Black Friday Shoppers Met by Climate Change Activists Protesting Holiday

An activist holds up sign urging others to reconsider their shopping on Black Friday in light of climate change and overconsumption.
An activist holds up sign urging others to reconsider shopping on Black Friday in light of climate change and overconsumption.(Getty)

Protesters flocked to shopping malls, department stores and even the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to climate change.

As some Americans get in line to buy the latest gadget or gizmo on Black Friday, climate change activists around the world took to the streets to boycott consumerism and urge others to consider overconsumption when shopping for this holiday season.

Malls all over Illinois saw young protestors with picket signs, while activists in New York City silently pushed empty shopping carts through stores, USA Today reported.

A protest group held a ceremonial funeral, complete with a closed casket, outside the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. They encouraged others to join in and “eulogize and mourn all that has been lost and all that is threatened by the climate crisis,” according to the page.

Cities outside of the United States, where Black Friday-related consumerism has spread in the last several years, also saw strikes against the American holiday. Thousands took a stance against consumerism and climate change in Berlin, Lagos and Madrid, where the United Nations' 2019 Climate Change Conference, known as COP25, is scheduled to take place Monday.

The latest protest were part of the Fridays for Future movement, inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who encouraged students to skip class on Fridays to draw attention to climate change.

Activists in Europe are also staging movements against Amazon. The retail giant's headquarters and various warehouses in France are being blocked by protestors who want to disrupt what they call Amazon's overproduction. In Germany, Amazon workers staged a walk out on the busiest day in what they said was an effort to seek better pay.

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