to ask if anyone has boycotted stores etc

[spence82]

Have any of you boycotted any shops or particular brands because you don't agree with some of there policies?

I often see on things like fb or twitter people saying this. For example people boycotting tesco due to the bad taste 'mental' patient Halloween costume.

I will be honest and say I've never even thought about boycotting somewhere.

I don't buy Nestlé products.

I don't buy supermarket meat.

I have never bought battery-farmed eggs.

I don't fly Ryanair because of their policies which they have only recently relented on.

I go to sub-post offices not main ones because I do not have all day to queue.

I boycott Claires because I don't agree with their piercing policies- mostly small babies in the middle of the shop. Cant be hygenic either

I got absolutely terrible service in tesco yesterday, I got to the front of the queue, went over to the girl, she said oh no im closed and walked off. The till was open and lit up. Then she said id have to go to the back of the queue and start again. Well I put my stuff down and went to the coop.

Lush, because I am not against medical animal testing and although they can spend their money how they like I don't like to be told that buying a chunk of soap means I am helping to end testing. Their soaps are very drying anyway, and the bath bombs stain the bath.

And I no longer support any large charity with a monthly direct debit because I was constantly harassed by people from the charity ringing asking for more money.

I also avoid Cadbury's just because I resent that they said they wouldn't change the recipe, then did change the recipe and haven't even owned up to it.

The Sun because of Hillsbrough

Countess v

You really made me laugh when you said that it's easy to boycott Israel.

I hope you're not using a computer with an intel processor or microchip - Israeli invention. The latest ms office and xp and np windows - developed in Israel. The camera chip in your mobile phone, Israeli invention.

You also need to boycott iPhones, iPods and iPads - Israeli technology there.

Dont use google because the search algorithm is developed in Israel.

Make sure your anti virus wasn't developed in Israel (many were).

Don't use Facebook as many of the apps are Israeli.

If you eat farmed fish, check that they don't use the Israeli developed zero discharge system.

If you receive medication, you should let your doctors know about your boycott because many pharmalogical companies use Israeli products. Don't use any teva products - they have factories in Israel - this may be difficult as its one of the biggest pharma companies in the world. . Oh, and if you have a heart attack, tell your doctors to not use stents because you're boycotting Israel. make sure if you have multiple sclerosis to refuse interferon and copaxone.

Don't use a baby sense monitor to prevent sleep anea in an infant.

Oh, and if you buy agricultural products from countries like Kenya, make sure they're not using Israeli developed drip irrigation.

Israel really doesn't care if you make yourself feel better by not buying Sharon fruit, as Sam pointed out. It's got a well developed and sophisticated export market, especially in hi tech, medicine and biotechnology. You might find that genuinely boycotting Israel actually requires a lifestyle change and is not so easy - but give it a go!!! You have your principles after all.

I wonder if those boycotting soda stream actually care about the hundreds of Palestinians employed by soda stream?

The management of soda steam have openly stated that they support the establishment of a Palestinian state and intend to keep the factory there and will happily pay taxes to the new state. They employ both Israelis and Palestinians under the exact same terms and conditions, ie Israeli wage and employment regulations apply. It's one of the few opportunities for Palestinians and Israelis to mingle on equal and friendly terms and it'll be an assett for a future Palestinian state which will inevitably struggle economically as their export market is limited.

I actively buy soda stream because I support their policies and like their approach (love the Eco side as well).

I can't travel to or transit through Isreal or I would lose my job. I would say that the Middle East is fairly good at boycotting them, wall maps even have a blank space over Isreal! I am sure that they don't care though, the feeling is presumably mutual. (To caveat I don't hate Israeli people but obviously it isn't my ideal holiday destination)

That's just called denial :)

Of course they use israeli products, they just pretend not to.

Ask any israeli who lived in Israel prior to 1992 what a real boycott was like. No McDonalds, Pepsi, Toyota etc etc. Didn't do much good though....

Well all of my childhood there were sanctions against South Africa but I don't think that was the reason for Mandella being freed and apartheid ending either. I still check apple labels!

Well, the Arab countries like to use Israel as a distraction from their own abysmal human rights records (funny no one is boycotting them - it'd be much easier!). I heard a speech by Syria at the UN criticizing Israel the other day for its human rights record - ummm, really?

I have boycotted a local deli that welcomed me and my dog. I used it once a week for a couple of years until a miserable cow who turned out to be the owner threw us out spouting a health and safety law that she had made up.

I corrected her, told her she should know the law on dogs and food and left my sandwich on the counter. I later printed out the facts off the government website and posted them through the letterbox.

yes I know it's trivial to you all

I don't use products and ingredents which are tested on or contain animal products. It's just unnecessarily cruel.

I mean, how white do your whites need to be?

Always makes me laugh when companies bring out a new and improved formulation. So what, the previous stuff you were selling was shit then!

Not really. I left Barclays because they pissed me off but that's not really a boycott as such, I use their cash machines if its convenient.

I refuse to shop in the local pet store that has kittens for sale in rabbit cages :(

Plus I won't use the taxi firm that ran over and killed my cat only to joke about it to me a few weeks later when I was in said taxi.

londonrach Personally I find Oxfam reselling used donated bras to poor people in Africa abhorrent - they sell to them for the purpose of the women reselling them. Why don't they just give them the bras?

Mmm, there are issues about donated textiles undermining local industry though, Cutey. It's a real problem with US church-based clothes donations, and I've seen it myself - markets piled high with donated secondhand goods, and the tailors and dressmakers in the little shops nearby struggling for trade.

That might be why, if Oxfam are charging for the bras.

Theodorous Your employer has no right even asking where you spend your holidays.

If you mean you need a passport without Israeli stamps: first, the Israelis will on request not stamp your passport, and second, if for business reasons you need to visit both the Passport Office will give you a second passport.

Nestle.
Tescos.
Israeli goods. Don't even get me started on why.
South African goods during apartheid.
Battery chickens.
Battery eggs.
Pork not from the UK. Welfare standards here are higher than those in Europe.
WH Smith rude staff who know fuck all about books.
British Airways.

So you don't have an intel processor or any intel microchips funloving?

No apple products of course.

And do you check with your doctor that any medication isn't from teva (an Israeli company, hq in Israel - but also one of the biggest pharma companies in the world)?

Or do you just not buy Jaffa oranges 'cos it's easy and makes you feel better?

All this 'Israeli boycott' is totally hypocritical because no one really is prepared to make the lifestyle changes which could possibly genuinely impact the Israeli economy. Hitech, pharma and biotechnology are the exports which are really valuable - good luck avoiding them :)

I boycotted ELC for a couple of years due to a couple of terrible customer service issues regarding their ridiculous birthday club and the general crapness of their stores. I made the mistake of breaking this boycott this last Christmas and bought my kids a big (for us) shared gift. It was crap and started to break during assembly because of shoddy quality (part not fitted properly). I was not at all surprised to find our local branch in the process of shutting down when we took the easel back a couple of days later.

Toys R Us because of several incidents of bad customer service. One time I reserved a Moses basket stand for my DN and went to collect it in the allotted time but they had sold it to someone else. What made it worse was the fact that I had accidentally reserved 2 so they sold more than one that should have been for me. I would kind of understand if I rang them and asked them to go out of their way to do it but this is actually a service you can use online. No apology either.

Also faulty baby equipment, not ringing when they say they would, misleading advertising and never having anyone on a till.

Oh and the sign saying they may want to search all bags leaving the store, or words to that effect, really annoys me.

Our Toys R Us only employs staff with an IQ of 3. I try to avoid it, but all our nice ordinary local toy shops have closed.

All we know have are stupidly expensive ones aimed at dotting Grannies and tourists.

I assumed only buying free range eggs and pork were a given.

Apple-I've never bought i-anything , either for me or my son.

I boycott loads:

Bad practices:
Nestle
Battery eggs and meat
Ford cars (more of a one woman boycott due to bad experience)
Non organic milk (farming practices)

Tax reasons:
Amazon
Boots (although I really want to shop there)
Vodafone
Costa
Cafe Nero
Starfucks
Topshop group

We shop as independently as we can and if we have a choice to give our money to a local independent rather than a bigger national company then we will always try and do so.