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	December 19, 2003

THE BOYCOTT LIST As promised last week, here is the current list of especially responsible (socially and environmentally) and irresponsible businesses, provided by Responsible Shopper and vetted by The Better World Handbook. The documentation provided to support the company ratings is extensive and all available oline. The Responsible Shopper recognizes the fact that large companies almost always get accused of doing something wrong, and in their detailed profiles of each company, they give credit for each company's social and environmental programs, and balance these positives against the negatives in coming up with their ratings. The company profiles also list brands and subsidiaries of each company (bet you'll be surprised how broad the reach of these companies is). I've simplified the ratings and categories, and omitted pure business-to-business companies (like mines) that we as consumers don't deal with directly. I've also omitted the many companies that get a neutral rating from Responsible Shopper. You can help make business, and society as a whole, more socially and environmentally responsible by avoiding, where you have a choice, the purchase of products and services from the companies in the right column, especially the worst offenders marked with an asterisk. The companies on the left are mostly small and have limited product range, but in case you want to check them out I've provided links to their sites. Most of them sell over the Internet. As noted on my How to Save the World scorecard, my wife & I have stopped buying products & services from the companies on the right. Hope you'll see fit to join us. Companies to Support Companies to Avoid (*Boycott) Airlines: Airlines: American Continental United Appliances & Electronics: Real Goods Trading Appliances & Electronics: GE* Toshiba* Amazon.com Eastman Kodak Hitachi Honeywell Lucent Motorola Sanyo Sony Whirlpool Automotive: Automotive: BMW* Ford* GM* Hyundai* Isuzu* Mitsubishi* Daimler Chrysler Goodyear Nissan Toyota (the only major car makers not on the 'avoid' list are Honda, Mazda, Subaru & Volkswagen) Banks, Insurance & Financial Services: Banks, Insurance & Financial Services: Citigroup* JP Morgan Chase* Allstate American Express Bank of America Bank of NY CIGNA Fannie Mae Fleet Boston MBNA Mellon Financial Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley Dean Witter National City Prudential SunTrust Brewers, Distillers, Tobacco: Brewers & Distillers: Altria (Phillip Morris)* BAT (British-American Tobacco)* Brown Forman Clothing: Patagonia Real Goods Trading Two Star Dog Clothing: Dillard's* DuPont* (Lycra) Gap* JC Penney* Kohl's* May's* (Robinson May, Lord & Taylor) Wal-Mart* Big Lots (Pic'n Save) Costco Federated (Bloomies, Macy's, the Bon) Fruit of the Loom J. Crew Jones Apparel KMart Lands' End Levi Strauss Liz Claiborne Nike Phillips Van Heusen Reebok Sara Lee (Playtex, WonderBra, Sheer Energy) Sears Target Victoria's Secret (Limited Stores) Cleaning Products: Abundant Earth Cleaning Products: Dow Chemical* DuPont* 3M Bristol Myers Squibb Clorox Colgate Palmolive Dial Kimberly Clark Procter & Gamble Sara Lee (Behold, Endust, TyDBol) Computer Products: Computer Products: Advanced Micro Devices* Intel* Toshiba* Canon Computer Associates Eastman Kodak Gateway HP/Compaq IBM Lucent Microsoft Motorola National Semiconductor Sanyo Sony Drugs & Health: Abundant Earth Drugs & Health: Abbott Labs* Monsanto* Rite-Aid* Tyco* Wyeth (American Home Products)* Aetna Alberto Culver Astra Zeneca Baxter Becton Dickinson Bristol Meyers Squibb CIGNA CVS/Arbor Drugs Eli Lilly Glaxo Smith Kline Hannaford Bros Humana Johnson & Johnson Kimberly Clark Merck Pfizer/Pharmacia Rite Aid Schering Plough Warner Lambert Entertainment/Media/Accommodation: Childsake Uncommon Goods Entertainment/Media/Accommodation: Disney/ABC* MCI Worldcom* Amazon.com American Express Barnes & Noble Bell South CBS Comcast Harcourt Books Hasbro Hilton KB Toys Mattel Qwest / US West Sanyo Time Warner Toys 'R' Us Food Products: Coffee Traders Counter Culture Coffee Dean's Beans Equal Exchange Green Mountain Coffee Max Havelaar Thanksgiving Coffee Food Products: Altria (Philip Morris)* Chiquita* ConAgra (Beatrice, Butterball, Hunts, Redenbacher)* Equal/Nutrasweet (Monsanto)* Smithfield Foods* Tyson Foods/IBP Meats* Archer Daniels Albertson's Campbell Soup Coca-Cola Dean Foods Dole Hannaford Bros HJ Heinz Interstate Bakeries Kroger Stores McDonald's Nabisco Nestle Purina Pepsico Procter & Gamble Publix Supermarkets Safeway Sara Lee Shoney's Warner Lambert Winn-Dixie Gas & Oil: Gas Stations: Exxon Mobil* Chevron Texaco* Royal Dutch Shell* Tosco* Unocal* Amerada Hess Conoco Phillips Halliburton Occidental Pennzoil Quaker State Sunoco Valero Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (the only major company not on the avoid list is BP) Giftware, Household & Personal Products: Abundant Earth Body Shop Global Exchange Seeds of Change Tweezerman Uncommon Goods Giftware, Household & Personal Products: Abbott Labs* Dow Chemical* (Saran Wrap) DuPont* (Teflon, Silverstone) GE* Tyco* Alberto Culver Bath & Body Works (Limited Brands) Bristol Myers Squibb Colgate Palmolive Dial Glaxo Smith Kline Johnson & Johnson Kimberly Clark Monsanto Owens Corning Pfizer Procter & Gamble Sara Lee (Dim, Brylcreem, L'eggs, Vapona) Hardware & Home Improvement: Hardware & Home Improvement: Dow Chemical* (Styrofoam) DuPont* (Tyvek, Mylar) Interfor* Doman Industries Domtar Fiberglas, Spacesaver (Owens Corning) Home Depot Sears Sherwin Williams Office Equipment, Supplies & Furniture: Dolphin Blue Office Equipment, Supplies & Furniture: Boise Cascade* Georgia Pacific* 3M Domtar Fort James International Paper Jefferson Smurfit Kimberly Clark Louisiana Pacific Mead Westvaco Office Depot Staples Pet Foods: Pet Foods: Colgate Palmolive (Science Diet) HJ Heinz (Gravy Train, Kibbles 'n Bits, KenLRation, Nature's Recipe) Nabisco (Milk Bone) Nestle Purina (Ralston Purina) Utilities: Utilities: Enron* American Electric Power Generally, it's also environmentally (less transportation) and socially (support local labour) responsible to buy local whenever possible, and especially to avoid buying products and services from countries that aren't free (where sweatshops are generally common and environmental standards are usually low). So what does Dave buy? I confess I haven't bought from many of the companies in the left column yet, but here's who I do buy from: Airlines: I fly WestJet when I absolutely have to fly. I've cut my travel by 70% in the past year, and want to cut it further as soon as videoconferencing improves (and my new business Meeting of Minds will be helping it improve). Appliances & Electronics: Haven't bought any in several years, since my Creative Nomad Jukebox MP3 player. Automotive: I drive a Honda, and my next car will be a hybrid. Banks & Insurance: I buy Canadian. I may move from my bank to a credit union. Brewers/Distillers: We buy Canadian, favouring the local microbreweries and wineries. Clothing: I buy Canadian, and buy nothing from the companies on the list above. Cleaning Products: My wife outvotes me in this category, since she does most of the work. She does buy from some of the majors, but buys environmentally friendly alternatives when she can find them, and refuses to buy any disposable products (wipes etc.) Computer Products: I drive a Dell. My wife doesn't use one. Drugs & Health: We don't use or need any, touch wood. Entertainment: We buy books from a great indy store McNally Robinson. We get lots of channels and music by satellite and internet, so we rarely buy CDs or DVDs. And we live in paradise so why would we need to go somewhere for a holiday? Food: We buy Canadian, especially in the produce section, whenever possible. We buy premium no-name for almost everything else ( 'President's Choice' brand is cheaper and as good as the brand names, and almost always locally made). When we eat out it's at locally-owned restaurants and I continue to increase my vegetarian intake. We're not coffee drinkers. Gas: No BP in Canada, so I buy from Sunoco, the least of the evils, or from some of the independents as long as I'm sure they don't buy from the Esso (Canadian Exxon) refinery. Work from home 3 days a week and hope to increase this further with the new business. Usually fill up twice a month, still too much. Giftware, Household, Personal: Almost all our gifts are locally made crafts. My wife buys Avon products, and I buy Jason, great, organic cruelty-free products, or Body Shop stuff. Hardware & Home Improvement: The new 'radical simplicity' house will be built with natural straw-bale insulation and be extremely energy- and space-efficient, using recycled materials when possible. Finishes will be local, natural woods, and will be spare and utilitarian. With a wilderness view on three sides, why would we need to decorate? Office Equipment & Supplies: Paper from Grand & Toy, 100% recycled fibre. Toner in recycled, and recyclable cartridges. That's all the supplies you need for a 'virtual' service business. Pet Foods: Chelsea eats Performatrin, a US-made house brand sold by Pet Valu, a Toronto-based chain of pet food stores that helps local pet rescues and does not sell animals. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the top 20 donors to George Bush's campaign are almost all on the 'avoid' list above, for either social or environmental irresponsibility. (Pictured: Patagonia's fleece hiking jacket made entirely from post-consumer recycled materials) 11:42:11 AM  trackback []  comment []

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