Right now I'm boycotting a lot of things. In fact I can't keep track of them all. Since many companies make more than one product I need a list of "safe" Items just to go shopping. Oh, the price we pay for activism!

Okay solution: at boycott.com you can find out about any number of ongoing boycotts (and add boycotts of your own! See a TV add that annoys you? Start a consumer movement with a few clicks!) it keeps track of what companies make what items and lets you get a list of things you aren't going to buy. Also if a boycott ends the items are automatically removed. (I've been boycotting Denny's for like three years-- not knowing that boycott was over ...)
-- futurebird, Jul 22 2001

Get Ethical http://www.getethical.com
for Mephista [-alx, Jul 22 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Ethical Consumer boycotts list http://www.ethicalc...s/boycotts_list.htm
Lists most known boycotts, for the UK at least. Still plenty relevant for the rest of the world. [-alx, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Corporate fallout detector http://web.media.mit.edu/~jpatten/cfd/
Jul 26 2003: someone baked a device to react to corporate behavior based on their product bar codes (includes a movie of it in use) [krelnik, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Perhaps just keep a short list of second-hand stores and local markets which appear on no boycott list. Just patronize these few outlets. And garage sales, of course. And kids' lemonade stands. Nothing else.
-- Dog Ed, Jul 22 2001


Wouldn't you then have to boycott that?
-- StarChaser, Jul 22 2001


As StarChaser suggests the problems with boycotting everything is that you would have to boycott the boycotts.
-- Aristotle, Jul 23 2001


Okay, maybe I got a little out of had with the title. This idea isn't really about boycotting *everything*, it's about a system to help publicise and manage boycotts for people who are always boycotting one thing or another. The thing I want most is the ability to "start' a boycott based on seemingly trivial issues. (Like offensive advertisements--- ) I just called it "boycott everything" because that is pretty much what I do right now-- mostly because I can't remember things like "dose Philip Morris make 'Dove' soap?"

Hopefully if enough people use this site companies would start taking a peek at it. And boycotts with a whole lot of people signed up might get some attention ...

There could even be a political quiz that would show you boycotts that you could then put in your "online shopping cart" check out to get an 'anti-recipt' he he he he

You know like my little voting with my dollars idea might start to have some effect--- ah well.
-- futurebird, Jul 23 2001


Cool idea. I also have difficulty keeping track of who exactly is behind what, and this would help those of us who do care but are otherwise too shiftless and lazy to do the research for ourselves. It's easy enough to remember to buy Cafe Direct instead of Nescafe, but what brands of clothing farm their manufacturing out to "productivity zones" in Indonesia, for example?

Croissant, indeed.
-- Guy Fox, Jul 24 2001


I think this should be split in two.

Site 1 is simply an information service of who owns what, and who works for whom where. It doesn't represent judgements, only facts.

Site 2 translates the policies of its users into specific recommendations based on the information stored in site 1.

(Why? It's good to separate facts from decisions; it helps keep things true, and protects site 1 from interference by companies who don't like the decisions site 2 encourages.)

If site 1 existed, another little neat thing that would become possible is "P3P for purchasing policies" (P3P4P2?). Store a policy string in a browser that encodes the preferences of its owners. When connecting to a retail site, the site receives the string and can automatically filter out products that don't match the shopper's acceptability profile, or recommend products from companies the shopper identifies with.
-- jutta, Jul 24 2001


Just found a site similar to this idea. See link.
-- -alx, Mar 13 2003


Good find alx, though I was slightly bemused by the presence of Janet Jackson on the list for duetting with Beenie Man but not of Beenie Man himself. Needs work, I think.
-- DrBob, Mar 13 2003


I must confess I was surprised her boycott was for something other than aural human rights offences.
-- -alx, Mar 13 2003


I'm *still* boycotting Denny's and Texaco - It's like a friend said years ago "'wax doesn't forget." Whenever possible, I support fledgling operations, such as Mom 'n Pop stores, regional bottlings of sauces, etc. rather than corporate behemoths. Same goes for gas, as long as it doesn't ruin fuel filters, let alone - my wallet.
-- thumbwax, Mar 13 2003


Yes. The entry should just have read 'Janet Jackson' full stop. No explanations required.
-- DrBob, Mar 13 2003


Boycotting is definitely a feel-good-about-yourself thing. I like to do it. But, to avoid inconveniencing myself, I boycott things in other countries. On the other side of the planet, if possible. Right now I’m boycotting Saddam Hussein. I have not a single Hussein poster or statue in the house, I’m proud to say. Threw them all out. Boycott.com would be an excellent place to discover the personal benefits and possible inconveniences of my boycott of choice. +
-- pluterday, Mar 13 2003



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