Elephants to Mandarin: “I’d rather stay at the Ritz.”
Today, forest advocates and concerned hotel guests took to the streets from London to New York City to tell the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to stop driving deforestation and clearing of endangered elephant habitat. Armed with adorable elephant costumes and large banners, activists showed up outside of the luxury hotels to send a clear message that we are not fans of rainforest destruction.
The actions follow just two days after the launch of the “She’s Not a Fan” campaign, a play off of Mandarin’s “She’s a Fan” celebrity ads, and the release of a new investigation showing that the hotel group is closely tied to a company that has cleared vast areas of rainforests, and is helping drive the Sumatran elephant to extinction. The full report with photos and video footage can be viewed at: ShesNotAFan.org.
The activists made their voices heard and passed out flyers to hotel guests detailing Mandarin’s connection to deforestation. One manager from the London branch even told the group, “If your main goal was to get your message across, then I can tell you that you’ve certainly done that.” Now it’s time for Mandarin’s chairman, Ben Keswick, to adopt a comprehensive company policy to protect forests, endangered species, and human rights around the world.
Check out the great photos from our partners at SumOfUs, who helped organize today’s actions.
More photos from the Mandarin Oriental in London: (Photo Credit: Oscar Webb)
More photos from the Mandarin Oriental in New York City: (Photo Credit: Julieta Salgado)
Read the full report and take action today at: ShesNotAFan.org.
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