Lush And Ben & Jerry's Are Closing Their Doors To Fight The Climate Crisis

By Lauren Rearick


There’s no denying that global warming has already played a factor in some harm to our planet, including powerful hurricanes, ravaged ecosystems in Australia, and extreme weather events like the recent European heatwave. Experts warned that “a revolution” is needed to prevent further irreversible environmental harm — and young folks are taking up the fight.


On Friday, September 20, climate activists and agencies alike are expected to converge in thousands of global protests and demand that politicians take action to end the global climate crisis. The United States is expected to host more than 500 of these protests, as participants come with each other for a weeklong Global Climate Strike.


The seven days of action are directly influenced by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old activist who has contained weekly protests outdoors of Swedish parliament since August 2018. As piece of her work, Greta has urged politicians and corporations to do their part in the fight against the climate crisis, especially given that pollution is largely exacerbated by major corporations that rarely, if ever, feel consequences for their waste.


However it seems that big names could start holding themselves even more accountable. Furthermore to Friday’s civilian protest, Fast Company announced that organizations including Lush, Patagonia, Ben & Jerrys, Allbirds, and Kickstarter are expected to participate in some form of a strike. Some organizations will “go green” and participate in a digital strike with a message that announces their support of the climate strike on their websites, while Lush reported plans to close for the day, which enables personnel to participate in protests.


Carleen Pickard, the ethical campaigns specialist at Lush, told MTV News that Greta’s continued work had inspired the corporation to join in strike. Because the brand reported in a press release, stores and headquarters will close on September 20 in the U.S. And on September 27 in Canada. “With Greta and the other youth activists’ invitation to accompany them out in the street, we definitely wanted to step up and accept that invitation. It’s incredibly critical to be segment of that conversation as a firm, and to also disrupt firm as usual,” Pickard said.


As for Ben & Jerrys, a firm spokesperson explained its participation incorporates a digital banner encouraging guests to participate in a climate strike, along with delayed openings or fully closing stores so that staff can participate, and shutting down manufacturing facilities in Vermont and the Netherlands for the day. “We recognize that climate change is an existential threat to our planet and all its inhabitants, so we are overjoyed to stand with the youth-led movement, demanding bold action in response to the climate emergency,” the firm mentioned in a statement.


Organizations have long been scrutinized for their contributions to the climate crisis, and Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, 350.Org’s North America Director, stressed the significance of agencies participating in the strike. “We know that it’s going to take all of us to prepare the changes required to maintain our future,” O’Laughlin told  MTV News. “The willingness to disrupt the norm is a symptom that the time has come for each person, especially global leaders, to get out of their comfort zones to make sure that communities around the world can thrive with tidy air [and] water, and are safe from the worst of the climate crisis.”


Two-thirds of Residents of the United States believe the climate crisis must be taken care of immediately, according to a CBS News poll, and science is backing that response: Already significant climate change is occurring around the world, NASA reports, including rising temperatures, broken ice in the Antarctic, longer wildfire seasons, and bleaching coral reefs. As NASA reports, not all of these impacts will be reversible, so the time to take action is now.