Current List of Boycotts
Boycott Bush
Boycott News Archive (from May 2006)
Boycott Everything!
Yes, that’s right, boycott everything on Buy Nothing Day. The
message is simple: shop less, live more. Buy Nothing Day attracts a
range of anti-consumerist actions exposing the ecological, ethical,
social and psychological consequences of our addiction to consumerism.
This year’s Buy Nothing Day (UK) is Saturday 24th November 2007
(in the US and Canada Buy Nothing Day is always the day after Thanksgiving,
23rd November this year). The anti-consumerist event, founded in 1992
by “culture jammer” activists Adbusters, is now celebrated
in over forty countries. Join in by simply boycotting everything for
a day, or get involved with an action promoting the message that there’s
more to life than shopping.
Keep an eye on www.buynothingday.co.uk
& www.adbusters.org
or leave details with UK co-ordinators on 07896 237 648.
Viva! Success as Harvey Nichols Withdraws Foie-Gras ‘Torture in
a Tin’
Animal welfare group Viva! won another campaign success after Harvey
Nichols agreed to end the sale of foie-gras in all of its British stores
after current stock runs out. The move follows peaceful protests outside
both the company’s Manchester and Edinburgh stores by local Viva!
groups.
Foie-gras is produced by force feeding birds large amounts of food through
a pipe into the stomach until the birds develop fatty liver disease.
The “torture in a tin” cannot be produced in Britain under
animal welfare regulations. Production has also been outlawed in Poland,
Denmark, Germany, Norway and Israel. And in 2004 Viva! campaigning led
to a ban on the production and sale of foie-gras in California. However,
it is legal to import it to the UK, which is one of the largest consumers
outside of France. UK Government minister Ben Bradshaw has encouraged
a consumer boycott, joining 138 MPs calling for a ban on UK sales. Viva!
have already persuaded supermarket chain Lidl, wholesalers Makro and
House of Fraser to drop the product.
Get involved: Viva!
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals
8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH, UK T: 0117 944 1000 F:
0117 924 4646
E: info@viva.org.uk
70% of families support boycotting companies
that don't go green
A study by media agency MPG UK has found 70% of UK families would support
boycotting companies that don't take real steps to reduce their environmental
impact. MPG UK is part of Havas, one of the world's largest advertising
groups. The study also shows the UK public is wary of ‘greenwashing’,
with 54% believing companies’ reactions to environmental concerns
are superficial. While scepticism may be justified, this highlights
the danger of public cynicism – rejecting genuine claims along
with marketing spin. Which just goes to show how crucial it is to promote
reliable information about company behaviour.
Don’t Rent-A-Car
US labour organisations have called for a boycott of Enterprise Rent-A-Car
after US workerswere sacked following attempts to unionize. Workers
at Enterprise’s Boston airport facility asked management for negotiations
over long overdue complaints regarding unsafe working conditions, wages
and working hours abuses. When management refused to negotiate, workers
sought a union election supervised by the US National Labor Relations
Board. Enterprise’s response? “You're fired!”.
Some jobs were subcontracted out while others were told to apply for
jobs at other Enterprise outlets.
Let Enterprise know that its union-busting will hit its profits world
wide – contact Regional Vice President Mark Jewell and tell him:
“I'm boycotting Enterprise Rent-A-Car until you stop subcontracting
the airport facility jobs in Boston and sit down with employees to resolve
their problems.”
Tel 001 781 238-2010 Fax 001 781 238-2099.
Updates from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Sign a pledge to boycott National ID card companies
The Government recently put out to tender contracts to deliver the
National ID card scheme. Civil liberties campaigners argue that the
scheme will fundamentally change the relationship between the individual
and state, detrimentally impact race relations and intrude on privacy.
You can send a message to companies considering the job by pledging
on-line to boycott the services of any company that wins a contract.
Join the pledge before 31st December at
www.pledgebank.com/ID-Boycott.
“PledgeBank is about beating the feeling of powerlessness by connecting
you with other people who also want to make a change,” says Tom
Steinberg, director of the charitable group behind www.pledgebank.com.
The way it works is simple. You create a pledge which has the basic
format “I'll do something, but only if other people will pledge
to do the same thing,” and set a date for people to sign up. You
can then use your pledge to promote your campaign.
Pledges range from an offer “to smile and say hello to a stranger
every day this week,” to a promise to “buy £550 worth
of fairtrade Palestinian produce, which I shall sell at cost price but
only if 5 people living on or near the Isle of Wight will commit themselves
to buying at least £19.95 worth.”
More on the Stop ID cards campaign
