Brands I Boycott as an Environmentalist (and What I Replace Them With)
Our money has power! Let’s vote with our dollars and spend our money according to our ethics and values.
Boycotting is withholding our purchases from wasteful and unethical brands. No, you don’t have to be perfect about this. But please don’t use this as an excuse to shop wastefully. For example, if your medication is ONLY sold at Target, it’s okay to take care of yourself and get what you NEED. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to go to Starbucks because you’re craving a sweet treat. You can still get your fix by supporting a small and ethical business instead!
No, not all small businesses will align with your values either. But shopping small IS inherently better for the planet.
Let’s get into it! Leave yours below!
Brand: Starbucks
Why boycott: environmental harm, union busting, and more you can learn about here.
Replacement: local coffee shops!
Brand: Coca-Cola
Why boycott: World’s largest polluter for years in a row and more that you can learn about here.
Replacement: small brand sodas and kombuchas, water, and also making my own sodas at home with homemade syrups and making sparkling water with my small business soda maker.
Brand: Amazon
Why boycott: One of the world’s largest polluters, operated by some of the world’s richest people, engages in regular union busting, outcompetes small businesses, normalizes overconsumption and fast shipping, and MORE that you can learn about here.
Replacement:Shopping small at a variety of local businesses online, but preferably in person. Here are a few recent examples:
Ran out of liquid hand sanitizer. Instead of running for Amazon, I went to my local beauty store, and they sold it in bulk, so I avoided emissions and packaging and supported an ethical business.
Dan had some broken watches. Instead of getting new ones, we repaired the old ones at a local watch/clock repair place.
The sewing machine needle snapped. Instead of fast-ordering it on Amazon, I waited until my next trip to town and got some from my local sewing machine repair store.
I have an endless list of examples. I urge you to train your habits to break out of the Amazon loop and learn about the small and local businesses in your area! Hit up your local garden center, hardware store, pet store, jewelry store, thrift shop, and more!
Brand: OpenAI
Why boycott: AI is simultaneously polluting, depleting water sources, and stealing art from human artists, all while making us lose our creativity and ability to think for ourselves. I talk more about AI’s impact on the planet in this video.
Replacement: You can keep learning, just do so in any other way! Though I also urge you to resist Google as much as you can, too. Instead, try browsers like Ecosia that plant trees per search or browsers like Mojeek that are committed to being AI-free. You should also get a free library card! Libraries allow you to borrow physical books but also audio and e-books right to your phone via the Libby app. And they have free computers for you to do research on! They are the OG data centers! Check out more benefits to libraries in this video.
Brand: Apple
Why boycott: Constant greenwashing schemes, mining precious metals in the global south in which they exploit human beings, lack of ability to repair their devices, and more that you can learn about here. They make it so hard to repair their devices, and when you do, they make it so that you have to keep supporting them instead of another party. They also have openly said they engage in planned obsolescence, and competing phones have better storage and cameras anyway.
Replacement: I know, this is rich coming from me with an iPhone, iPad, and AirPods. To be fair, I had all of these devices before I made the choice to boycott. Plus, my iPad and AirPods are both over 6 years old, and I got them secondhand. I got this iPhone new in 2021, but I will not be returning to Apple.
So, who will I be going with next? I’m not sure. I love the quality of Google’s phones, but as a company, I hate them, too. I’ve been eyeing the Fairphone since they emphasize ethical labor, recycling, and repairing their devices. But I’m unsure of the quality of the device, camera, and also storage, all of which are important to me since using a phone is how I get work done.
I plan to dig into some of the leading phone producers to find the most sustainable one this summer!
Brand: REI
Why boycott: REI is labeled as a co-operative store. Yet their new shareholders are continuously union-busting. I love a co-op as much as the next guy, but I will not monetarily support a business that is harming my fellow workers.
Replacement: My local gear store is where it’s at! If I need new hiking socks, a backpacking meal, or you name it, I hit up my local outdoor supplier instead. Granted, I don’t have an REI near me, so it’s even more convenient to shop locally in this instance! Take the time to check out the local gear stores in your area and avoid REI while they are harming their employees.
Brand: Any mega corporation
Why boycott: Mega corporations are the most exploitative and unethical companies in the world. They are owned by billionaires and do not care about the consumers, their workers, or the planet. They also outcompete the little guys, making it harder and harder for small businesses to survive in this economy. There are many brands in my list here that fall into this category, such as Tractor Supply Co, Disney+, Bank of America, and more.
Replacement: I just shop small at a variety of local businesses online, but preferably in person. Instead of going to a large chain like In-N-Out, we hit up a local diner to get our fry fix. Instead of running to Target for more shampoo, I go to a local co-operative store. It can be hard to find small businesses since we are not used to it, but get in the habit of checking these places first to support your neighbors and community and stop supporting the polluters.
Brand: Subsidiaries of mega corporations
Why boycott: As stated above, giving your money to a smaller business that is owned by bigger players in the field contributes to all of the harm that we learned about mega corporations. So, sadly, this includes small eco brands that sold out to big companies like Everlane, Stasher Bag, Thinx period underwear, Love Beauty and Planet, and more.
Replacement: Again, just shop small! Do a simple search into who owns the brand, such as “who owns Plaine Products.” When you do this, you can see that this small brand is still owned by the sister founders. But when you search for “who owns Tom’s of Maine,” you will see that it is owned by the conglomerate Colgate-Palmolive. Take the time and commit to memory the brands that are truly small and sustainable. Keep an eye out for new acquisitions such as Wild deodorant around 1.5 years ago. If a small brand is acquired, I urge you to no longer support them since your money will trickle up to the large polluters.
Brand: Fast Fashion
Why boycott: Another generalized one, but I refuse to buy any fast fashion. It is toxic on so many levels, from agriculture to using fossil fuel-based fabrics to polluting during the dye process, and not providing adequate pay and PPE to workers. Learn more here.
Replacement: I mostly shop secondhand! I recently ripped two pairs of pants on the same day. Though I did repair them, I also knew that my repairs may not last, and I should start looking for some “new” pants. So I hit the thrift! I scored 3 pairs of pants for easily less than the cost of 1 pair brand new. And all of those pants didn’t have to end up in the landfill, and no new pants had to be created! Check out the benefits of shopping secondhand here.
But you can also shop for new ethical fashion! I find that this can take a bit of research and also get expensive quickly. In my quest for pants, I did try some from Boody that I LOVE. They are made sustainably and ethically, but cost about as much as 4 pairs of thrifted pants, if not more. So do whatever works for your budget and body!
Brand: Fast Items
Why boycott: Similar to fast fashion, fast items are not made to last and are pollutive every step along the production and disposal chain. To me, these are brands like Shein and Temu that sell more than just clothing, but also junk that you can get at the front of stores like Target (which is also on the boycott list for other ethical and environmental reasons) and even Amazon!
Replacement: I just don’t buy these things. These are things that are almost always a want and not a need. I’m not saying to never buy things you want, but I urge you to think through your purchases. Do you really need another mug, or can you just use what you have? That thing that influencer was just talking about…will you actually use it, or is it just trendy? Check out more tips to break up with overconsumption here.
Brand: Big Oil
Why boycott: I hope this can go without saying, but Big Oil is the reason we are in this environmental mess to begin with! We have known for over 100 years that fossil fuels are the reason that the planet is warming more than usual. Big Oil has been lobbying to hide those facts and pay politicians to ignore the science. They are also the ones doing the extracting and burning of fossil fuels and ensuring that we never get public transportation. How else will they get filthy rich?
Replacement: I know, this is one that is impossible to boycott 100%. I still own a car, but I do everything in my power to give as little money to Big Oil as I can by walking, biking, carpooling, using less plastic, shopping less, shopping secondhand, recycling plastic, and much more that you can learn about here.
Let us know which brands you’re boycotting down below so that we can all be inspired to add more to our list! Boycotting is not restrictive. It’s powerful knowing that my money isn’t going toward evil things. It’s empowering to feel like I have some semblance of control over our wrecked situation. And I’ve learned about so many amazing small businesses this way. My shopping is so much more diverse now, the opposite of restrictive!
As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
