# Do you participate in personal consumption boycotts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346 "2013-05-14T20:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/21 "2013-05-17T03:45:05Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > I don’t shop at WalMart because they treat their employees like garbage. I don’t purchase or knowingly eat Tyson meat products for the same reason. There’s a large apartment complex in my city where the Third World refugees usually live when they first arrive, and Tyson snaps them up and even has shuttle buses to transport them to and from work. There have been stories about people who applied for jobs there, and knew they were rejected because they spoke English; need I say any more about that? I also don’t shop at the Kmart nearest my house because the store got filthier and the merchandise worse every time I went in there, and probably won’t shop at Sears, which is owned by the same company, any time soon because they want your life story even for a cash purchase. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/22 "2013-05-17T03:53:44Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > Jenny McCarthy - Never thought much of her anyway, but her misguided loudmouth-ism about autism and against vaccines really make me dislike her. Ironically, her son doesn’t even have autism. He has a disorder called Landau-Kleffner syndrome, which has autism-like symptoms. In the early days of her campaign, she had some website that Autism Speaks ordered shut down (and you can’t even find it on the Wayback Machine) stating that autistic children were “indigo children” and their moms were “crystal people” and other similar nonsense. Even before the story about her publicity stunt - oops, disabled child - broke, I read on a celebrity gossip website that her marriage broke up mainly because she had numerous affairs with both men and women. I find that quite believable, too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/23 "2013-05-17T03:56:30Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Benetton, ever since they had an ad campaign featuring pictures of people on death row. The whole point of the campaign was to make you feel sorry for the people because they’re getting executed. Does that company still exist? I never bought their clothes during their 80s heyday, simply because I couldn’t afford them. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/24 "2013-05-17T04:49:23Z")
The only place I boycott is the stupid fucking hippie grocery store next to my work place. I absolutely hate the spineless knee-jerk more liberal than thou humble-bragging asshole of an owner, and I hate his stupid store for the limited selection, glacier paced check out, and elitist high prices. I once went there for a can of beans. A can of **BEANS** for Christ’s sake, and the cheapest one he had was $2.50. I knew I could get a can of beans at Safeway for 80¢, so I left his stupid store empty handed, even though it meant a side trip to Safeway on my way home from work. And I hate all the patchouli reeking white people with dreadlocks hempen clad hippies who shop there too. But let me tell you how I **really** feel… ---
**Author:** ![And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/and_his_buzzer_goes/32/377_2.png) [@And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/And_his_buzzer_goes)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/25 "2013-05-17T08:00:23Z")
[ab inbev](http://www.ab-inbev.com/) Because of their world conquering attitude and watering down of their products. Monsanto, but that’s more a consequence of my - how do you guys put it - organic? lifestyle. So no pesticides/herbicides and stuff. Products that have come from another continent, excluding electronics and clothes I must admit. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/26 "2013-05-17T08:25:39Z")
As the mother of a perfectly normal sized 15 year old daughter who barely fits into their largest size and her twin sister who is one size too big, neither of whom is one of the “cool kids” because really the cool kids aren’t that special to start with, I’m thinking Abercrombie and Fitch doesn’t need any of my money. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/27 "2013-05-17T09:12:53Z")
I no longer get coffee from Gloria Jean 's. They give money to organizations that lobby against gay rights. If I don’t give them my money, they can’t give it to those evil organisations. I don’t believe my boycott will change their ways, and that’s not my aim. I simply don’t want to contribute, even at a step removed, to financing anti gay lobbying. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/28 "2013-05-17T09:34:23Z")
Yes, for the obvious ethical reasons others have stated and for plain old crappy advertising. An example of the latter - [I changed my deoderant brand after this Nivea ad](http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/09/nivea-advert-hard-sell). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/29 "2013-05-17T11:03:24Z")
I’ve never set foot in a **Chick Fil A**. A group of 12 of us recently had to choose a place to eat. Someone wanted Chick Fil A and I explained why I would not go along. We ended up at a local diner with boycotts as the dinner conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/30 "2013-05-17T11:43:01Z")
We boycott Exxon Mobil and pretty much any other organization that doesn’t offer full benefits to gay people. We make our decisions based on the [Corporate Equality Index](http://www.hrc.org/corporate-equality-index#.UZYXjivF36k) by HRC. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/31 "2013-05-17T12:09:23Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I stopped ordering Papa John’s after the whole Romney/Health Care thing. Maybe other companies are the same, blah blah blah but I pick what fights I can and since John Schnatter wanted in the spotlight with his statements & support, that’s who got noticed. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I don’t buy pizza from Papa John’s because of the healthcare tantrum but I didn’t buy it before than either. I quit going to Whole Foods for the same reason. I make one exception: fresh figs, because I can’t find them at the Dominick’s or the crappy-ass Jewel nearby. However, a Trader Joe’s is opening near me in a few months, so hopefully I can get my figs there instead. > [@Ponch8](#): > > Benetton, ever since they had an ad campaign featuring pictures of people on death row. The whole point of the campaign was to make you feel sorry for the people because they’re getting executed. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Does that company still exist? I never bought their clothes during their 80s heyday, simply because I couldn’t afford them. As far as I know, they’re still around. I never went there even before that ad campaign, but now that I know about their philosophy, I’ll never buy anything from them. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/32 "2013-05-17T12:16:24Z")
Produce from China. No thanks. Rogers TV, never ever, ever again. When they call to pitch to me and try to swear they have changed their ways, from back ‘then’, I tell them I wouldn’t buy from them ever again even if they were selling $5 bills for a nickel. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/33 "2013-05-17T12:44:35Z")
I’ve done some computer-based boycotts. And one actually seemed to work. The other kind just usually aren’t an issue, because none of those companies tend to exist around here, or I never shopped at them anyways. The exception is Walmart, but I haven’t had a chance to go there since they actually were worth boycotting. (Before, it was just the whole “mom-and-pops going out of business” argument that I didn’t care about.) And, still, no one I know who works there complains about how they are treated, and boycotts tend to work locally, not globally. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/34 "2013-05-17T13:19:22Z")
[Shell.](http://wiwavshell.org/) Their history is much more horrific than what Exxon and BP have done. Homophobes: Chick-Fil-A, Cracker Barrel, Urban Outfitters, and ESPECIALLY the Salvation Army. We just had a garage sale and advertised it on craigslist. The Sally Army sent an email asking us to “keep (them) in mind for donations after the sale is over”.[Fuck that](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/25/salvation-army-red-akettle-lgbt-community_n_1113358.html)and [fuck them.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Salvation_Army#Stance_on_homosexuality) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/35 "2013-05-17T13:28:03Z")
I don’t shop at Walmart and it had never occurred to me to eat at Chik Fil A and now I have a good reason never to eat there. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/36 "2013-05-17T13:39:46Z")
I boycott shit all the time because I’m a consumer and a mostly angry one. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/37 "2013-05-17T13:54:39Z")
Also, Papa John’s. Their pizza is shit anyways, but since he decided to chime in during the last election, I’ll never eat there again. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/38 "2013-05-17T14:28:18Z")
I think local things matter more. I don’t eat at Maurice’s Barbecue and I don’t really respect anybody who does. (They have a famous racist heritage.) But lots of people don’t, here. I also don’t eat at the Cracker Barrel, or Chik-fil-A. I don’t go to Wal-Mart unless I absolutely cannot avoid it. I don’t think these things have as big an impact, but I figure the biggest thing I can do is to vote with my dollars. ETA - also I am a massive hypocrite because I don’t like buying Nestle products but don’t usually bother to check. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/39 "2013-05-17T14:35:23Z")
I don’t eat Godfather’s Pizza, not because their CEO is a dick who ran for president, but because it upsets my stomach. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346/40 "2013-05-17T14:46:58Z")
EA Games, because they’re greedy and put ridiculous paranoid protection on games to avoid piracy. HTC and Netgear, because their products suck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-participate-in-personal-consumption-boycotts/658346.md?page=3)