Red rebels’ Christmas shopping message gets a frosty reception from Westfield security

Extinction Rebellion’s Red Rebel Brigade has taken a Christmas shopping message to the heart of consumerist London. On Saturday 6 December, Red Rebels silently marched towards Westfield in White City, West London. They had a warning about the potentially disastrous impact of the uncontrolled growth of human activity on our children and on future generations.

“No Shopping on a Dead Planet”

Eleven Red Rebels moved through White City towards the shopping centre in slow, silent formation. The rebels carried banners reading “No Shopping on a Dead Planet” and “A Better World is Possible”. Their intention was simple: to invite shoppers to pause and reflect on whether the habit of over-buying is the gift we want to pass on to the next generation.

Westfield security were quick to close the door on the message. Around ten security officers surrounded the group and intercepted their entrance to the shopping centre by shutting the doors to the west side. They even brought a dog out. The officer in charge repeatedly threatened to forcibly remove the Red Rebels if they did not leave. He claimed the silent performers were “intimidating” his guards. Security closed the main entrance of the centre for around an hour.

Rebels gave their message on a small megaphone:

We are here today to say this obsession with growth cannot continue. Each year, billions of tonnes of waste are created globally, with vast amounts still being dumped in landfill or burned.

We don’t need to be constantly sold new things. We have this one beautiful planet. There is no Planet B. There can’t be infinite growth on a finite planet.

Westfield is complicit, say the Rebels, because it tried to silence the message. Security staff demanded that Rebels put the megaphone away, citing the presence of children. Yet young people around the shopping centre were not upset and instead approached the Red Rebels with curiosity and excitement, taking stickers and information from outreachers. For many families, these gentle moments of connection stood in stark contrast to the aggressive response from security.

An activist from Fashion Rebellion noted:

Fast Fashion produces enough discarded garments every second to fill an Olympic swimming pool. Our discarded clothes end up in places like Ghana’s “fast fashion graveyard” where 15 million items of discarded garments arrive each week. We now have enough garments to clothe the next 6 generations.

Stuck in a consumption loop

This peaceful, nonviolent action spoke to Westfield and its shoppers as people like all of us, caught inside a system that pushes constant consumption as the measure of happiness and success.

The Red Rebels’ presence asked a question: who benefits from all this shopping, and who pays the price?

Jen Massey, a mother and community worker from Brighton, said:

We came to offer a message of care, not confrontation. Another way of living is possible for us all.

This action forms part of XRUK’s winter creative work reflecting on what has been lost, what is broken, and what might still be rebuilt.

As the year draws to a close, it’s a time traditionally associated with generosity, reflection, and spending time with loved ones. XRUK is calling on people to recognise that leaving a habitable world would be the most meaningful gift of all.

Just last week the National Emergency Briefing saw 1,250 people come together, including MPs and business, faith and media leaders. They heard a stark, united warning that the climate and ecological crisis now threatens food security, health, and national security across the UK.

As well as confronting the reality of the crisis, the National Emergency Briefing illuminated countless examples of regeneration, repair, and human creativity already taking root. Groups are uniting to achieve the better world that remains within reach.

The shopping centre action sends the message that similarly, the crisis directly affects all of our everyday lives. And our choices around consumption, solidarity and care matter now more than ever. Extinction Rebellion urges shoppers to resolve to help repair the environment in the New Year. A better world is possible and we will build it together. A healthy environment in which to flourish is the best gift that we can give to our children.

Featured image via Extinction Rebellion