Which companies to boycott and why?

[Trendygirl]

Adidas Because of their use of Kangaroo skins!
http://www.vivausa.org/visualmedia/videos.html

Nike & The GAP for the use of sweat shops!

Nestle for there pushing of powdered baby milk onto the Indian population!

Coca Cola for steeling India’s water!

Almost all coffee houses for not paying the growers of their coffee a fair price!

Cancer research, Kidney research etc for testing on animals!

[kriz]

Which clothing companies do not use sweatshops?? I feel very uninformed about this. I assume all the big ones like Old Navy, Gap, Forever 21 etc. do.
But if I buy clothes in a small private owned retail store what is the guarantee that it's not from a sweatshop too? The only difference might be that they get their garments from one sweatshop locally (LA has a few of them) and not from China. This issue feels rather frustrating and complicated.... Abercombie & Fitch are on my 'OK list' right know because of their refusal to buy Australian wool products...but then again, I'm not sure if their clothes are produced by slave labor or not.....

[tails4wagging]

Proctor&Gamble - Vivisectors
Lever brothers - vivisectors
Loreal-vivisectors
Clairel- vivisectors
Boots- pharmacological, therefore support vivisection.
Most make up companies- vivisectors.
Farm shops- hunting, shooting etc.,
Adidas-kanagroo skins

That is some I can think of, of the top of my head.

[Billy]

Kriz I think it is a complicated and confusing issue too. Personally I boycott all of the above mentioned companies, for the same reasons as already stated. But instead of Boots I go to Superdrug, another large chemist chain here. Now they've got quite a few products that are suitable for vegans, but at the same time an arsenal of own brand medication, that at some point also has been tested and contains every animal ingredient possible...???

I don't do any of the big sports brands anymore, as none of them are ethical, save for New Balance and I can't get them here in Manchester, funnily enough

My 'rule of thumb' when it comes to buying clothes is to check the label where it's been made. If it says China or Indonesia, for example, I just assume the worst, that it has been sweatshop manufactured. If you're wondering about a certain chain's ethics it's a question of contacting them and asking for their policies, altho I'm sure Nike and Gap will never admit to you that their products are sweatshop manufactured. Is there a consumer organisation where you are? You can try checking with them.

I'm sure that if you want to find out about a certain brand there'll be a source to get the info from, trick is to find the source first! My source is a friend of mine, who is extremely ethical (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) and a wizard when it comes to finding info on the net.

As for things like coffee and tea, I only buy fair trade, and preferably organic as well. Might be a bit more expensive, but that's only because the other stuff is so cheap because the growers got next to nothing for it!

See ya,
Billy

[tails4wagging]

Shopping can be a nightmare out there. Takes me twice as long to do any shopping as I am constantly reading the labels.

When I get the chance, I stick stickers that says 'This product was tested on animals' on various items in shops.

[Geoff]

I'm with Trendygirl and Tails.
I also boycott Shell because of their complicity with the Nigerian govt in the persecution of the Ogoni people and Union Carbide for what they did to the people of Bhopal.
I feel that I should also boycott Woolworths because they're insisting on building a store in Maleny which will destroy a platypus habitat.

[Billy]

Oh, I'm boycotting $hell too, and E$$O (aren't they one and the same company? they're vile anyway.

[Kevster]

I'm not sure that there is a good oil company, BP are busy exploiting Alaskan widerness, and a quick reading of the Corporation by Joel Bakan, sets out just one such example.

I don't have a car, instead I try to walk or cycle.

Supermarkets, truly awful establishments. Though i make the occasional visit.

Mcdonalds, Burger King......

Almost any large multi-national Corporation, where possible, because i just know they're up to no good, if they can possibly get away with it, and probably if they can't too.

[Gorilla]

i subscribe to the Ethical Consumer magazine which evaluates companies based on their ethical policies. this and their book the Good Shopping Guide help me avoid companies with bad records on human/animal rights, the environment etc. this probably won't help anyone outside the UK much though because i think they only deal with brands available here (although some of these are obviously worldwide).

when i buy clothes i often buy second-hand from flea markets or charity shops - but i avoid those which test on animals. if i need something new i buy from ethical fair trade companies of which there are quite a few in the UK and i'm sure there are others around the world. some UK companies (most are mail order) include www.peopletree.co.uk www.bishopstontrading.co.uk www.traidcraft.co.uk the only thing with these companies is they often use wool and silk in their clothes, but a vegan fairtrade clothing company is www.ethicalwares.co.uk they are great.

i try to avoid most big companies and shops and use small independent shops as much as possible especially for food. i don't have a car either so don't have to give money to oil companies (except via the bus company - not much i can do about that).

[Gorilla]

oh and i have to agree with Kev, the bigger the company, the worse their ethical policy is likely to be.

[Trendygirl]

I agree that it is really confusing when it comes to buying clothes! Basically it is safe to say that all high street shops use sweat shops to some extent but some are worse than others. I mentioned the GAP as being a culprit but in fact shops like Topshop have in the past used a company in London who employed illegal immigrants and therefore the manufacturing company didn’t treat them well. It is not just when you see that it was manufactured in places like china, if it says any country that doesn’t have money such as Romania or the Ukraine you have to be very suspicious.

I tend to try buy second hand clothes or get cast offs from friends and in general just not buy many clothes. It’s a bit strange because I am doing a degree in the hope of entering the fashion and textile industry. I do my best to avoid the really big companies but sometimes I just have to buy some clothes so I will occasionally go so say H&M, I might go more than 6months before I buy from there. I am sure they use some sweat shops but hopefully not to the extent of say the GAP. (I am so ashamed that I do this but sometimes I have little choice)

It is tragic that in today’s current climate of consumers demanding cheap clothing that some small companies (not big chains) have no choice but to consider sweat shops. However big shops do have choice, they could pay the workers more and only lose a little of their huge profits. Don’t forget that it is a good thing to have garments manufactured in small countries as long as they get paid fairly.

I also now boycott Converse shoes as they are now owned by Nike and they defiantly use sweat shops. Check out this link for an ethical alternative.

http://adbusters.org/home/

This is another good link that you can use to weigh up the pros and cons of each business.

http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

[Trendygirl]

I also try to make things, normally only bags and cushions as clothes just take far too long. To jazz clothes up I often buy second hand scarves and shawls to tie around my waste over jeans or skirts.

[feline01]

I despise Walmart, they have destroyed small towns throughout the USA and treat their workers deplorably. Their work conditions are what has single-handlely lead to an increase in Medicaid (government subsidised medical coverage) and food stamps rolls. I also hate all oil companies but I do buy gas from BP. Hate Monsantano (GMO's/animal-testing), Proctor-Gamble (animal-testing), really any major corporation. Not many good ones out there. My main concern has always been my clothing. Since I'm a big woman, I don't have many options regarding where my clothes come from and I'm sure they are made in sweatshops. The only option I have is to make my own clothes. I don't know how to sew, took a class in grade school and paid a seamstress to make my outfit because I did such a horrible job.

[kriz]

As I mentioned in my previous post they have sweatshops here in downtown Los Angeles. I've heard it is as bad conditions there as in some third world countries. But of course the label says 'made in USA' and we assume that it is produced under higher ethical standards.
I've talked to people who have witnessed the deplorable conditions in these factories and they were shocked that this is going on in our own city.
Well, we seem to have the highest homeless popualtion right here in Santa Monica too, but that's a whole other story............

[bulletproof]

i don't like globalisation, especially when it comes to fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC- it is sick the way almost every country, no matter how beautiful, is now tainted by these. they suck away the culture and individuality of a place. also they are horrible and greedy corporations who exploit animals, the environment, and the hungryness of people who don't know better.

i don't drive but if i did i would boycott esso, for their greed and disrespect of the world and future generations.

nike because of the sweatshops (what gets to me the most is when i see all the indie/emo/rock kids with their converse, blegh, don't they know??).

any product made by proctor and gamble because they test on animals.

nestle for bringing their milk formula into third world countries and making a lot of babies very poorly.

[John]

The evil-doers:
http://www.boycottbush.net/consumers.htm

[PinkFluffyCloud]

I agree with all the above, but I think supermarkets are among the worst offenders.
Not only are they responsible for a hell of a lot of factory farming, and GMO crops, they have also driven many small outlets out of business.
Unfortunately, where I live, it would be difficult not to use a supermarket for buying Vegan stuff, which is one of the reasons I was so interested in going 'Raw'. I could just about manage to avoid the supermarkets for my own food, then, but would probably still have to use them for the rest of the family.

[Gorilla]

thought this website might be interesting: www.nosweat.org.uk - a fair trade anti-sweatshop organisation with their own brand of t-shirts and other merchandise.

[Gorilla]

oh yeah hemp clothes are usually pretty ethical - good for the environment, and fairly traded. there's a branch of the Hemp Shop in Brighton which sells some lovely clothes (although admittedly they aren't cheap) - and they're not just for hippies either their website is www.thehempshop.co.uk

[TheFirstBus]

In the time I have been vegan I have not had a chance to pick up any new clothes, so I will have to think long and hard about that when some cash comes in. I boycott tim hortons just because I used to work there and just despise them besides they are trying to make themsleves representers of Cananda. I don't want tim hortons to be the first thing that comes to mind when Canada is heard thats just sad. McDonalds of course. Now that I am sitting here reading and posting I may just add walmart to my list. I don't shop there often anyway but its like the only department store we have in town, its eating up a small town as we speak. If we had a little independantly owned grocery store here I would go there but until then you can find my in safeway reading the ingredients on every product I see.

[feline01]

Here's a link to some of the horror stories about Walmart. I really hate that store. They come under both discount crap store chain and grocery store since in many towns, they sell both and have eliminated all competition.

[bulletproof]

the thing with supermarkets though is that the prices are better and they are easier to find therefore more convenient, especially when they deliver to your door- for example, most of the supermarkets now do vegan chocolate, biscuits and other free from foods as well as soya milk and chocolate soya milk all at FAR lower prices than what holland and barrett (sp?) sell them for.. hasn't been the best example because off the top of my head i am not sure on the exact difference in price but there definetely is one

[PinkFluffyCloud]

I agree with you, Bulletproof, but I feel that buying from such places is at odds with the other things I do/don't do - buying from companies that make profit out of animal suffering. Just another reason to become 'self-reliant' if possible.
I like your (very large) avatar, Bulletproof, it's cute!.

[bulletproof]

hihi thanks ^_^ it's a smilie from another forum

[lvhatkent]

Let me think ... basically all of the "big guns" like Proctor & Gamble (you have to really watch them, they make a LOT of stuff from coffee to laundry detergent to cosmetics & otc pharmaceuticals). I only take medications if absolutely necessary because the US government won't allow any of them to be released without animal testing. When I buy cosmetics, I watch for cruelty-free companies. And, of course, I don't ever spend my hard earned cash at fast food places like McDonald's, BK, etc. If anyone is having a hard time giving that up, check out Supersize Me ... I rented it from the video store. You'll never eat at McD's again.

I try to keep tabs on the updates from PETA so I have pretty accurate information on who's vivisecting & who isn't & who won't commit one way or the other. I consider the "non-commited" automatic "no's" even if they aren't currently testing on animals. As for food, I buy almost exclusively organics except for the stuff I buy in summer from locals who grow them in their back yard & sell them in front of their houses. Then, I buy as much as I can and freeze it for winter. I make my own bread & other baked goods and with not buying meats or cheeses, that doesn't leave much left. I do almost all of my shopping at my local health food store, which is run by vegans so they only stock appropriate products. I guess I'm lucky that way. How about everyone else?

Leah

[lvhatkent]

I generally refer to them as either Wal-fart, the anti-Christ or the Devil, but anyway that's not the reason for my post. My brother worked at a Walmart and it was a HORRIBLE experience for him. At the time, I wasn't so sure that it was all true because I couldn't believe that any company could be that bad. Then I saw an ad on TV for a huge class-action lawsuit against them and started reading and hearing more about them. Wow, his experience wasn't even half of it. My fiancee is an IBEW electrician and the union has given us plenty of info on Walmart. Also, if you really want more info about them, see if you can get your hands on a copy of the PBS Frontline episode of "Is Walmart Good for America?" (I think that's the title.) It really shows the lengths they will go to in order to monopolize retail sales in the US and Canada, including teaching companies that want to sell to products to Walmart how to run sweatshops in Asian countries. If Walfart gave away their crap for free, I wouldn't take it. But, that's my opinion. Seriously, though, I hope people will take the time to do a little bit of "investigative reporting" of their own before they spend their hard earned dollars at a place like that. By the way, a lot of the stuff in their stores isn't cheaper than anywhere else. It's just the "loss leader" at the end of the aisle that is. After you go down the aisle and buy the brand name microwave, which you later find $10 cheaper at Sears or JC Penney you're stuck with it. Walmart sucks!!!!!!

Leah

[pixeequeen]

nestle, proctor and gamble, maccyD's, nike, shell...
This is a really good thread, I'm trying to buy consciensciously, but don't always know about stuff; and its reassuring to see other people don't use what I dont if I've only heard second or third hand, so, well, thanks guys!

[Wanda]

I never go to fast food restaurants and try to avoid sweatshop companies.
I now buy most of my clothes online from this list of Good Companies.
Just click on 'Good Companies'.
I also buy as much as possible organic products.
I like to support companies that make an effort.

[Roxy]

Thanks for that great link Wanda! It's going to come in very handy!!

[Michelle]

if i need something new i buy from ethical fair trade companies of which there are quite a few in the UK and i'm sure there are others around the world. some UK companies (most are mail order) include www.peopletree.co.uk www.bishopstontrading.co.uk www.traidcraft.co.uk the only thing with these companies is they often use wool and silk in their clothes, but a vegan fairtrade clothing company is www.ethicalwares.co.uk they are great.

Thank you so much for posting this!

[Michelle]

I never go to fast food restaurants and try to avoid sweatshop companies.
I now buy most of my clothes online from this list of Good Companies.
Just click on 'Good Companies'.
I also buy as much as possible organic products.
I like to support companies that make an effort.

Thank you, too, Wanda! I am so happy that you guys have made me aware of these sites

[Evilfluffbunny]

Most pet food companies, especially Iams, Hills, Purina, Pedigree etc. I believe Felix, Whiskers and the majority of the other mainstream brands also test on animals.

Tesco, for the disgusting state of the farms where they get their pig meat.

L'Oreal for continuing to test on animals.

There's many more but that's all I can think of right now! Most of the main ones have been mentioned.

[Spiral]

Boycott Coca Cola

Coca Cola stand accused of complicity in the assassination of 8 Sinaltrainal trade union leaders in Colombia since 1990. Many other leaders have been imprisoned, tortured, forcibly displaced and exiled. Of course, Coca Cola deny any responsibility for the murders, pointing out that 100s of union leaders are killed every year in Colombia. However, many of Sinaltrainal’s victims were killed inside Coca Cola plants while negotiating collective agreements. Coca Cola management were reported in the national press as meeting and contracting members of the AUC death squads to “sort out their labour problems”.

[Evilfluffbunny]

I also read Coca Cola sponsored a cock fight somewhere and that Pepsi sponsored a bull fight. I suppose it could have been computerised (though I don't see why anyone would do that), but I saw photos of the bull ring with Pepsi posters all around it.

[phillip888]

Coco cola and altri are major backers of anti-vegan lobbying too. Altria = philip morris and kraft

http://www.altria.com/about_altria/0...rthamerica.asp

[Kevster]

My local health food shop back in Cranleigh has boycotted e-cover products:

http://www.buav.org/gocrueltyfree/faqs.html

Sounds like a very progressive stance, however, last time i was there they were selling organic meat... not so progressive.

[Kevster]

Incidentally, Bio-D don't seem to be open to scrutiny from BUAV either......
Faith in Nature seem to be a good bet, but unfortunately don't yet use the vegan society trademark. But their products are vegan

http://www.faithinnature.com/indexpackage.asp

[Geoff]

I also read Coca Cola sponsored a cock fight somewhere and that Pepsi sponsored a bull fight. I suppose it could have been computerised (though I don't see why anyone would do that), but I saw photos of the bull ring with Pepsi posters all around it.

Pepsi were sponsoring bullfights a few years back but said that they would stop doing so after a campaign by Steve Hindi (SHARK). There would probably be info about it on the SHARK site.

[Gorilla]

My local health food shop back in Cranleigh has boycotted e-cover products

it's a shame Ecover won't commit to a total non-animal testing policy but they're the only products i can get refilled in this area as far as i know

[Gorilla]

Global Boycott Proctor & Gamble Day, Saturday 21st May 2005, see here.

[drummer]

BOYCOTT BENETTON FOR USING AUSTRALIAN WOOL!!!!
The farmers here do something called mulesing. They cut off sheeps' rear ends with sharp shears without painkillers!! The sheep suffer terrible pain, even thought there are alternatives to mulesing, Aus farmers continue to mutilate and torture sheep. Any company that uses Australian wool should be boycotted. All farm animals in Aus are tortured and killed in the cruelest ways just to make a profit.

[mattd]

do you know why they do that? i can't think any reason why shearing off the rear end of sheep would be good for collecting wool.

[Evilfluffbunny]

I think it's to prevent dirt and maggots etc from collecting in the folds of skin.

There's a video of this being done to a sheep on peta.com, the poor thing was held upside-down with her legs tied up as huge areas of skin (practically the whole of the buttocks area) was cut off without any form of painkiller. It was horrific to watch but I wanted to know what happens.

[coconut]

I think that if you're vegan you avoid buying products from various bad companies, whether you're conscious of their evil doings or not. I no longer eat milk chocolate so I've pretty much cut Nestle out of the picture. It's amazing how far their tentacles reach. I bought a bottle of Vittel water the other day and just happened to scan the smallprint: I discover they're actually a subsidiary of Nestle! I wonder where they source their water and who they step on to get it.

That's awful about the situation with Australian sheep. It's unbelievable how people can do something like that to a completely harmless animal, and when there are plenty of alternative clothing materials you can use. I don't know much about this but I suppose wool is just another huge corporate enterprise like factory farming or Big sugar or Big tobacco.

[Geoff]

I discover they're actually a subsidiary of Nestle! I wonder where they source their water and who they step on to get it.

Nestle are taking water at next to no cost all over the world and making big profits at the expense of local people. See:
http://www.indiaresource.org/issues/...aterblues.html

[Tigerlily]

There's a company called ConAgra. They are one of the largest meat packing companies in the US, even in North America too. Not only do they cause animal suffering, they also have bad human rights violations as well.

Other than being a meat packing company, they also own many other smaller companies and they produce more than meat. I used to have a list of all the stuff they made/owned, but I can't seem to find it. Ahh. They make a lot of stuff, even "vegan products".

Oh, here it is:
http://www.conagrafoods.com/brands/index.jsp

[gertvegan]

www.boycotttesco.com have some interesting info on Radio Frequency IDentification.

[tails4wagging]

That is scary!!!!. I dont go into tesco very often too far away for me anyway.

[Gorilla]

Here is a reminder about Global Boycott Procter & Gamble (P&G) Day IX - Sat. 21st May 2005, thanks to Uncaged Campaigns:

Campaign Materials

It's not too late to order leaflets, posters, petitions and stickers for Global Boycott P&G Day IX http://www.uncaged.co.uk/pgaction.htm on the weekend of 21st May 2005. So, drop us a line asap if you would like to conduct a campaign stall, supermarket protest, protest at a P&G site, library, college, work, community centre, or shop display, leafleting or do a letter-writing blitz with our full letter-writing pack.

Letter writing

After this email you will find a template letter to send to your regional newspapers. Please do send the letter to all your regional press (from major daily/evening paper to free weekly). Letters pages are the most read section of a paper, so a published letter can inform tens of thousands of people with the Boycott P&G message. Campaigners have had great success with this method of spreading the word in the past - but you must include you name and address on the letters for the them to be published.

Petition hand-in

Please join us for a petition hand-in at P&G HQ, Cobalt lane, Silver Fox way, Cobalt Business Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE27 0QN, from 10.40am to 12noon. We will have banners, posters and several animal costumes - but we need your help to come and hold and wear them, respectively. If we get enough people (only needs to be about half a dozen) we can almost guarantee some good media coverage - email us back as soon as possible if you can spare an hour or so. info@uncaged.co.uk / max@uncaged.co.uk

Template letter to local newspapers

Dear Sir/Madam

I am appalled that Procter & Gamble (who make world-famous brands like Daz, Fairy, Ariel, Olay, and Max Factor amongst others) continues to test on and kill animals in the development of their products. They conduct animal tests around the world for cosmetics sold in British shops - even though such tests have been banned in the UK for several years! Unbelievably, they even secretly harm and kill animals in experiments for their pet food subsidiary IAMS/Eukanuba!!

Like millions of people around the world I now boycott all Procter & Gamble (P&G) products. Saturday 21 May is Global Boycott P&G Day and there will be demonstrations and information events all over the UK (including in our region), and across the world. All the events have the same message: If you buy Procter & Gamble products, you may as well be holding the knife yourself!

A P&G boss recently claimed that they face an election every time a shopper stands in the shopping aisle deciding what to buy. Yet their manifesto is the cruel and unnecessary poisoning and killing of animals. Who wants to vote for that when more than 600 companies manufacture similar safe and effective products without testing them on animals?!

I urge readers to get themselves a list of P&G products and avoid them at all costs.

More information about Procter & Gamble's practices, their products and non-animal testing companies - is available from Uncaged Campaigns, 9 Bailey Lane, Sheffield S1 4EG, 0114 272 2220 or visit their website at www.uncaged.co.uk/pg.htm

Yours faithfully.....

[feline01]

Me, VeganMan and the vegan twins will be doing our first leafletting (against Proctor & Gamble) at our local, huge supermarket on May 21st. We will be handing out pamphlets on why Proctor & Gamble are so horrible and also providing Cruelty Free Shopping Guides. I'm nervous and excited, I never leafletted before, none of us have. The family that protests together...can maybe make a difference???