The Art Of The Buycott
By Greg Berry
Filed Under Conscious Commerce |
It comes down to awareness.
Many of us know what is happening. We are living out of balance with the natural world. Our culture gives us carte blanche to throw away plastic bottles after drinking water from the other side of the planet. Our TV tells us that we’re never going to find true love unless we choose the right toothpaste. We listen to music protected by lawyers on iPods built in sweatshops while driving SUVs shipped across oceans fueled by diesel that funds dictatorial regimes. It’s not cool, it’s not natural, it’s not fair, and both “the piper” and “the fat lady” are tuning up off-stage.
Had enough? It’s time to do something.
The real power you have, I have, we all have, is in our wallet. The economic puppeteers know it to be true. Like it or not (and I’ll go on record in the ‘not’ column), consumerism is the lifeblood of America. It fuels our entire economy. And the only thing that is going to create lasting, sustainable systemic change starts and ends at the cash register. In the 21st Century, it’s no longer about political protests and angry boycotts, it’s about economic leverage and focused BUYcotts. Why the change? It’s more effective. Plain and simple.
A buycott is the collective act of purchasing with a higher purpose, be it political, social or otherwise. In the context of sustainability, it’s about buying things that are designed with the long term health of the planet and its people as a core value. It’s about choosing items that are made locally. It’s about supporting retailers that share your values, invest in your community and add independent character to your Main Street. If executed with focus and consensus, a buycott can be extremely effective.
There have been a great many buycotts over the years, including the infamous Napster and CITGO buycotts. The CITGO buycott picked up a fair bit of momentum among the lefties during 2005, suggesting that by buying gas from CITGO, people were supporting a free democracy under Hugo Chavez, rather than the oppressive regimes in Africa and the Middle East. Compelling as it was, there was so much controversy over this buycott (it turns out global political economics is pretty complicated), that it became virtually indiscernible what the truth of the matter actually was. (The good news for buycotting gasoline purchasers: as near as we can tell, Sinclair gas stations sell petrol extracted and refined in the good ‘ol USA. The crusty old guy at the Idaho Springs, CO Sinclair station confirmed this, so it must be true.)
Regardless of the trifling details (Dad always told me never to let the facts get in the way of a good story), you get the idea. In the end, it’s up to you. When you realize the power in your purchase, you can take responsibility for your actions at the cash register, and put your money where your mouth is. Enlist your community to join you, and you may just start a quiet revolution.
What’s next? Take action!
- Organize buycotts of B Corporations and BALLE Members
- Learn more at the New Economics Foundation and the Interra Project
- Commit to one thing you can BUYcott. Organic dairy, wind energy, recycled paper products, vintage clothing, Fair Trade coffee, or a specific company that does amazing things in the world
- Buy goods from your favorite eco-friendly online store, like eConscious Market, or at your local sustainable goods shop, if you have one.
- If you don’t have one, start one. This isn’t some trendy fad, it’s the future
Posted on May 13, 2008 |
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