Current UK Consumer Boycotts
Our boycott list is widely regarded as the most comprehensive English-language list of progressive boycotts.
We report on all the boycotts which have a registered headquarters.
Inclusion in the list does not constitute an endorsement.
We regularly add boycotts to the list. You can help by emailing the news editor with any relevant information.
Animal Testing
A number of companies were on the list because of a boycott call from BUAV over animal testing. BUAV no longer call for the boycotting of specific companies, but instead encourage people to buy from those companies that are accredited as 'cruelty-free' under the Humane Cosmetics Standard. None of the following companies, which we have formally removed from the list, have signed up to the standard: Colgate Palmolive; Procter and Gamble; Reckitt Benckiser; SC Johnson; and Unilever.
3 Mobile
for being on Burma Campaign UK's 'Dirty List' of companies with investments in Burma. Burma Campaign UK calls on people to "help increase the pressure on these companies by contacting them and asking them to cut their ties with Burma". The Burma Campaign UK 'Dirty List' was last updated in June 2008..
Air travel
Aviation is the fastest-growing source of climate change causing greenhouse gas emissions. Contact Flight Pledge Union or send an email
Adidas
for using kangaroo skin to make some types of football boots. Contact Viva
Altria (previously Philip Morris)
for giving the fifth largest donations to the Republican party in the period 2002-2006
See Boycott Bush campaign. Ethical Consumer magazine (issue 108, September/October 2007) has also called for a boycoptt of Altria because it has funded groups which claim that global warming is a "myth" or “uneconomic” to address.
Atlantic Fashions
When contacted by Ethical Consumer in May 2008 the Campaign Against the Fur Trade stated that were calling for a boycott of Atlantic Fashions. Atlantic Fashions, also known as Atlantic Clothing is a fast expanding chain of fashion shops with at least 27 branches throughout London and the Home Counties.
Bacardi
for continuing to use its Cuban origins in its marketing despite being active in anti-Cuba lobby groups in the US.
Contact: Rock around the Blockade on 020 7837 1688
For alternatives see Ethical Consumer's buyers' guide to rum. .
BBC Worldwide
In June 2008 Burma Campaign UK updated its 'dirty list' of companies that are directly or indirectly helping to finance Burma’s brutal military dictatorship. BBC Worldwide, the commericial arm of the BBC, was added due to its 75% stake in Lonely Planet travel guides. Lonely Planet vigorously defends its publication of a guide to Burma, despite Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese democracy movement's call for tourists to stay away. Tourism is a vital source of income to the military junta. According to Burma Campaign UK, BBC Worldwide maintains that Lonely Planet will continue to publish its Burma guidebook. View the full Dirty List here.
Body Shop
Since L'Oreal (26% owned by Nestlé) bought out the Body Shop earlier in the year, campaigns have brought together concerns about animal testing, relations with the Majority World, human rights, discrimination in the UK and the environment.
Contact: Boycott Body Shop or 01452 539 916
Botswana
for forcing the Gana and Bwi Bushmen out of their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve Contact: Survival International on 020 7687 8700
British Heart Foundation
for conducting animal testing in order to find out about a human condition.
The boycott is called by PETA whose British Heartless Foundation website contains a list of health charities which do not test on animals.
Contact: PETA on 020 7357 9229
Burma
is ruled by one of the world's most brutal regimes and has used forced labour to prepare the country for tourism. Burma Campaign UK maintains a 'Dirty List' of companies operating in Burma.
Bush and the Republican party
Take a look at our Boycott Bush site for the main corporate donors to the Republican party. Buy instead: see the Brand List on the Boycott Bush website.
Canada
for the government-subsidised slaughter of nearly one million seals over the last three years. Campaigners are also calling for a boycott of Canadian fish and seafood, as exports to the UK earn five times more for Canada than the landed seal hunt in Newfoundland.
Contact: Respect for Animals www.boycott-canada.com 0115 952 5440
Humane Society of the USA www.hsus.org/ace/19076
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) www.ifaw.org 020 7587 6700
Caterpillar
for selling bulldozers to Israel in full knowledge that they will be armoured and used to destroy Palestinian homes, infrastructure and agriculture in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These abuses are detailed in War on Want's alternative company report on Caterpillar.
Contact: War on Want, Fenner Brockway House, 37-39 Great Guildford Street London SE1 OES
Tel: 0845 193 1952
ChevronTexaco
for dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadorian Amazon and failing to clean it up.
Contact: www.chevrontoxico.com
China
for its continued human rights abuses and for its occupation of Tibet
Contact: Boycottmadeinchina, email usa@boycottmadeinchina.org
Coca-Cola
for its repression of trade union activity in Colombia and its depletion of groundwater resources in India.
Contact: Colombia Solidarity Campaign, UK arm of campaign on 07743 743041 or email.
See: Colombia's Food and Drink Workers' Union SinalTrainal, who called the boycott on 22nd July 2003, Killer Coke, and Coke Watch
In India, Coca Cola has caused severe water shortages, polluted groundwater and soil around its bottling plant, distributed its toxic waste as "fertiliser" to local farmers and sold drinks with extremely high levels of pesticides. See India Resource Centre
Daewoo International Corporation
for involvement in the development of gas projects off the coast of Arakan State in Western Burma. Contact SCHWE Gas Movement
Enterprise Rent-a-Car
for firing workers seeking to unionise at its boston airport facility. For updates see the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers website.
Escada
When contacted by Ethical Consumer in May 2008 the Campaign Against the Fur Trade stated that were calling for a boycott of fashion group Escada.
Esso
for doing more than any other company to sabotage international action on climate change, and for being a top donor to George W. Bush. Find out why you should Boycott Bush or contact Greenpeace at 020 7865 8100.
Website: www.stopesso.com
Gecko's Adventures
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies offering tours to Burma. Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710
Guess
When contacted by Ethical Consumer in May 2008 the Campaign Against the Fur Trade stated that were calling for a boycott of Guess clothing.
Harrods
When contacted by Ethical Consumer in May 2008 the Campaign Against the Fur Trade stated that were calling for a boycott of Harrods, the last department store in the UK to stock fur products.
Iams (owned by Procter & Gamble)
for unnecessary animal testing. It is estimated Procter & Gambles is responsible for the deaths of 50,000 animals each year.
Contact: Uncaged Campaigns, 9 Bailey Lane, Sheffield S1 4EG tel: 0114 272 2220, info@uncaged.co.uk
Israel
following 'decades of refusal to abide by UN resolutions, International Humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.'
Film-makers, musicians, performers and academics have also added their voices, and are calling on their colleagues not to visit, exhibit or perform in Israel.
Websites: Boycott Israeli Goods or Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Box BM PSA, London WC1N 3XX tel: 020 7700 6192. See the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and the British Committee for Universities of Palestine (BRICUP) for information on cultural boycotts. BRICUP can be contacted on 0207 712 1709 and info@bricup.org.uk
Jaguar (see Tata)
Japan
Due to whale hunting for "scientific" reasons in a protected whale sactuary around Antartica. This year, Japan may also start hunting endangered humpback whales. See Boycott Japan for more information.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) on 020 7587 6708 is also campaigning for the conservation and protection of whales and co-ordinates letter writing campaigns to the Icelandic, Norwegion and Japanese governments.
Joseph Ltd
for selling coats and other products made from animal fur.for selling boots made from rabbit fur. Contact the Campaign Against the Fur Trade Tel: 0845 330 7955
Junckers
due to selling Indonesian merbau flooring despite confirming that it is of unknown source. Without guarantees of the wood's origin, it's likely that merbau wood flooring could have come from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.
Contact Environmental Investigation Agency for more information or ring 020 7324 4710.
Kahrs
due to selling Indonesian merbau flooring despite confirming that it is of unknown source. Without guarantees of the wood's origin, it's likely that merbau wood flooring could have come from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.
Contact Environmental Investigation Agency for more information or ring 020 7324 4710.
Kimberly-Clark
for destroying ancient forest in North America for tissue brands such as Kleenex and Andrex. Greenpeace's Kleercut website has templates for contacting Kimberley-Clark.
Kurt Geiger
for selling boots made from rabbit fur. Contact the Campaign Against the Fur Trade Tel: 0845 330 7955
LandRover (see Tata)
Liberty Apparel
to hold the clothing company accountable for sweatshop conditions in its suppliers' factories. The Ain't I A Woman campaign is sponsored by National Mobilisation Against Sweatshops and the Chinese Staff and Workers Association.
Lonely Planet Guides
for being on the Free Burma UK's list of companies publishing travel guide books with information on travel in Burma. Strong evidence exists that tourist facilities, roads and other constructino programmes in Burma have used forced labour and involved severe human rights abuses.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or see Tourism Concern
L'Oreal
Naturewatch has a long-standing boycott of L'Oreal due to its continued use of animal testing for cosmetics. The French multinational uses ingredients that have been tested on animals, despite public statements to the contrary. It has also been criticised for lobbying against an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics.
Contact: Naturewatch on 01242 252 871
Lucozade (owned by GlaxoSmithKline)
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.
MBNA
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.
Microsoft
for being on Ethical Consumer's list of top donors to the Republican Party. See BoycottBush for more information.
Nestlé
for its irresponsible marketing of baby milk formula which infringes the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
Contact: Baby Milk Action, 23 St Andrews St, Cambridge CB2 3AX, 01223 464420
Nouvelle recycled toilet paper
Boycott called by Ethical Consumer magazine, issue 108 (September/October 2007). Brand owners Koch Industries, also makes toilet tissue from virgin forests, was the main US importer of wood from Indonesia and came bottom in a recent World Wildlife Fund comparison of toilet tissue companies. It has also been part of a team advising George Bush on “conservative environmentalism,” or in short, deregulation. See toilet roll report in issue 107 for alternatives.
Olympics (2008 - Beijing)
Reporters without Borders called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics in protest at China's censorship policies and detention of journalists and internet activists. Sign the online petition here.
Pakistan International Airlines
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) have launched a consumer boycott of PIA, acting on behalf of eight trade unions to pressurise the Pakistani government to stop the victimisation of aviation workers. For more information contact ITF +44(0)20 7940 9260.
Peugeot
for moving production from the UK to France and low-wage Slovakia. Contact Amicus and T&G unions for more information or ring 020 7611 2500
Procter and Gamble
for its continued use of animal testing for cosmetics, household products and pet food. Brands made by P&G include Always, Ariel, Bold, Camay, Clearasil, Crest, Daz, Dreft, Fairy, Flash, Head and Shoulders, Insignia, Milton, Napisan, Oil of Ulay, Old Spice, Pampers, Sinex, Tide, Viakal, Vidal Sassoon, Vortex and Zest. For further details see the Boycott P&G website.
Contact: BUAV, 16a Crane Grove, London N7 8LB (0207 700 4888)
and: Uncaged Campaign, 9 Bailey Lane, Sheffield S1 4EG
tel: 0114 272 2220, info@uncaged.co.uk
Quantas
In June 2008 Burma Campaign UK updated their 'dirty list' of companies that are directly or indirectly helping to finance Burma’s brutal military dictatorship. BCUK call on people to contact companies listed to sever business ties with Burma. And, where appropriate, let them know you'll be boycotting their products until they do.
Fifty new companies were added including Australian airline Quantas.
Rachel's Organic (owned by Dean Foods)
In April 2007 The US Organic Consumers Association launched a boycott of two leading US-based organic brands Aurora and Horizon for mislabelling products 'USDA Organic' when milk was coming from factory farms. Horizon is owned by Dean Foods, also the owner of major Uk brand Rachel's Organic.
SABMiller
Altria (formerly Philip Morris) has a substantial shareholding in SABMiller, which also owns Appletiser, Peroni Nastro Azzuro and Pilsner Urquell. See above for details of the Altria boycott
For alternative mainstream beer brands, Ethical Consumer magazine gives the best scores to Budvar (13.5) and Grolsch (12.5).
Shell
until the peoples of the Ogoni region in Nigeria receive a fair share of profits from oil extraction, and are able to live in better environmental conditions.
Contact: MOSOP-UK (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People), Suite 3-4, Albion Place, Galena Rd, Hammersmith, London W6 0LT, 020 8563 8614
Starbucks
because for every cup of coffee that it sells, farmers in coffee-growing countries such as Ethiopia earn about 2p. It has also been accused by the Industrial Workers of the World union of 'retaliatory firing' of four union organisers in the US
Contact US Organic Consumer's Association for information on the campaign for fairer terms for Ethiopian coffee farmers. More information on how to support the union can be found on by visiting the National Lawyers Guild website or telephoning (001) 212 679 5100.
Superdrug
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies with investments in Burma. The connection is via Superdrug's parent company Cheung Kong Holdings.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710
Suzuki
for being on Free Burma UK's list of companies with investments in Burma.
Contact Burma Campaign UK for a full list or ring 020 7324 4710
Tarkett
due to refusing to provide evidence to prove the legal source of their merbau flooring. Without guarantees of the wood�s origin, it�s likely that merbau wood flooring could have come from Indonesia�s last remaining rainforests.
Contact Environmental Investigation Agency for more information or ring 020 7324 4710.
Tata Group
In June 2008 Burma Campaign UK updated their 'dirty list' of companies that are directly or indirectly helping to finance Burma’s brutal military dictatorship. BCUK call on people to contact companies listed to sever business ties with Burma. And, where appropriate, let them know you'll be boycotting their products until they do.
Fifty new companies were added including Tata, the largest private group in India, and owner of Jaguar and Land Rover.
Tesco
due to its escalating use of Radio Frequency identification. The tiny computer chips embedded in products or packaging allow monitoring of items which consumers normally consider private, like clothing, wallets and backpacks. Contact CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
also due to the sale of live turtles, tortoises and frogs in their Chinese stores. China currently has no animal welfare laws. Contact Care for the Wild International Tel. 01306 627900
Toyota
In June 2008 Burma Campaign UK updated their 'dirty list' of companies that are directly or indirectly helping to finance Burma’s brutal military dictatorship. BCUK call on people to contact companies listed to sever business ties with Burma. And, where appropriate, let them know you'll be boycotting their products until they do.
Fifty new companies were added including Toyota.
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