Every person that values life, that believes we have a global human potential that is based in ecological harmony and environmental repair owes a moment of careful consideration to the future generations of all life on this planet

Every person that values life, that believes we have a global human potential that is based in ecological harmony and environmental repair owes a moment of careful consideration to the future generations of all life on this planet. Without pointing the finger of blame at any one ideology, we are all culpable because we are rabid consumers. We live in a world where our needs have escalated beyond any sense of sustainable balance.Our demands have created monsters - corporations that exist to make money and as such serve absolutely no value whatsoever to life on this planet.

It is these corporations that have a huge influence on US and World policy. The US and World governments have demonstrated in no uncertain terms that:

1. they do not give due consideration for the sanctity of life - for them revenge is justified, even if they can't find proof
2. they do not care for the environment, corporate health is more important than the planet's health
3. they are above international law, and the UN has outlived it's purpose

There exists successful and viable alternatives to the global corporations that fail to address the 'real' needs of the world today. These grass root collectives are guided by principles of equality, justice, humanity and ecological sustainability and that is why we support them.

Support your community - it will prosper, be charitable and the world will prosper.
Switching off TV will change your life... Commercial TV is the most persuasive of the unethical corporate machine's weaponry. In certain issues TV severely limits your freedom. Like corporate newspapers and magazines, TV reinforces unrealistic stereotypes that manipulate public opinion.

How a company operates is all about ethics. Obviously some companies do not offer an ethical product and they are merely in the business of making wealth (tobacco, grenades). Other companies seek a balance between offering a product that honours the health and well-being of the planet and it's creatures, and the economic viability of the company. To greatly simplify - the ethics of business can be summed up in two camps. In camp A – companies which operate on the principal of an "honest days work for an honest days pay". In camp B are those that operate for an "unfettered high return on investment".

Public companies do not voice opinions about anything other than their field of interest - the shareholders, the product and the consumers - probably in that order. Public companies therefore cannot voice the opinion of their constituents if they do not know where they stand. When public companies put out a statement the media will report it.
SO LET COMMERCE KNOW that you don't want their products until you know where they stand !

Many people/companies make money out of war - for so long as people play the stock market this is HOW IT IS. George Bush or John Howard are not interested in popular opinion because there is a greater unvoiced opinion - MONEY TALKS. The investment wheel turns and almost nothing can stop it. ALMOST!

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ... start by knowing where your money goes. Even Investment Brokers claiming to be ethical need to come under your inspection. YOU need to investigate your investments. YOU need to look at what you are buying.

Boycotting is a way of lobbying for change. For example, when consumers boycott 'tuna' - the economic pressure brought to bear filtered down though the tuna-food-marketing industry to the tuna fishing industry which then changed it's practices to protect dolphins.

By boycotting US products, I want to put pressure on the US government to join the international community, complying with the rules of the United Nations and international law. With the military attack and invasion of Iraq in March 2003 the US acted as a rogue state. With the attack the US violated the UN charter. Today more than ever US companies seem to have a major impact on the policy of the US administration. The US government policy has increasingly been marked by arrogance and self-interest:

We demand that the US government:

1. - allow the UN to take over the civil administration in Iraq as soon as possible
2. - end 'pre-emptive' attacks on other states
3. - actively pursue a two-state solution for Palestine & Israel
4. - stop the use of double standards concerning Weapons of Mass Destruction (e.g. those of Israel and the US's own stocks)
5. - ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
6. - adopt the Kyoto protocol to stop global warming
7. - abandon National Missile Defense & reinstate the ABM Treaty
8. - recognize the competence of the International Criminal Court to prosecute war criminals and cancel all bilateral agreements
9. - respect the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
10. - move towards a Treaty for complete nuclear disarmament
11. - ratifies Biological Weapons Convention
12. - ratifies 1997 Landmine Treaty
13. - strengthens the Chemical Weapons Convention
14. - the unilateral policies of the US must stop now and all US troops must leave Iraq immediately.

As consumers we do not want our money to be used to fuel wars, environmental destruction and human-rights violations.

There are two superpowers today: the USA and the people opposed to the war. Many people realise that the way they can most make a difference is as a consumer. There are many examples of effective consumer boycotts, some of which you can find in the end of the page.

In the words of the Dalai Lama: "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." In our words: Critical consumers are the new political superpower. Let's be aware of the power of our spending money, and let's get organised effectively.

The term originated in Ireland in 1780 when English estate manager Charles Cunningham Boycott was "boycotted" by famine-threatened Irish farmers for refusing to lower rents. Since then, boycotts are used to protest national or global issues such as unfair labor practices, civil liberties, discrimination, human rights, animal protection, environment, etc. by targeting companies' practices or government policies involved in those issues.

Boycott action won acclaim as a non-violent tool with the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1950s, which became a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement for the Black community in the USA. It has become one of the means of protest used by peace organizations. Boycotts helped overthrow apartheid South Africa and end French nuclear tests.

The Power of Boycott

Well-organized boycotts are successful most of the time and can greatly impact companies' attitudes and practices, and can consequently influence government policies.

A survey in the USA found that business leaders consider boycotts to be more effective than other consumer techniques such as class action suits, letter writing campaigns, and lobbying. They directly threaten sales and so the company leaders take them seriously - even if it's likely to influence a very small percentage of their customers. (Friedman, 1991)

According to John Monogoven, senior vice president of Pagan International Inc., a public relations firm, the success of a boycott action is more than just a decrease in sales. Very rarely is the impact felt at the cash register s. In actuality, they have problems with employee morale-employees don't like working for a company that is being criticized and questioned. For the same reason, they have problems with recruiting the top students from colleges and universities. And top-level executives spend a large amount of time on the issue when they should be doing other things. (Insight, 10/26/87, p. 44)

Since the 1990s, boycotts are becoming better organized and have gotten more media attention than ever before. As a consequence, they can be very effective in a shorter time period than previous boycotts. Today, with the web network, a consumer boycott can be endorsed by hundreds of millions of people (605.6 million people online in Sept. 2002 ; Source : Nua Internet Surveys : http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/).

• Apartheid: One of the most significant boycott victories was the abolition of apartheid in South Africa. The boycotts of Shell, Kellogg's and Coca Cola among others had been launched worldwide to protest the racist policies of South Africa's government. The companies targeted prompted shareholder resolutions demanding divestment from the country. This became the catalyst for the abolition of apartheid in 1994.

• French nuclear testing: Another recent significant boycott was launched in 1995 by the International Peace Bureau in opposition to French nuclear testing in the French Polynesia (http://www.motherearth.org/archive/archive/boycot/boyidx.html). The French wine industry was hit especially hard by the boycott because of its international popularity. According to Bruce Hall, coordinator for the Comprehensive Test Ban Clearinghouse, the boycott combined with the protests had a real impact: the number of tests were reduced by 25 percent. Additionally, French President Chirac committed to signing on to a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. France eventually ratified the CTBT in April 1998.

• The McBride Principles : a long-term boycott: Some boycotts are significant for their length. The longest was the 12-year boycott of Ford Motor launched by the Irish National Caucus. It ended in 1998, when the company agreed to implement the McBride Principles. Those principles prevent US companies from subsidizing anti-Catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland.

• Scott Paper : the shortest boycott: Occasionally the threat of a boycott can make a company yield to the demands of people willing to boycott. In the United Kingdom, Survival International threatened Scott Paper with a boycott because its plans for a eucalyptus plantation and paper mill in Indonesia threatened the survival of tribal peoples. In a letter to Scott Paper, Survival International wrote, "if we call a boycott, we will mobilize our 20,000 members, and it will also be endorsed by the Sierra Club which has two million members." In response to the threat, Scott Paper abandoned its plans.

Credits - original info taken from: http://www.peace-action.inbyron.com - http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott

• http://www.peace-action.inbyron.com/links.html - List of Peace Action Boycott Groups.
• http://www.boycottbush.net/bgrnd_info.htm#donors - Listing of all the Republican Party's biggest donors for the year to Dec 31st 2000.
• http://www.opensecrets.org/ - The Center for Responsive Politics. Guide to the money in US elections.
• http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/actionkit_en.php - Boycott action Kit.
• http://www.corporatewatch.org - The Earth is not dying, it is being killed, and those that are killing it have names and addresses.