Which Corps/Products to Avoid and Which to Support

[rhett o rick]

Last edited Fri May 8, 2015, 04:01 PM - Edit history (2)

I think we need one place to keep an up-to-date listing of companies to avoid and support. I will start the list and please chime in via responses. If I list something you have data on, one way or another, please let me know.

Avoid These Corporations (as best you can):

The Five Corps That Own Almost Everything (http://www.businesspundit.com/5-corporations-that-own-almost-everything/)
General Electric, Barclays, Moody's Investor Services, News Corp., and Monsanto.

The Big Five banks - Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs.

The Big Media Conglomerates - (http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6) (http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart)
News Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and Comcast

Dropbox. They decided to place Condy Rice on their board. (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024805059)

Whole Foods and Papa John Pizza.

Toyota moved to Anti-LBGT Texas (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024905050)

Staples anti-union (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025047543)

Home Depot (reason?)

Applebees (reason?)

Amazon - Kills small businesses and treats employees badly.

Chick-Fil-A - Homophobia

Nike and other Chinese made shoes


Support the Following:

Local Credit Unions and Banks

DuckDuckGo for a search engine. They don't record your visits.

Credo, America's only progressive phone company.

Firefox (Mozilla) for a web browser.

Bob's Red Mill Products - Lots of organics, Made in USA company, employee-owned.

Powell Books

New Balance Shoes

Please help me update and add to the lists.

[F4lconF16]

1. Anybody have that big diagram of food and household product corps? nt

[RiverLover]

12. This might be what you're thinking of F4lconF16

[rhett o rick]

23. I guess I opened this door by listing Pepsi, Coke, and Nestle. It will be hard to

boycott all these products. Any ideas?

[magical thyme]

39. don't buy bottled water at all (with or without sugar, color, flavoring)

buy local if possible, or store brand.

It's hard to read the little pix, but I don't think I buy much of anything from those 3. Even chocolate, I mostly buy store brand unsweetened cocoa powder and make my own quickie fudge. It's easy and fun. And delicious.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. For a 'to use' in the kitchen - Bob's Red Mill products

Lots of organics, Made in USA company, employee-owned.

[Enthusiast]

5. Bob's Red Mill also has gluten free products for those of us that are so afflicted.

[rhett o rick]

7. Thanks, I am a big Bob's Red Mill fan. nm

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. On the don't use - Chick-fil-a homophobia

nt for now, might amend with further don'ts.

[Enthusiast]

4. Kicked and recommended! Great idea for a thread, rhett o rick!

I use Firefox.

We use a local bank. I like the name of that search engine-DuckDuckGo.

[canoeist52]

6. Boycott Amazon, because they kill local small business shops.

[Historic NY]

29. You'd better check that one a little more closely....

Amazon offers small business a means to get their product to the consumer

via e-commerce. your boycott will kill the little guy...but please proceed.



http://webstore.amazon.com/

[RufusTFirefly]

8. This is a great start

I might take it a step further by providing explicit alternatives for people who are currently buying from unfriendly companies

For example:

Use Kobo instead of Kindle
If you're currently buying eBooks from Amazon, you can often buy eBooks from independent bookstores by using Kobo instead of Kindle. The indy stores get a cut of every Kobo eBook you order through them.

Use CREDO instead of AT&T or Verizon
Some of us have been using CREDO for our phone service all the way back to the days when it was called Working Assets Long Distance. But for newcomers, the "killer app" may be the iPhone, which is now available through CREDO.

One of the easiest ways to buy local
If you're having a tough time buying local for things like groceries and hardware, there's one sector where it's amazingly easy for nearly everyone: restaurants. Although there are definitely mega-chain eateries, restaurants are one of the places where locally owned businesses are still quite commonplace. Find a neighborhood restaurant and patronize it. You'll be dealing with human beings who hold the fate of the business in their hands, instead of representatives who are merely doing the bidding of the corporate headquarters.

Find a local cafe
Starbucks may be perceived as hip and progressive, but they are suffocating local cafes in much the same way that Amazon is killing local bookstores. See if you can't find a local cafe in your town and become a "regular."

[rhett o rick]

9. Thanks for the input. I will add with my next edit. nm

[RufusTFirefly]

10. De nada!

Great idea!

I think a lot of people either freak out or roll their eyes at the prospect of shopping responsibly.
It's key to make it clear to skeptics that it's neither elitist nor impractical.

I like the Japanese notion of Kaizen ("small steps&quot where you change incrementally but steadily.

It can sometimes be a little overwhelming if you try to change too many things at once. Inertia can be a powerful impediment. But if you change one small thing and make it a regular part of your new routine, it gets easier and easier to change additional things. For example, most soft drink companies have horrendous labor records. I've known that for ages, but for the longest time that didn't stop me from ordering a Coke when I went out to eat (which, admittedly, was not all that often). Now when I go to a restaurant, I stick with water (from the tap, not bottled) or ice tea. I haven't ordered a Coke in years, and I don't miss it in the least!

[merrily]

34. Starbucks is a chain and it pays low. On the other hand, it provides employees some benefits

http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/9a06a16271f34d3b97636281f67bdb23.pdf

And it makes some efforts to be socially responsible.

http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility


So, it's not all one way.

Meanwhile, the local coffee shop we don't want to have to compete with Starbucks could for all we know, be paying employees "under the table," with no paid vacation or any other benefit, even Social Security contribution.

That is the fate of a relative of mine by marriage who works in a local laundromat in Connecticut because she is desperate for money and her English, while good in concept and vocabulary, is heavily accented. When the economy crashed, her dream was to get a job at Starbucks for the money first and the health insurance second, but they didn't hire her.

I own no stock in Starbucks and I don't even buy the coffee anymore, except in a pinch. (I am a coffee addict, so being out of coffee is a serious thing to me.)

I am just saying things are not always as clear cut and one-sided as they may seem.

[Snarkoleptic]

11. I use the 'Buycott' app on my smartphone to help guide me through the retail jungle.

When I first downloaded it, I scanned lots of items we had in the house and was astounded at the extent to which I was funding despicable corporations. I've set my preferences to avoid GMO, anti-LGBT, ALEC members, palm oil, Nestle, Koch, etc.

Here's how they explain the app---

Buycott Barcode Scanner helps you vote with your wallet so you fund causes you care about and avoid funding those you disagree with.

Featured as ABC News & Salon.com app of the week. As seen on NBC, FOX, CNBC, MSNBC, and covered by Forbes and Huffington Post.

● HOW IT WORKS ●

✓Join campaigns to help causes you care about and commit to supporting the companies on your side of the issue, while avoiding those that oppose your position.

✓Scan product a product barcode and Buycott will find out what company owns that product (and who owns that company, ad infinitum).

✓Buycott will determine whether you're avoiding or supporting the scanned product.

✓Using this information you can now vote with your wallet

● FEATURES ●

☆ Using the bar code scanner, look up the ownership structure of any product and trace it all the way back to its parent company with our interactive family tree diagram.

☆ Offers a variety of contact data for companies and brands, so you can easily inform them of your decision to support or avoid their products.

☆ Barcode scanner scans all major retail barcodes (UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN8, EAN13, etc).

☆ Super fast barcode scanner ensures you don't spend extra time at the store.

☆ Create your own campaign from buycott.com

☆ Make decisions quickly so you can ultimately vote with your wallet

[think]

13. Very cool /nt

[sabrina 1]

25. Good post, thank you.

[Marie Marie]

14. Do I have to say it? Under the avoids: WALMART!

[RiverLover]

16. No doubt.

Walmart now captures $1 of every $4 Americans spend on groceries.

It’s on track to claim one-third of food sales within five years.

Here’s a look at how Walmart has dramatically altered the food system — triggering massive consolidation, driving down prices to farmers, and leaving more families struggling to afford healthy food~



http://ilsr.org/infographic-walmart-food/

[sabrina 1]

26. That's depressing. Good chart though. Too bad it can't be sent to every home so people see for

themselves the harm Walmart has done. Together with the chart that shows how we pay for their workers because they won't.

[Lifelong Protester]

15. I like your idea, I'm in.

I was trying to recall all of the Boycott Walker products just today.

Sargento cheese.

Vanity Fair paper products.

Kwik Trip (I'll only use their restroom, if need be).

[rhett o rick]

17. Are these boycotted because they are associated with the Koch Crime Family (KCF)? nm

[Lifelong Protester]

18. Vanity Fair is, the others are run by donors

Major donors-so no money spent there.

[sabrina 1]

27. There are so few paper products that are not associated with the Kochs. I avoid those I know but

have a hard time finding ones that are independent of the Big Corps.

[Lifelong Protester]

32. I agree, and I've heard

that many (if not all) the Georgia-Pacific jobs at paper mills are union jobs. So I have a hard time boycotting-but I will not buy Brawny Paper Towels or Sargento Cheese nor buy anything at a Kwik Trip.

[Paka]

42. I try not to use paper products altogether.

I'm a big one for old-fashioned cleaning methods and I favor cloth napkins, thank you.

[AllyCat]

19. Add Costco for fair treatment of employees

[nxylas]

20. This site shows products made in America by unionized workers

http://www.americansworking.com/

[Cosmic Kitten]

21. OpenSecrets.org Could be handy?

I'm not very familiar with OpenSecrets.org
but I do look to see who/where a candidates
major campaign dollars are coming from.

Does OpenSecrets.org have any information
or a category that identifies donors who have
supported candidates that promote Populist values?

[rhett o rick]

22. I will look into that. We may need another thread listing organizations and websites that support

the Populist Movement. Thanks for the response.

[rhett o rick]

24. Adding "Papa John's" via next update of the OP.

Papa John's To Pay $2 Million After Short-Changing New York Delivery Workers

http://pdamerica.org/component/k2/item/428-papa-john-s-to-pay-2-million-after-short-changing-new-york-delivery-workers

[sabrina 1]

28. Don't forget McDonalds and Burgher King. Two awful companies.

[minivan2]

30. Although this is an unpopular opinion

And it might get me alerted but I work for Disney and they actually are a good corporation. They're a green company and they're for the good of the people. Sure they bought Star Wars and Marvel, but what do you expect they're a company. Just my two cents.

[rhett o rick]

31. I don't know anything specifically but they are a huge conglomerate which is

closing in on becoming a monopoly. I would like more input. If you have some specific stories or articles, I would be interested.

[minivan2]

33. I work for the theme parks

So it might be different for the media version.

[mother earth]

35. Support: Dr. Bronner's soaps, K & R for this OP.

[rhett o rick]

36. Good one. I do support Dr. Bronner. There is a great documentary somewhere I've seen. nm

[marym625]

37. I also use buycott

Damn it makes it hard to shop.

[rhett o rick]

38. I am going to add Driscoll's berries based on this article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026542097

[mother earth]

40. King Arthur Flour is employee-owned, environmentally friendly & more.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/about/employee-commitment.html

[Paka]

41. Powell Books are in my hometown and they are awesome.

I have no problem avoiding those you listed. None of them have any appeal to me.

[rhett o rick]

43. I have been there a number of times. I love the Pearl Dist. nm