Boycotting Companies That Use Unfair Practices?

I don't shop at Wal Mart because they hire the biggest bunch of idiots and it isn't worth the stress it causes me to shop there. Sorry but my experience with Wal Mart, they pay them what they are worth which is next to nothing.

I do not do business with anyone that doesn't treat their employees well. Paying someone only what they are worth is not mistreatment.

Wow, I am thrilled to see that so many people boycott Walmart. They are the poster child for employment discrimination (not to mention destroying small town businesses, etc.). Every time I take an HR legal update class, there is always an example lawsuit involving Walmart. They are evil -- and giving to charity does not make up for it, either.

Ok , let's start with the government and the White house.... LOL

Absolutely, R.. Vote with your pocketbook. And let them know.

I am always asking for the manager and telling them if they have poor merchandise, or a mess in a department. Kohls had a section of women's pants that was hanging up totally wrinkled, with dirt spots on it. I was traveling and needed a pair of pants to wear to a function in a few hours, so I didn't have time to play around. It really irritated me that they did such a poor job in that department. If I had had more time, I wouldn't have bought anything just BECAUSE the place was such a mess, and I told the manager that. I'm used to Kohls being a great place to shop too.

I hate shopping at Walmart and will choose Target over them in a heartbeat. Costco is great to their employees and their customers. I'll spend my money at these places and I do tell them why.

I hate the big banks and have moved some of our business to a credit union. If things get much worse, I'll be moving more of our business to that credit union. I especially hate Wells Fargo taking over my old bank.

So yes, boycott, but tell 'em why, and tell 'em why again!

Dawn

These big corporations are the only ones who can absorb the costs of expensive regulatory requirements placed upon them by the government.

Minimum wage increases, mandatory healthcare, etc. All very expensive.

So what do we do to ensure that big businesses engage in ethical practices and small businesses can stay IN business?

Boycotting does not address the real problem, IMHO.

Great Q!

Here's my list:
BOA
Walmart

Lowe's (owned by Walmart)

Nestle (bought land in Michigan and is draining it of water to make bottled water- unfair practices- farmers are going dry--see the movie For the Love of Water FLOW)

Coca-Cola--for bottling water, selling it back to us, using bottles, trucks, etc to distribute it--carry a water bottle instead

I don't drink pop (soda) in general. Pointless calories and horrible for teeth and stomach wall.

Hershey products --just this year graduate students from foreign countries were brought here on a "diversity exchange" and put to work for horrendous hours and low wages. They went on strike--very embarrassing episode. Americans won't work for such a low wage, so the company brings people here to work in their factories! In addition to that, I've heard that they use child labor in Africa to collect cocoa beans. (Big list of products to avoid when Halloween candy shopping this year)

every fast food place, just on the nutrition aspect--it's killing us all

We aim to eat at mom and pop places

I buy my fruits and veggies at farmer's markets and roadside stands. The product is fresher, tastes better, and employs my neighbors

I am very picky about the toys I buy. I avoid plastic toys and toys made in China due to lead in the products. I buy wood toys. Or I'll buy from retired guys who sell at art fairs.

Even though it is a deal in many cases, I try to skip the dollar stores as everything is from China, where the labor laws and health standards of the products are low, and that there is no recourse if there is an issue with a product.

I buy organic milk because the pesticides in the milk gave me irritable bowel syndrome.

I buy in glass bottles whenever possible.

I buy cat food without additives. Remember the tainted pet food from China a few years back.

I give gifts in gift bags, and reuse the gift bags I receive so I waste less.

I buy 100% cotton clothing. That automatically eliminates a lot of stores.

FYI--I've heard a lot of positive things about Ford products as of late since the 2008 crisis. I recognize some may have gotten a bad car, especially in the 70s, but the company is on the mend. Now a Chrysler product. . .

I guess some of these do not address unfair practices, but I lump my shopping choices all together.

*****ADED INFO*****

I checked online about the Walmart - Lowe's connection and also read that it is a big rumor. I can't say that the sources were familiar to me, but I cannot remember where I heard the info in the first place. All the same, let's say they are not owned by the same people.

I, too, refuse to shop at Walmart. I would rather go without than drop a dime there.

My husband and I are also transferring our bank accounts from BofA to a credit union. We've talked about it for a couple of years but inertia is a powerful thing. The kicker was last week when I had a $14 fee slapped on my personal account - for having less than $1500 in checking. Last year about this time the same thing happened - about $7 bucks, I think - for having less than $500 in it. Last year when I called and asked WTH, I was told I needed a minimum of $750. So I've carefully maintained at least $751, and now this bulls--t. When I called customer service last week, I was told they'd mailed info in August, didn't I read it? Nope, must have missed it. Well, ma'am this is the new policy, $1500 bucks minimum in checking. I laid it out for him: I'm a SAHM and have a special-needs child; my husband is being laid off at the end of December, and I'm sick of being charged an outrageous fee to have you store what little money I have... and then I burst into tears. Not on purpose. He very quickly put me on hold, checked with a manager, credited $14 back to my account as a "courtesy" and said they won't charge that fee for the next three months. Fabulous, thank you, that will give me plenty of time to transfer ALL of our accounts: mine, ours, the savings bonds, and CD's to ANOTHER BANK. Bastards.

I am another Walmart boycotter. Have been for years. I hate their business practices. I am in the raw material business, selling to companies who make products for Walmart and did you know...... Walmart demands a lower grade material be used in their products so they keep their prices lower... EX: a Kitchen Aid mixer at Walmart and a Kitchen Aid mixer at Target, Kohl's, etc are completely different but look the same. Just think about what they are doing to the foods to make them cheaper!!! A lot of tire companies now will not honor a warranty if the tires are purchased at Walmart or Sams.

We do bank with BOA and have never had any issues but we are well aware of changes we may need to make in the future and have already set up accounts in several locations to run our business and personal finances. At this point, we are still with BOA for the majority of our business and personal finances but have a hair trigger waiting to pull if necessary and everything else is lined up and ready to go. We've never encountered any type of fees with BOA except incoming and outgoing wires for our business which have nothing to do with the balances in the accounts. All accounts are well above any minimums with BOA and the other places we do business with.

I do a lot of my shopping locally where I know the people in my community benefit.

I will not drive a Ford model car of any kind because of the lemon I had back when I was in my early 20's and basically they said tough s..t. So, they will never ever get another penny from me the rest of my life, I don't care if the company folds.

I deal with people who respect me and our work ethics. If you are a cheater (meaning taxes, income, etc) I will not support the business in any shape or form.

We run our company ethically and we deal with ethical people. We CHOOSE not to support Walmart and we do NOT sell to companies we know are being bullied by Walmart to make their products cheaper. We prefer to decline the offer to sell vs get in the pig pit with Walmart. Our company is run honorably and we have been blessed.

We have financed everything personally.. No bank or equity manager can tell us what to do with our company. That is the beauty (and sometimes nightmares) of working for yourself.

I've boycotted Walmart for years; same reasons as you. I have not used Nestle products for years because of the way they push the use of formula in developing countries among poor women. My husband and I have switched our bank accounts to a local credit union from Chase (which had bought out WaMu during the banking crisis), and we've already saved a lot in banking fees for all sorts of services. Interest is still low, but many times higher than at Chase.

I also research individual products, like tuna and other seafood, for sustainabiliy in the industry. I won't eat fish species that are struggling to survive, or that are fished from polluted waters. Farmed salmon can be genuinely bad for the ongoing success of their species because of the feeding practices and crowding that encourages parasites, which then also attack passing wild fish.

I buy locally-grown or made products whenever possible.

Large corporations are known for keeping as many of their policies as obscure as possible. Oregon legislators are introducing laws that will require certain kinds of information to become more available to public scrutiny. That will help those of us who care about such things to decide where to spend our consumer dollars.

You bet I do! I have taken all of our money out of large banks and have put it in credit unions (which hold and invest the money locally, and are non-profit).

Like you, I do not shop at Walmart.

I buy my groceries at a locally-owned grocery store where they place a heavy emphasis on buying from local farmers (even though it's a bit more expensive than going to the big, corporate grocery store).

We only drive Ford vehicles because they're made in America, AND Ford didn't take any bailout money.

Basically, we try to spend our money at locally-owned businesses as much as possible, and we try to reward good business practices as much as we withhold our money from those with unethical business practices.

I just wanted to make a point, not that I love Walmart but how many of you know that they donate MORE money to charities then any other company? They plan on giving almost 2 BILLION dollars over the next 5 years to food banks. Sounds like a horrible company huh? My brother who works is part of the mentoring program. Before you stamp a company as bad maybe you should look at the big picture.

I have a list of businesses and products I do not buy because of what they support or their business practices. Walmart is one on my list, due to unfair employment practices. Like Peg, Nestle is also on my list of products. I don't like the way they are currently trying to push harder into the bottled water market and trying to exploit the (free, more or less) water we have here in the Columbia Gorge/Portland Metro area. We've got a fight ahead of us in that regard...

There are many more products, services and business I choose not to give my money to. They also usually get a letter from me telling them why. Great question!

A friend of mine, Jade, wrote this, "I am all for consumer activism, but I think our generation has made a huge mistake in that we have come to believe that our power as buyers is our greatest power in the economy. We can no longer imagine ourselves as having more power than as a "market", as passive consumers of products, because advertising,the media,market research, education and politics teach us to know ourselves as such. But our greatest power in the economy is our labor, as it always has been. How we spend our finite time on this earth is the most important personal, political, and moral question of our time. We are shareholders in the corporate world, because we give most of it to the generation of wealth for them. Our purchasing power is dwarfed by our "man" power, without which this whole economy would come to a screeching halt in a split second. We are not just the consumers, we are the creators."

I have never had a bank account at a big bank--have always used credit unions or community banks, or my aunt & uncle's brokerage firm. I love the fact that we consumers really DO have power, but so many of us are unwilling to wield it.

I almost never go to Wal-Mart, unless there is no alternative in the vicinity.

I shop at family-owned Ace Hardware stores in favor of Home Depot or Menards whenever possible.

I don't buy products with the Susan G. Kommen label on them, as that organization gives money to Planned Parenthood. I do not knowingly patronize any retailer or service provider that donates to Planned Parenthood.

ETA: oh yes, forgot to mention Amazon, which I haven't bought from since they sold that how-to guide for pedophiles.

I don't shop at Walmart. Not only does the way they treat their employees make me sick but I always feel as if I need to shower when I leave the store If I have to go in for what ever reason.
I use a credit union instead of a bank, they don't charge me a ton of fees, infact they pay me to use my debit card. I think it is rediculous that some banks are going to start charging a fee just to go in and see a teller, use their change counting machine.
I also will not be going shopping for Black friday. I think it's nuts that stores are opening up Thanksgiving day and making their employees leave their families. Can't they just wait until Friday?

You need to do what works for you.

I've boycotted products and stores....if you don't call their corporate office and tell them you are boycotting - they won't notice. COMMUNICATE to them that you think their policies suck, etc.

I refuse to do business with BofA - but alas - that's where my husband has been banking for over 35 years (through all of their changes) and he hates them as well...guess it's time for a change...eh?

Amen Christy Lee! As the daughter of one business entrepreneur and the wife of another, I can absolutely confirm your point.

Absolutely. And I just posted the other day that because I know I'm lucky and can afford to, I purposely shop at small business to "share the wealth" instead of constantly patronizing big box stores.

YES, we do.
When our bank went under and was taken over by Chase we switched to a local Credit Union.
We also do not shop at Walmart and I generally try to limit my buying from huge national chains, if I can avoid it (especially cheap stuff from China that I don't really need).
I am also picky about toys, clothes and other household items. I often try to buy things used, I have used freecycle and if I have to buy it new I look for things that are produced in a sustainable way.
I get local produce delivered to my home from a local family owned farm. I try to buy the rest of our groceries local whenever possible.

A lot of people tell me that they can't do it because they could not afford it and that they are dependent on the cheap imported stuff from stores like Walmart. I am sure that is true for some people, but I think for us (and probably many others) it's a question of whether you really NEED something and establishing priorities. A lot of the things my relatives buy from places like Walmart we simply don't have at all, because we don't actually need them at all.

BTW NO company, NONE of them give to charities out of the goodness of their hearts! They do it for tax breaks and marketing reasons. That's all. And the money that they do give, they make by exploiting their minimum wage employees and overseas producers. Just sayin'...

Ah, well I went to WalMart today because I needed different things and with 3 kids and the madness of shopping, I was doing it all at one place.

I'm currently taking a class on Corporate Social repsonsibility and it's very enlightening to see the companies that are excelling in this area and the ones that are horribly failing.

I suggest to research this when doing big business. For my quick runs, I do what's convenient for me.

I don't shop at walmart for the same reason! That and they always seem to come in to places the don't want them! Good for you!

Hi R.,

I agree with you - we vote every day (sometimes multiple times a day!) with our dollars. Our market is CONSUMER - DRIVEN which means we control the demand for certain goods and services. Imagine if each person was intentional about this - it would make a massive difference. Our purchases communicate a lot to a company, as do our choices to patronize competing establishments.

I don't go to Wal-mart and most fast food companies, either. I try to support local, USA-made, items, even if they cost more. What is frustrating is that, while it's quite easy for me to boycott Wal-mart (because there are plenty of alternatives here), not everyone has the other options. They're being deprived of the opportunity to choose better because it doesn't exist where they are...yet!

"Dwell in possibility..." ~Emily Dickenson

Kindred had me shocked that Lowes was owned by Walmartt so I googled it and snopes.com said they are 2 separate entities... just an FYI.

I cannot afford to boycott Walmart, tho I would really like to!!

I boycott 90% of Nestle (I buy their candy) due to thier baby formula and artificial feeding campaign.

I'm sure there are many things I shy away from simply because I feel they advertise too much or spend too much for the appearance insitead of quality but cannot think of actual names.

As for huge corporations giving to charities... most would be better off re-investing in their OWN WORKFORCE in the way of better salaries for their very hard workers and better benefit options or premiums paid.