Consumer Boycotts

[Desertrose2023]

I posted the BDS list in the supporting Palestinian businesses thread and recent discussion on another thread re the backlash against Zara got me wondering how many others are participating in consumer boycotts linked to the conflict in Gaza (and the occupation in Palestine) or for different reasons.

there are a number of brands I’m boycotting usually for a mix of reasons, political, environmental and social. Interested to hear views from others.

Disclaimer: to avoid any misinterpretation or twisting of my words - I do not support any acts of violence or vandalism or boycotting based on religion/ethnicity.

all the ones on the BDS committee list

https://bdsmovement.net/

in addition to a few others (sample below)

Starbucks: overpriced shit coffee and they recently sued their union for tweeting in support/solidarity with Palestine.

Zara: I stopped buying stuff following the controversy of their head womenswear designer making disgusting anti-Palestinian comments. The reports of slave labour (Uyghurs and in Brazil) plus the recent tone deaf ad campaign was the final straw. Plus trying to be more conscious re reducing how much ‘fast fashion’ I buy anyway.

Nestle: a history of unethical corporate practices plus including ownership of an Israeli food company with production in OPT.

Not the wrong thread, very on topic.
its nice to see a brand that took an ethical position even before the most recent conflict started. Regardless of the end result I’m glad that there are some leaders in corporate America with a conscience about these things!

Tbh not sure I like the idea of b&j not being sold in Palestine. Seems to be penalising Palestinian people more than who they should be penalising : Israel.

It’s a fair point and others raised the same ie the practical end result is that it’s now those in OPT who’ve been deprived, not Israel, so it’s like it backfired.
however I believe broadly the decision/announcement by B&J was well received by many Palestinians at the time (at least those I know) because it drew attention internationally to the topic of the OPT and the ethics of operating there given the ongoing occupation

Of course @Desertrose2023 some of the immature videos are concerning. The very idea of actually filming yourself and actually publishing it, knowing that the Internet never forgets is crazy.

I would guess that a lot of the tech workers would be assigned to command centres, planning and co-ordinating operations, operating drones. Administering the AI used etc and a lot of the younger ones are sent on the ground operations hence the videos it's very much Instagram generation type actions.

If you look online you will find articles that discuss both the pros and cons of their decision to do so. The objective of the stance it seems was to highlight the illegal settlements in the occupied territories

Here are some comments made at the time:

Meanwhile, a left-wing Meretz lawmaker blamed Israel’s settlement expansion for Ben & Jerry’s decision.

“Ben & Jerry’s is not boycotting Israel, but rather the settlements. You may not like it, but this is the price of settlement expansion, land grabs, and the blurring of the Green Line,” tweeted MK Michal Rozin.

MK Aida Touma-Sliman of the Joint List wrote on Twitter that Ben and Jerry’s decision was “appropriate and moral.” She added that the “occupied territories are not part of Israel,” and that the move is an important step to help pressure the Israeli government to end the occupation.

I should add that B&J decision wasn't in response to the war. It's something that has been in the process for quite awhile, it's also not as black and white when looking at the possible adverse affect it could have on the Palestinians in the occupied territories but when weighing up the pros and cons then long term it could be said that it was the right decision. It caused a huge uproar at the time when they first announced their decision to do so with even Netanyahu weighing in and commenting on it.

Thanks both. Shame b&j parent company is Unilever

They are building a new plant in Israel and investing more money into it. So more jobs and taxes etc. The ice cream will just be sold under a new name.

This one is a very complicated boycott it always has been

https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/rjglqkrw6

Actually I read that wrong. It will be sold under the brand name and apparently in the west bank as well as Israel. Plus they hope to open a Ben and Jerry's tourist centre similar to the popular one in Canada. They definitely must be delaying that bit of the plan until things are more stable again.

What happened according to the Israel CEO's lawyer was they had a successful lawsuit against Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s USA

Therefore now own the exclusive right to manufacture and sell ice cream products in Israel, Gaza and Judea & Samaria (West Bank) under the “Ben & Jerry’s” label.

Recently the chairwoman of Ben & Jerry’s USA (Anuradha Mittal) had been making statements on social media about the conflict and this had affected the sales in Israel.

So the Israel manufacturing CEO took action and protested about this to Unilever saying that these statements were being attributed to the Ben & Jerry’s companies in Israel and are having a detrimental impact on his business

This was part of the issue too, hear is a quote from the CEO himself

"Essentially Ben & Jerry's was telling me to do something illegal. Israeli law prohibits companies from refusing to sell to any customer. Therefore, telling me not to sell to West Bank stores means telling me break the law.”

Yes I wasn't suggesting to boycott B&J.
It's a legal battle that has been going on for the past 2-3 years
Unilever worked around it by selling their rights to a third party who will now operate in the areas.
I still commend B&J for using their platform to highlight the injustice of the Palestinians in the occupied territories

Not quite. They sold the rights to the man that has been CEO of the business in Israel for about 30 years. They did this because he was taking legal action against the company for expecting him to act legally and be prejudice against the business owners in the west bank that wanted to buy the ice cream.

The whole boycott and legal situation not to mention the opinion of many business owners in the west isn't at all like reported in some newspapers or on social media. That is why Unilever were struggling to do as BDS wanted them to do. It wasn't about ethics of doing it but more about the fact that it was illegal to not sell to the west bank. There are Israeli laws that make sure people can't refuse to sell the west bank products because that is discrimination

This is an interesting article about McDonalds Malaysia. My daughter inlaw is Malaysian and has seen some of the social media posts about this there.

https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/12/30/mcdonalds-malaysia-sues-anti-israel-group-over-israel-boycott/

There is still not a single Starbucks in Israel

There are 2,000 Starbucks across Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi, Turkey & UAE, employing more than 19k local staff.

All this because an employer objected to an image of the fence being torn down and employees celebrating the pogrom on a message using the company logo

There is nothing like human beings for illogical thinking it seems

https://www.ft.com/content/93014af0-80bc-4b53-bb4a-a621d8c932b0

Puma to end sponsorship of Israel’s national football team

German sports brand says decision was taken for business reasons and not related to consumer backlash

I was about to say "what a total fuckwit'", Truly but that account has strong bot vibes.

Hello all, sharing some important resources:

the UN database of business linked to Israeli settlements. This database comprises companies involved in specific activities linked to human rights violations in Palestine. They include:

• The supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructures
• The supply of surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements
• The supply of equipment for the demolition of housing and property, the destruction of agricultural farms, greenhouses, olives groves and crops
• The supply of security services, equipment and materials to enterprises operating in settlements
• The provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport
• Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and the development of businesses
• The use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes
• Pollution, and the dumping of waste in or its transfer to Palestinian villages
• Captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints
• Use of benefits and reinvestments of enterprises owned totally or partially by settlers for developing, expanding and maintaining the settlements

https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session31/database-hrc3136

The latest update issued in June 2023 includes some business it’s important to take note of including:

booking. com
airbnb
expedia
trip advisor

https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session31/database-hrc3136/23-06-30-Update-israeli-settlement-opt-database-hrc3136.pdf

The second resource is the 2023 report from the “Don’t Buy Into Occupation Coalition”

https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/2023_dbio_iii_report_11_december_2023.pdf

A quick video for those without time to read the report:

Thanks @Desertrose2023

Here's an informative website:

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/boycotts/bds-israel-boycott

That is super helpful, thank you!

It does rather doesn't it but anyway it is only sharing one of the illogical and daft boycotts

Now if I wanted to boycott and a protester Barclays bank would be my first choice. There a a few different very good and legitimate reasons for the Free Palestine people to do this. However so far some have even cocked that up. To protest a bank you move your money etc out of it. Then protest outside the head offices.

However some bright sparks have been protesting outside local branches. This causes ill feelings in the community as people try to use the bank and just harasses the mostly low paid bank staff.

Saying all that one protest did a hilarious blinder. Some bloke posted about shutting down a Barclays branch. He said that they had managed to get the doors locked and the lights turned off because of their protest. However it turned out because it was Saturday the branch closes at 1pm 😂

Boycotts certainly work though when done properly, look at Hewlett packard, though it is still advised to boycott them do their links with the detention of west bank Palestinians. I would say don’t let people on this thread put anyone off, boycotts do have an affect.