When we think of boycotts, many of us may see images of Christian or family rights groups picketing outside movie theaters or banning the latest “trashy” book. Or we may see people supporting labor unions by refusing to buy products produced by companies that have unfair employment. This tactic has led to numerous changes because it strikes where organizations most depend: income. The cliche of voting with your dollar exists for a reason; the money we spend for items from food to entertainment eventually makes its way to the top authority who in turn uses that money to support political groups or politicians outright. If money we spend is going to someone or something we would never support, should we proceed with paying for an item or service, or can we find an alternative?
For clarification, let’s take the example of Urban Outfitters. Founder and President Richard Hayne, though purportedly not homophobic according to his openly gay CEO, donated $13,500 to virulently anti-gay former Senator Rick Santorum. Regardless of his personal views on homosexuality, he gave his largest political donation to one of the most conservative and controversial figures to the LGBT community. Hayne derives his money from sales at his stores, which also include Anthropologie and Free People, and because many of the products are aimed at socially conscious youth, a good proportion of that money comes from people who would not agree with Santorum’s positions and would not support him otherwise.
It is important to have an open dialogue about where our money goes and on what the founders of companies spend it. However, progress can be made through boycotting efforts. A recent scandal for energy drink Rockstar, which was tied to gay-bashing radio host Michael Savage as he is the father of Rockstar President Russel Weiner resulted in a show of support for the LGBT community. Rockstar disavowed affiliation with Savage and his views and pledged $100,000 in donations to LGBT rights groups, including $50,000 to a local LGBT Community Center in the company’s home state of Nevada and $25,000 each to GLSEN and The Trevor Project. An additional $12,500 was donated to the National LGBT Blogger Initiative to support online writers who were the main driving force of the boycott.
We all need to work together to make our companies more honest and keep our community aware of when our money is supporting something we are ideologically against. Please feel free to comment below to give us your take on boycotting or make us aware of other organizations that may be supporting hate.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:12 am
I often feel apathetic when it comes to … well, everything. I used to be extremely proactive in discovering the truth, especially when it came to businesses, but it seems to overwhelm me these days. I have worked for a few small companies that preach sustainability and community but this is only for show. I can’t even imagine how corrupt it must be on a large scale.
With this said, information is still key. Knowing these facts about the founder and president of Urban Outfitters and the affiliation of Rockstar to Michael Savage makes us realize that there are real people behind these mega companies that we are giving our money to. That’s the first step, awareness. But if I hadn’t read this article, I still would have cateogorized Rockstar under “homophobic company”. In fact, last week I was at the grocery store with a friend and she was about to purchase a Rockstar. I let her know the minimal information I knew, basically saying that the owner of the company is anti-gay, which I guess isn’t true. Being a total lez, she bought another drink instead. So information is
It must be pretty destructive in sales for the companies … or maybe not. Maybe in a big city people talk about it but elsewhere people don’t really care. I wonder if there are any studies on that?
There needs to be a drastic change if people are serious about standing up for what they believe in. Is it possible to not support these companies that have owners or CEO’s with beliefs different than ours? I think so. Moreover, are there alternatives to these places? I don’t have any cash these days, but if I did, I would certainly be taking a trip to Urban Outfitters each month to check out the selection because their clothing is stylish and inexpensive. Where would I go if I didn’t go there? I don’t know, but I think it would be worth it, being ethical and fair is more important than style…it just takes time and interest to research companies in depth…
July 17th, 2009 at 3:19 am
This is as true with all the other products we buy. American Apparel, people buy from them because it’s made in America and not *possibly* by sweatshop workers. People stopped buying grapes in the sixties because of that one Mexican guy (brain fart). When I learned that Gap and all the companies owned by the Gap (Hot Topic, Old Navy, A&F) donated earnings to Anti-Choice foundations, I decided not to purchase anything from them due to my own views on the matter. Even though the (red) campaign was a good idea, they only donated a minute percentage of the proceeds to AIDS/HIV foundations…
Did I need another reason to hate ROCKSTAR? I think I’ve tried one in my life and it was horrible… Another reason to hate ROCKSTAR: They sponser all those stupid “Girls Gone Wild” events. Besides, whatever happened to the original energy drink: Coffee?
July 17th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Very true. As we get more products on the market, it becomes harder and harder to decide when we should be discriminating. So, I just rarely buy anything, which is probably for the best.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:38 am
The link I included in the Urban Outfitters example actually provides some great alternative markets for your shopping needs. That was linked from a more fashion-conscious blog, so they also were against UO for stealing independent designers’ work and putting smaller boutiques out of business. So, I believe it is always a good idea to try to find something from the little guy first and move up from there.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:50 am
Thanks! That was really informative, I just bookmarked your site.