My fellow blogger, Shawn, over at Kowai, whom I find very inspirational, has a page on his site that details his personal boycotts. I was happy to see that someone else is involved in their own personal boycotts, and it made me feel less alone in my consumer activism. I think that we are fairly helpless in this capitalistic chess game, but the power that we do have comes from our wallets. We can write letters to these companies all day, but the most effective voice we have is in not buying their products (although a combination of the two is probably the best option of all). I've been meaning to share my personal boycotts with my readers for a while, but I keep forgetting. So, before I forget again, here is a list, in no particular order, of the companies that I despise; a short description of their transgressions; and links to more details.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (and Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride). This is tough for me, because I love their chicken, but I cannot, in good conscience, eat here. The horrors their suppliers inflict on the chickens that we eat is unspeakable, and I cannot address it without tears. Watching the workers throw birds against walls and purposely step on them, watching birds crippled by the sheer weight of their own hormone-ridden bodies try to walk, these things sicken me beyond any craving I might have. It infuriates me that other fast food corporations are willing to make the changes that address the most basic living conditions of the chickens, and yet KFC is resistant, while spinning a web of deceit for its customers to make them think they are concerned with animal welfare. I started this about 3 years ago, and I have slipped once that I can recall.
Wal-Mart. They are the epitome of everything that is wrong in America, in my opinion. As long as they are paragons of corporate greed, taking advantage of government subsidies while raking in billions, encouraging their workers to go on welfare rather than pay them decent wages, and importing a majority of their goods from countries where the workers are abused and underpaid except on inspection days, they remain at the top of my list. Yes, they are making some progress in presenting a "greener" image, and yes, they deserve some credit for that. But it will take a lot more than changing some light bulbs and printing their bazillion-page reports on recycled paper to counteract the years of abuses.
Exxon. Evil beyond comprehension. They continue to pay "scientists" to deny global warming. They are the only one of the Big Oil companies that remains in Arctic Power (a single-issue lobbying group), happy to drain ANWR of its precious resources, after BP, ConocoPhillips, and ChevronTexaco have dropped out. Exxon has also refused to pay any of the $4.5 billion in punitive damages it owes to fishermen, natives, and others affected by the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill, despite posting record profits in recent years.
Shell Oil. This article really opened my eyes to the atrocities that Shell Oil has been part of. They have essentially bribed corrupt Nigerian government with loads of cash, taken the Nigerians' land and oil, importing American workers instead of willing & able natives, and are raping the land daily in the pursuit of the Almighty Dollar. 1n 1995, nine anti-Shell activists were sentenced to death by their government, and Shell later admitted to having given money to that same government.
Proctor & Gamble. As long as they are still mercilessly testing their products on animals and treating them like disposable litter, they will not get my money. The more I ponder animal testing, the more offended I am as a consumer. Ostensibly, they are testing for the safety of the consumer; however, if you think about it, that's totally false. They are not testing for long-lasting, truly dangerous and detrimental conditions that may be caused by their products, which are what we should be most concerned with; they are testing for short-term reactions (the shampoo burns when you put it in your eyes... use common sense, smart ones!) that are most likely to bring lawsuits against them. So, these tests are not done for our benefit, but to cover their asses.
Feel free to join me in boycotting these bastards and in signing petitions and writing letters to let them know why we are boycotting them.
I'm dreaming of a green Christmas...
What? You mean you're not ready for Christmas? There's (an)other American holiday(s) to celebrate after Independence besides Christmas? Oh, yeah... little, (consumer) insignificant ones... Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving. But let's get to the real moneymaker: Christmas!
Every year since my husband & I were married, we've participated in the most ridiculous ritual with his brothers and their wives, and once or twice with my family as well. We draw names for gift-giving purposes, then proceed to ask the spouse of the person's name we drew what to buy for them for Christmas. (I told you it was a little ridiculous.)
This year, at the risk of being: (a) ridiculed, (b) persecuted, and/or (c) excommunicated for being an environmental, left-wing wacko, I'm going to make a radical, environmental, left-wing wacko suggestion. I'm going to suggest that, instead of gifts that we told our spouses to tell our name recipients to buy for us, we donate money to a charity that we tell our spouses to tell our name recipients that we support. Crazy, huh?
The two I will suggest for my name recipient are:
Kiva. This is a fantastic organization who lend money to specific entrepreneurs in the developing world to help them overcome poverty and in turn contribute to the economy. On the website, you can see see photos of the entrepreneur, often at their business they started, and it provides detailed descriptions of who they are, where they live, why they want to start this business, how much money they need, how much they’ve raised so far, and you can even see who else has donated. You donate in increments of $25.00, and as the debt is paid off, eventually you get your money returned to you, hopefully to re-invest in another entrepreneur.
Heifer International. The first two years we received their catalog in the mail, my husband and I scoffed. This could not be legit. You mean you can buy a goat or three rabbits or a llama for a family to help them produce milk to sell, weave yarn, fertilize small crops, increase their family's protein intake, or carry water? Since then, though, I've discovered that not only are they legit, they are supported by many notable figures, including Jimmy Carter, Ed Harris, and Susan Sarandon, among many others. If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can also choose to purchase a honeybee hive for families or to plant trees.
If anyone insists on purchasing an actual gift, I will be asking for sustainable gifts, like a bag from Alchemy Goods (hubby, are you reading?), a pair of Simple Shoes or a pair from MooShoes, more reusable tote bags, or gift certificates to Blue Canoe. These are all gifts that I can really get excited about receiving!
Whether you're giving or receiving this holiday season, I highly encourage you to steal all my gift ideas. I stole a couple of them myself.
Posted on November 07, 2007 at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: charities, Christmas, simple shoes, sustainable gifts, vegetarian shoes
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