Dame Vivienne Westwood has been a flamboyant figure of British fashion for over three decades.  Although not particularly well known for having an ethical stance on the production of her clothing, she is outspoken about the pressing issue of the loss of bees.

At the March of the Beekeepers, which swarmed on Parliament Square on 26th April 2013, Vivienne Westwood stood firm in front of the phalanx of photographers for as long as it took to get her message across.  Holding up her shiny bee placard, which said “Ban Neonicotinoids” on one side and “Bee Wise” on the other, she stated that what is good for the planet is good for the economy.  “We all need to understand what is causing climate change and that everything is connected.”

And as far as the bees are concerned, she said: “We all think that there needs to be a lot more studies to find out definitively which factors are causing the problem. But that is not a reason not to act.” On protests and participation:  “I support protests. There is a lot people can do; the public can do something. They can get a life, get involved with the world that you live in, don’t just suck everything up and wait until it’s all gone,” she said.

Westwood then walked down Whitehall with designer Katherine Hamnett CBE to deliver the Save the Bees petition to the Prime Minister, which was signed by 2,625,966 people throughout the European Union.  This time people protest really has worked because three days later enough EU officials voted to ban neonicotinoid pesticides for two years despite the British Government’s abstention.

Photo (C) Sam Burcher 2013