Page 5 | What are some US brands to avoid?

kungfoofighting · 2025-03-07T10:32:06+00:00

Following on from suggestions to boycott US products, it seems a lot of brands might be US-owned with a lot of consumers not realising. Like Mondolez owning Cadbury for example. What are some others?

Carlyhouse · 09/03/2025 08:42

Cancel your streaming services?

There is not much point in boycotting brands you never use and that are consequential to the country's stock market or economy.

Thoughtsonstuff · 09/03/2025 08:47

AnxiouslyAwaitingSpring · 09/03/2025 01:30

Boots have always been part of Walgreens - an American company.
Also, ASDA is still a minority percentage owned by Wal-Mart after they sold their majority share a few years back.
Vauxhall are part of General Motors who are an American company so out with those Astras, Mokkas, Corsas & Grandlands etc! Don’t forget to ditch your iPads, iPhones, AirPods, AirTags & Macs too whilst you're all at it. Also Galaxy chocolate, Mars, Nestle including Carnation, Oreo, Kelloggs (including Pop Tarts). Oh and let's not forget Heinz! Baked beans may be quintessentially British but Heinz is as American a company as there ever was! Walkers crisps may be British too but they are owned by PepsiCo which is also American so out they go too! Along with Coca Cola products.

Do you see how ridiculous this is??

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I'm not usually one to boycott things but this time I think I'm going to. Your list is helpful and eminently achievable.

Thoughtsonstuff · 09/03/2025 08:49

l3tsdanc3 · 09/03/2025 02:07

We have been doing it a few weeks now - not everything because that's unrealistic, but every little helps! Hardest thing was finding alternatives to Heinz beans and ketchup! Household products etc very easy if you buy Unilever instead. And yes I have to use Microsoft at work but I have no choice, but at home we use Linux and duck duck go (American but better for privacy) and yes I'm using an iPhone but at least it's second hand and I don't plan on buying another one any time soon anyway. I'll carry on spending money and contributing to the economy, just hopefully boosting British and European companies instead.

Branston beans won the Telegraph taste test and beat Heinz by miles so give that a go? I see Branstons (amazingly) are ultimately owned by the Japanese and we like them.

Tishomingo · 09/03/2025 08:52

VioletsAndDaisiesToHideAllTheCrazy · 09/03/2025 03:09

Isn’t the mumsnet site hosted by Amazon Web Services which is US owned?

Does that mean all the people wanting to boycott American products need to stay off mumsnet?

Yes, they are, I’ve just posted it on another thread about boycotting American products.

Are all these posters going to boycott mumsnet? I doubt it.

Thoughtsonstuff · 09/03/2025 08:52

AnxiouslyAwaitingSpring · 09/03/2025 02:13

Helpful reminder to anyone not aware but Sky tv is now owned by Comcast so get that dish down!
Hotel Chocolat & Morrisons are owned by American private equity firms!

Kit Kats are made in York but are part of Nestle so out they go. Nesquick goes too, along with Nescafé.
Costa coffee is owned by Coca Cola believe it or not, so 🚫 to Costa! Obviously Starbucks too, is 🇺🇸
Astonishingly, HP sauce is now owned by Heinz....
Hartley's jam is now 🇺🇸
The clothing brands 'Toast' 'Me + Em' & 'Zara' are also American owned. Along with Laura Ashley & Ben Sherman.
Aveda is 🇺🇸 as it's part of Estée Lauder
Obviously Netflix & Uber are both 🇺🇸
Harper Collins publishers 🇺🇸
Weetabix 🇺🇸
Wilkinson Sword 🇺🇸
Virgin Media is now 50% 🇺🇸
Ella's Kitchen, Gale's Honey, Rose's jam & marmalade, Frank Cooper's marmalade, Robertson's (Golden Shred Marmalade), Sun Pat, Linda McCartney, Yorkshire Provender & Covent Garden soup, are all owned by Hain Celestial which is 🇺🇸

So in conclusion it's going to be excruciatingly difficult to boycott all American brands!

Nestle aren't American.

And you should be making your own Marmalade!

Original poster

kungfoofighting · 09/03/2025 08:55

Thoughtsonstuff · 09/03/2025 08:52

Nestle aren't American.

And you should be making your own Marmalade!

Edited

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Funnily enough have never bought Nestle – for all the obvious reasons

OP posts:

Thoughtsonstuff · 09/03/2025 08:57

kungfoofighting · 09/03/2025 08:55

Funnily enough have never bought Nestle – for all the obvious reasons

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Lots of the products listed by the PP are actually a good thing to give up anyway for health reasons. I'm quite inspired by her list now!

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 09/03/2025 08:58

I work for an American owned IT company so please bear that in mind.

Wishyouwerehere50 · 09/03/2025 08:59

araiwa · 07/03/2025 10:40

Easiest one is to stop using Amazon for anything

Would it be fair to say this is the key one for us to boycott if we do anything?

DazedDragon · 09/03/2025 08:59

It's tricky boycotting some of these products as there manufactured in the UK so boycotting would affect UK workers too.

It's best to make small swaps. If everyone changed just ONE thing from a US brand to support a UK independent brand then it would have a huge impact on the UK economy.

Horriblevirusagain · 09/03/2025 09:01

Hilarious post 🤣🤣🤣 As if USA gives a fig and won't make any difference to them. How about stop buying Halal that would be far better to stop animals being tortured than not buying Ben and Jerry's!!!

BowTiesPinkTail · 09/03/2025 09:11

MissAndrey · 07/03/2025 11:06

I've started by cancelling my Amazon Prime subscription and no longer shopping with them.

X and Tesla avoid. Tesla's stock price has dropped massively in recent weeks, so this does have an impact.

Big social media and streaming companies such as Facebook and other Meta products, Apple, Netflix, Google, Disney, Snap etc.

Others such as Starbucks, PayPal, Nike, Coca Cola, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Ford, Uber, Pizza Hut, Domino's etc.

And remember, it's not realistic for most of us to stop using all of these companies or sometimes even to boycott them fully, but a 10% reduction is better than nothing, 20% is an improvement on 10% and 50% is even more impactful again. If we all do as much as we can it still sends a message. Hitting these billionaires in their pockets speaks to them in the only language they know and says that their actions have consequences and they affect people.

Edited

You also have the issue that some of these companies are doing what they can to be anti-trump/musk administration. For example Ben and Jerrys Ice cream - they are supporting Women's Rights (check out their SM), LGBTQ+, etc - they are a company worth supporting. Apple and Costco refused to follow the removal of DEI, it's not just a case of boycotting American Companies, it needs to be carefully thought about.

ChickenLittlesCat · 09/03/2025 09:14

Tishomingo · 09/03/2025 08:52

Yes, they are, I’ve just posted it on another thread about boycotting American products.

Are all these posters going to boycott mumsnet? I doubt it.

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I'm waiting for the thread to go dead because everyone is boycotting MN😂.

PeppercornAnn · 09/03/2025 09:16

kungfoofighting · 07/03/2025 10:59

I already avoid 2 of those brands!

LibreOffice is a good alternative to Microsoft and is a German company. It grew out of open source software and was developed by a not-for-profit.

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What OS are you running LibreOffice on? Although I see do have a Linux version if you’re really committed to no US brands…

PeppercornAnn · 09/03/2025 09:18

AnxiouslyAwaitingSpring · 09/03/2025 02:13

Helpful reminder to anyone not aware but Sky tv is now owned by Comcast so get that dish down!
Hotel Chocolat & Morrisons are owned by American private equity firms!

Kit Kats are made in York but are part of Nestle so out they go. Nesquick goes too, along with Nescafé.
Costa coffee is owned by Coca Cola believe it or not, so 🚫 to Costa! Obviously Starbucks too, is 🇺🇸
Astonishingly, HP sauce is now owned by Heinz....
Hartley's jam is now 🇺🇸
The clothing brands 'Toast' 'Me + Em' & 'Zara' are also American owned. Along with Laura Ashley & Ben Sherman.
Aveda is 🇺🇸 as it's part of Estée Lauder
Obviously Netflix & Uber are both 🇺🇸
Harper Collins publishers 🇺🇸
Weetabix 🇺🇸
Wilkinson Sword 🇺🇸
Virgin Media is now 50% 🇺🇸
Ella's Kitchen, Gale's Honey, Rose's jam & marmalade, Frank Cooper's marmalade, Robertson's (Golden Shred Marmalade), Sun Pat, Linda McCartney, Yorkshire Provender & Covent Garden soup, are all owned by Hain Celestial which is 🇺🇸

So in conclusion it's going to be excruciatingly difficult to boycott all American brands!

Isn’t Zara owned by Spanish Inditex?

yougotmeonspeedial · 09/03/2025 09:22

rainbowunicorn · 08/03/2025 23:00

But can you not see that it will be ordinary people that lose their jobs. Amazon won't suddenly collapse overnight, they will just get rid of jobs from the bottom of the chain.

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You miss the point - yes jobs might be lost at Amazon (who aren’t a great employer FYI) but people will still buy the products elsewhere - hopefully at smaller independent companies or local shops - thus creating new jobs elsewhere.

Marketplaces shift. It’s crap if you get made redundant yes - I’ve been there - but sometimes that’s what spurs is on to something much better.

noblegiraffe · 09/03/2025 09:24

ChickenLittlesCat · 09/03/2025 09:14

I'm waiting for the thread to go dead because everyone is boycotting MN😂.

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Justine is British?

TheBackupPlan · 09/03/2025 09:26

ChickenLittlesCat · 09/03/2025 09:14

I'm waiting for the thread to go dead because everyone is boycotting MN😂.

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They won’t. They’ll only ‘boycott’ what they mostly don’t use anyway. It’s virtue signalling and they need mumsnet to do that. 😂

MushMonster · 09/03/2025 09:31

kungfoofighting · 07/03/2025 10:43

But if you buy a coffee from Starbucks rather than a local independent coffee shop round the corner, arguably the other baristas at the other coffee shop are losing out? So all things being equal?

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Exactly. If you are still buying that coffee, but from a UK based company instead, you move the trade from A to B, but the jobs do not disappear. It is only if you replace that purchase with nothing that the jobs do go.

MushMonster · 09/03/2025 09:36

TheBackupPlan · 09/03/2025 09:26

They won’t. They’ll only ‘boycott’ what they mostly don’t use anyway. It’s virtue signalling and they need mumsnet to do that. 😂

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I just checked and Mumsnet is a Brittish company, so not sure that this commenting about boycotting it in this thread makes any sense, at all.

Wishyouwerehere50 · 09/03/2025 09:43

ChickenLittlesCat · 09/03/2025 09:14

I'm waiting for the thread to go dead because everyone is boycotting MN😂.

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MN is American owned?

I'm ok with picking my battles. As if doing nothing at all is a better proposal than large scale withdrawal from strategically made choices.

Makes no sense laughing all over it tbh.

MrsSkylerWhite · 09/03/2025 09:46

yougotmeonspeedial · Yesterday 22:11

MrsSkylerWhite · 07/03/2025 10:47
araiwa · Today 10:40
**
Easiest one is to stop using Amazon for anything
Thus putting g thousands of UK jobs at risk. Great idea, not.

The jobs that Amazon stole away from all our independent stores and bookshops? Cry me a river

Hardly the fault of the thousands of Amazon employees.

Independent stores and bookshops are too expensive for many people. That’s the bottom line.

TheBackupPlan · 09/03/2025 09:46

MushMonster · 09/03/2025 09:36

I just checked and Mumsnet is a Brittish company, so not sure that this commenting about boycotting it in this thread makes any sense, at all.

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A pp explained that the site is hosted by a US company called Amazon Web Services.

DazedDragon · 09/03/2025 09:49

Horriblevirusagain · 09/03/2025 09:01

Hilarious post 🤣🤣🤣 As if USA gives a fig and won't make any difference to them. How about stop buying Halal that would be far better to stop animals being tortured than not buying Ben and Jerry's!!!

Given 88% of Halal meat in the UK is now stunned then it equally won't make much difference.

CranfordScones · 09/03/2025 09:53

Most of the 'big wins' are pretty obvious - see other posts.

One idea I had was: use cash for more transactions. The American companies have got electronic payments pretty much stitched up, so every time you pay with card/phone it's like a transaction tax paid to America.

If you're technically minded, ditch Windows and switch to Linux.

The people doing nothing because they can't bear even the slightest hardship should read about the hardship of authoritarianism...