being of the planet and her peoples. DONALD FISHER, founder and Chairman of Gap Inc, helped draft the textile rules in these trade agreements that paved the way for the proliferation of SWEATSHOPS WORLD-WIDE--maximizing corporate exploitation and profit, while minimizing corporate accountability.
OUR MESSAGE:
***We urge the Fishers to abandon their development schemes, and to instead place their redwood holdings in the public trust for permanent protection at no additional expense to the public--we've already paid TOO HIGH A PRICE in species extirpation and environmental destruction!!! At this point, with 80% of the world's forests destroyed or so damaged they can no longer be logged sustainably, and with a resulting World Water Crisis, we cannot afford to destroy any more forests and watersheds--least of all, the magnificent redwoods, the densest biomass on earth, 130 million years in the making, a World Legacy!!! We must embark on an intensive campaign of protection and restoration!!!****
***We urge the Gap to settle the Saipan sweatshop lawsuit, pay their workers a living wage, guarantee workers rights with independent factory monitoring, and lead the way for all business-people to become Business-people of Conscience who ensure that their products are FAIR-TRADE & GREEN!!!***
***We urge the PUBLIC to strike down government POLICIES that serve = SPECIAL INTERESTS at the EXPENSE of PEOPLE and PLANET, to work for true, direct democracy, social justice, and sustainable communities, to "vote" with their wallets and stop shopping these conscienceless mega-corporations--by patronizing them, we are fueling global injustice, environmental destruction, and the demise of healthy, diverse, local economies! Shop small and local, fair trade and green!!!***
THE ACTION IS GOING TO BE WONDERFUL!!! PLEASE COME!!!
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign
252 Frederick Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net www.gapsucks.org
FOR REDWOODS & WORKERS, BOYCOTT GAP, BANANA REPUBLIC, & OLD NAVY!