To think about boycotting American products and services

[Taytoface]

I feel so helpless in the current madness. It seems like the only act of objection possible is not buying american. Boycotting Israeli products, and South African back in the day, was relatively straightforward, but I have no clue how to de americanise my life. Anyone come across any helpful resources?

You would have to boycott most apps and technology.

Main examples would be:
Anything Apple or Android
Windows software
All social media except TikTok - even that is dubious because they run American ads and you’d be supporting American influencers
Google services - gmail, maps, search
A lot of AI LLMs e.g GPT, copilot, Gemini
Netflix, Disney+, Amazon
Coca-cola, Pepsi, Heinz, Kelloggs
Nike
Adidas
Visa for payments
paypal
Drugs by companies like Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson
Ebay
zoom
Teams

Good luck.

I am sure there is a way, but cant see how unless you lived in a cave and stopped using technology

No, I’m not boycotting anything. Waste of time, and virtue signalling.

Don’t forget to boycott Estée Lauder products. He’s behind the Greenland grab.

The majority of “American companies” are selling goods and services that are not made, manufactured, or run from America.

Nike shoes, for example, are made primarily in Vietnam, as are many smartphones (to the extent that smartphone manufacture is one of the 5 biggest sources of employment in Vietnam.) if everyone boycotted then it’s going to hurt the cogs more than the machine.

As much as I would love to say go for it. In practical terms so many things are owned by Americans, even essentials like medicine.

I feel like even if you can't boycott 100% of American stuff in your life, if it's something that's weighing on your conscience then doing a little bit is better than doing nothing. There is a podcast called Tech Won't Save Us that has some episodes about divesting from American tech, that might be a good place to start.

I’d love to see someone who really knows about this stuff give some serious advice that we could follow. Any time there’s a thread like this you just get a pile-on of people saying it’s impossible.

I don’t see why we couldn’t en masse target one or two key US companies to boycott, as well as a travel boycott. But I don’t know personally where to start.

I think starting with Estée Lauder company is good because they own Jo Malone, Clinique, and a tonne of other brands that we buy everyday without even thinking.

Somebody on another thread linked to a website called BankruptTrump.
I know nothing about them, just passing on what I saw.

Agreed.

How do you know someone is boycotting something? Etc

You are Not Being Unreasonable.
It’s find to boycott a country if you disagree with its socio-political climate.

You will find it impossible to completely boycott the US but it appears many are to some extent. Travel numbers from Europe and Canada appear to be down on past years.

How is an individual choosing to boycott something “virtue signalling”? What virtue and how is it being signalled if nobody knows?

Because the poster will prob tell people what they're doing??

the Canadian boycott on US Bourbon was the final nail and has had an impact.

How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust - BBC News

Boycotts as an individual thing seem to me absolutely fine. If we get into a trade war with the US then to some degree you have a tariff that will discourage you from buying American goods anyway. The questions is their services, but the UK has lots of alternatives there except for tech and digital.

Act individually. Global realignment will happen anyway, whatever you do.

Nah waste of time. Are you also going to stop watching all american tv and films?

I would avoid visiting the US until Trump is out. I think that is fairly clear. Might do a big holiday in 2027 and looking at Canada.

Estee Lauder is an interesting one. I do use Clinique and a few others so I could stop buying them.

Trump's whole policy is MAGA i.e. increase the US economy at the expense of the rest of the world. The only way to make him think again is to make his policy backfire by hitting him in the pocket.

It’s hard to do everything but I decided not to spend tourism money there when he was first elected. I never expected him to come back, however I restarted my ‘boycott’.

I’ve cancelled my Amazon Prime and try to order from Amazon as little as possible. It takes a little longer to find things on line and I am probably paying more for postage but it’s been 3 months now since I used Amazon at all. A tiny gesture but something I can do.

tell that to South Africans.

I’m guessing Boomer55 probably didn’t boycott South African products either!

doesnt have to be all or nothing. Lots of the worst offenders can be boycotted. Certainly no travel there, Amazon, banking etc.

I can't boycott everything American but I will be restricting sending my money their way where I can. Trump loves a trade war. We should be actively choosing where we use our limited influence as consumers. It's not pointless.
This has reminded me I need to cancel my Disney plus subs, so thanks!