Following on from the Nestle thread, what do you boycott, and why?

[UnderRated]

Other than Nestle (& its subsidiaries)?

i still dont get the microsoft boycott, are you saying that you boycott it because by monopolising the computer market it costs you more money to use microsoft in the long run? i dont see that a business should be boycotted just because it is run in a profitable way (especially when so much of the profit is given to charity)

Clinton had put the wheels in motion to break up microsoft into smaller separate companies - he judhed it too powerful (ie potentially more powerful than the US government)
bush overturned that decision.
there is some evidence that bill gates is not such a bad chap - charity work - the stated intention of giving away most of his inheritance - he does have children.
however that still leaves microsoft with just staggering amounts of power.

some evidence that bill gates is not a bad chap?
this is just off the top of my head but hasnt the bill and melinda foundation given /promised 7billion dollars to their charity? also gates has encoraged other senior people in microsoft to give (one of whom now donates 1.5 billion per year to the foundatiion)

as for them monitoring every web page - why would they bother?

my screenreader only works with microsoft. Not because it is created by microsoft, but because only microsoft have agreed to work with freedom scientific (the creaters of the screenreader) and the manufacturers of other such screenreaders. Apple refuse to assist in order to make screenreadders work with the mac. Itunes is completely inaccessible to me, so as far as im concerned microsoft are the best option for me. Without microsoft I wouldn't have a computer or access to the internet.

Also, intel have a pretty big part of the computer world - do people boycott them as well?

It looks from DP's argument as though it's mostly the monopoly aspect of Microsoft. Which is also a big part of my objections to Tescos, and to Disney. There are quite a lot of ethical issues about a few super-companies dominating a huge percentage of what we buy.

Starbucks too, for similar reasons - their strategy of pushing out small local coffee shops and covering the world with one large brand - I avoid Starbucks.

I can never have an ipod because they are all touch screen/menu driven and completely inaccessible.

My mp3 player works with windows media player which is accessible to me.

Microsoft have brought out their own mp3 players but other players are also commpatible with media player. the same cannot be said of itunes/apple.

Wannabe, I think DP's point is that yes it is extremely difficult to live without microsoft, and that is a problem.

He sees it not as just chance that microsoft are the only system you can use for the things you need, but as a deliberate strategy on their part to discourage any viable alternative. Similar to the Tescos and Starbucks strategies for taking over in their domains.

Israeli products for all the usual political reasons. Haven't (knowingly) bought from Israel for over 20 years now....
Do try to avoid Tescos, but can't say I totally boycott it....

Astrope Palastinian goods?! You don't actually think Israel would let the Palastinians export anything and give them credit for it do you?!

Any products that are grown in Palestine will still be labelled Israeli in origin if imported over here.

I boycott Israeli goods, especially since finding out about that bloody wall!

I boycott MacDonalds too, and M&S.

Also, no cheap meat, unsustainable fish, non free range chicken and eggs.....

overmydeadbody, you are right, though you can get palestinian olive oil through some of the smaller middle eastern shops that are all over London......
Still, I often wonder how much money has had to be paid to the Israelis (baksheesh) to manage to do any trade at all, so who knows who is benefitting?!

No Nestle.
No plastic bags.
Only organic free-range meat/eggs/dairy products.
Fairtrade wherever possible.
Try to do charity shops as well, the kids toys get sorted into broken and reusable piles to go to the bin or the chairty shop and if we're in town and one of them wants something we go to a charity shop.
However I do shop at Tesco, partly because I don't drive and because it's the only place near me.
I'm sure there are other things but I can't think what right now.

Must admit I'm snorting at folk defending bill gates because of his foundation and his wonderful charitable giving.

Thanks Fennel's DP for helping me put into words why I dislike microsoft so much - I'll parrot that the next time someone asks me!

I can't boycott microsoft totally because I need to use the software at work, but I will never again buy a pc running a microsoft OS. Apple all the way (although my current mac is 8 years old and I am trying to be non-consumerist and resist buying another computer as long as I can )

I boycott television as I not only loathe the damn thing but years ago I was asked to look after a friend's TV and video while they went on holiday. We did not have a TV (never had one) but we plugged it in and of course the detector van turned up that day.
I took my own case in court and the case was thrown out given that this particular TV had a licence..
I also give Tesco a body swerve as they are turning in to a monster.

i dont boycott anything.i make choices and that's it

many choices are a lifestyle and finacial choice for those that can afford them. eg organic meat/veg etc
ethically sourced
certain retailers only

i do think many people simply cannot purposefully chose the more expensive option.

I boycott shops that have those signs that say
"No more than 2 schoolchildren allowed"

Grrr!

They would never get away with saying
"no more than 2 OAPs at a time"

Good point scottishmummy. I can't always afford the alternatives, much as I'd like to.

I forgot about TV... we don't have one, so I guess that's a boycott.

Here is a bit of info on why the Gates Foundation is not as fabby as it is made out to be.

interesting but quite long

nestle
after this thread sadly chocolate unless fairtrade
here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/2422/489599?ts=1206965526184

Mostly choices rather than boycotts these days, as pp said. The SA thing was a boycott (and yes, it took me ages to buy SA stuff again), the French thing was a boycott (tests in the south atlantic) but now there's so much to consider it's just a continuous weighing of needs, options and selfishness!

Currently:
Nestle
Tesco
Dyson (not that that's hard, we don't need a vacuum cleaner every week)
cheap children's clothing (buy few organic/fairtrade things new and everything else second hand)
new plastic stuff in general (try to go for wood and/or second hand)
Starbucks
the homogonising retail and restaurant chains (where there's a viable alternative)
out of town shopping centres
McDonalds
Muller
Disney/anything with film/TV characters on it (easy now DD is 21months, probably not so easy in a year's time)
Gap/Nike/all the big brands that advertise themselves all over your clothes.

Why M&S or operation christmas child? I know I'm out of date on this stuff...

Interesting thread.

Why Wal-Mart? For Tescoish take over the world behaviour or are there other reasons?

Muller? Dyson?

Muller cos there was something about two centuries ago about seriously bad environmental stuff they were doing and I can't get out of the habit of avoiding their stuff.

Dyson cos they moved most of their manufacturing overseas having had an all British made (or at least all-British assembled) product.