Waltham Forest activists join a pan-European effort to turn Volkswagen away from the darkside.
Greenpeace has been campaigning to highlight the dark side of VW for some time. That activity stepped up a notch last weekend when activists in six UK locations joined others in France and Germany to take that message right to the shop floor (so to speak).
Activists from Waltham Forest and Southwark performed a little rebranding exercise at a VW dealership in London. Imagine our joy when we were joined by a Stormtroooper - fresh from defecting to the rebellion.
Interesting fact 1: Stormtroopers are pretty good at footing ladders. It's not all about wiping out entire Jawa transports. They have a practical use too.
Numerous conversations were had with staff and customers. At least one staff member raised a worried eyebrow in a 'they're doing WHAT?!?!' kind of way.
A couple of customers were genuinely interested; at least one told a staff member (who was trying to interrupt) that they would like to hear what we had to say. Said customer promptly took a leaflet directing him to the VW Darkside website and was last heard muttering about how he would 'have to take a look'.
Interesting fact 2: Most of the customers were very eco-aware. At least one was able to quote vehicle emissions statistics as he saw it as an essential factor in his decisions.
Having willingly left the premises at the request of the police, we continued to spread our message to the public and passing motorists on the pavement outside.
Interesting fact 3: An awful lot of motorists will honk their horn and give you a thumbs up when campaigning against a car company.
With that it was off to the pub for some well-earned refreshment and then home. Just another day as a Greenpeace activist/Jedi.
Interesting fact 4: Stormtroopers prefer Guinness. Well, they would, wouldn't they?
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