Yup, I boycott things all the time. There are times I feel like it matters, and sometimes when I feel like it doesn't--but you have to try, anyway, right?
There are various companies I won't support. Walmart is the obvious one because of their issues with child labor, environmental policies, and being anti-labor union. They also completely decimate the economies of small towns when they move in--and people don't argue, because they think Walmart brings jobs--too bad those jobs don't actually pay a living wage!
Walmart's policies have gotten marginally better because of boycotts--and it also puts pressure on their competition to not follow their lead. Any chain discount store has issues that they need to correct, in my opinion.
Monsanto's my other big one--most people haven't even heard of them and they don't realize how much of the food supply these yahoos control. Genetically modified seed, poisonous chemicals, exploitation of farmers...the list goes on. Not to mention Monsanto was deeply involved in the Manhattan Project as well as the development of DDT and Agent Orange. Why anyone thinks these people should have anything to do with the food supply is beyond me.
Here's one that disappointed me recently: There is a local ice cream company here that I always supported because, well, I just support local business. Unfortunately, they got bought up a couple years ago by members of the Prince family--as in Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, and Elsa Prince, who donated $450,000 to the Prop 8 campaign in CA. Now where am I supposed to get my ice cream? ;)
As a side note--what a great Christian Elsa Prince is! Wonder how many children $450,000 could've educated? (And ha, ha--she didn't manage to stop my church wedding to my dear wife in her own state!)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2010-07-26 03:58 am (UTC)There are various companies I won't support. Walmart is the obvious one because of their issues with child labor, environmental policies, and being anti-labor union. They also completely decimate the economies of small towns when they move in--and people don't argue, because they think Walmart brings jobs--too bad those jobs don't actually pay a living wage!
Walmart's policies have gotten marginally better because of boycotts--and it also puts pressure on their competition to not follow their lead. Any chain discount store has issues that they need to correct, in my opinion.
Monsanto's my other big one--most people haven't even heard of them and they don't realize how much of the food supply these yahoos control. Genetically modified seed, poisonous chemicals, exploitation of farmers...the list goes on. Not to mention Monsanto was deeply involved in the Manhattan Project as well as the development of DDT and Agent Orange. Why anyone thinks these people should have anything to do with the food supply is beyond me.
Here's one that disappointed me recently: There is a local ice cream company here that I always supported because, well, I just support local business. Unfortunately, they got bought up a couple years ago by members of the Prince family--as in Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, and Elsa Prince, who donated $450,000 to the Prop 8 campaign in CA. Now where am I supposed to get my ice cream? ;)
As a side note--what a great Christian Elsa Prince is! Wonder how many children $450,000 could've educated? (And ha, ha--she didn't manage to stop my church wedding to my dear wife in her own state!)