<https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2021/11/26/breaking-amazon-crimes-will-cost-the-earth-extinction-rebellion-disrupts-black-friday-by-blocking-15-amazon-fulfilment-centres>
From 5am this morning, Extinction Rebellion has blocked a total of 15
Amazon fulfilment centres in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands on
Black Friday, the major global discount day. In the UK, people from all
across the country are taking part, with 13 blockades in Doncaster,
Darlington, Newcastle, Manchester, Peterborough, Derby, Coventry,
Rugeley, Dartford, Bristol, Tilbury, Milton Keynes and Dunfermline.
These sites account for just over 50% of Amazon deliveries in the UK.
The group is blocking the entrances using bamboo structures, lock-ons,
and banners with the words ‘AMAZON CRIME’, ‘INFINITE GROWTH, FINITE
PLANET’ and ‘BLACK FRIDAY EXPLOITS PEOPLE AND PLANET’ on them. In
Tilbury, a rocket part blocked the entrance with an eager Jeff Bezos sat
riding it, and the words ‘TO EXTINCTION AND BEYOND’ written on its side.
The group intends to stay for at least 48 hours.
The action is taking place on Black Friday in order to confront the
exploitative and environmentally destructive business practices of one
of the world’s largest companies. Amazon is known for a long list of
widely recognised “crimes” – from tax avoidance to the exploitation of
workers, to rampant wastefulness and ecological destruction – while
making its founder and largest shareholder Jeff Bezos one of the richest
men on earth. The action aims to expose Amazon’s crimes, while holding
it up as an example of the wider economic system, which is designed to
keep us hooked on buying things we don’t need, at a price the planet
cannot afford.
[...]
AMAZON’S CRIMES:
1. The company said activities tied to its businesses emitted 60.64
million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year — more than a medium
sized country and the equivalent of burning through 140 million
barrels of oil. Amazon’s carbon emissions grew by 19% in 2020 and
have risen every year since 2018, when it first disclosed its carbon
footprint after employees pressured it to do so.[4][5]
2. Not only does Amazon’s business emit more carbon than a country the
size of Denmark, but it is actively helping fossil fuel companies
such as Shell, Exxon and BP to drill for more oil via its Amazon Web
Services.[6]
3. While scientists tell us that companies must rapidly decarbonise,
Amazon continues to lobby the US Government to fight against climate
legislation, despite pledging to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by
2040. This target also does not include its supply chain which
contributes 75% of its overall emissions and so far it has published
no plan on how it intends to meet this target. They are committing
the very definition of greenwash.[7][8]
4. Amazon has a historic record of treating its workers “like robots”,
with a report just released on Wednesday this week stating that
ambulances have been called out to UK warehouses 971 times since
2018, with the company threatening to fire employees in the US for
speaking out about its climate impact.[9][10] An employee died at
the site in Tilbury just last month.
5. Amazon routinely destroys millions of items of unsold stock and
returned items. Many of the products – including smart TVs and
laptops – are often new and unused. The Prime Minister called it “an
indictment of a consumerist society.”[11] This wasteful practice
epitomises the view that the natural world is expendable.
6. Governments are subsidising the growth of this massive monopoly by
allowing the e-commerce giant to legally report billions of pounds
of sales in a tax haven, meaning they are stealing from the general
public in order to grow. This helps Amazon to undercut more
responsible businesses and is depriving governments of tax revenue
that could be used to fund essential public services.[12]
/This list is not exhaustive./
These business practices have helped Amazon’s founder and largest
shareholder, Jeff Bezos,0 to become the world’s richest man, while
keeping many workers on the poverty line. According to Forbes, Bezos
personal wealth amounts to $177bn.[13]
[...]
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