Boycotting works, no matter how much you try to deny it. You see the saying, ‘every little helps,’ well, it isn't only applicable when trying to save money, it also works when trying to make large companies lose money. Just to give you one example, following the pro-palestine boycotts, Starbucks faced financial losses of an estimated $11 million, while “McDonald’s stock sees largest one-day loss in 18 months as it reveals impact from sales in the Middle East.”
No matter how hard governments try to perpetuate this idea that the rich are the majority and everyone else is the minority, it is simply not true. The rich and in power represent a mere percentage of our population, yet we continue to yield power to them. The sooner we can acknowledge that there is strength in numbers, the sooner we will be able to live in a real democracy. That’s why boycotting works because it involves individuals coming together to form a united front, regardless of their ethnic or geographical background.
Most recently, boycotts have been directed at brands that have openly or in secret chosen to support Israel in its genocidal attack on Palestine. So let’s look at the top brands you should be boycotting and why:
The brand that's on the tip of everyone’s tongue when it comes to boycotting is McDonalds. The fast food chain restaurant not only operates in Isreal but has also made their support of Israel very apparent. In the earlier stages of Israel’s genocide on Palestine, McDonalds deemed it appropriate to attack BDS Malaysia, a solidarity group fighting for the rights of Palestinians, hitting them with a $1 million lawsuit. Their next move made them complicit in the genocide, as they decided to provide the Israeli army with 100,000 free meals, meanwhile, innocent people in Palestine are being starved and have very limited access to drinkable water.
Since the boycotts againsts McDonalds started, the franchise recorded its first sale miss. With their sales falling by 4% which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you take into consideration how popular the food chain is and just how much money it brings in, 4% is pretty hefty. Not to mention, this has been the impact of just 5 months and not every country participating.
Next on the boycott list is many people’s childhood favourite, Disney. While it produces beautiful films, its approach to human rights is not so beautiful. Disney has previously been accused of sexism, racism and sugarcoated homophobia, however, all of these accusations have always been up for debate, as movies are subjective.
But in Novemeber of 2023, Disney solidified its position within the Israeli-Palestine conflict by donating $2 million to Israeli aid groups.
The CEO of the company, Bob Iger said, "In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks targeting Jews in Israel this past weekend, we must all do what we can to support the innocent people experiencing so much pain, violence, and uncertainty — particularly children," What about the millions of murdered children in Gaza?
On top of the $2 million donation, Disney planned to match any donations made by their employees for up to $25,000, and not a single penny to Palestine.
Some companies, like Airbnb, have been called out for their actions and managed to act accordingly. Back in 2020, years before the Oct 7th attack, the company was criticised for enabling Israeli invaders to post homes they’ve stolen from Palestinians on Airbnb. Imagine being violently forced out of your home, off your own land and later seeing the same land advertised as a homestay on Airbnb?
Fortunately, following boycott action and severe online criticism, Airbnb acknowledged their wrongdoing, removing every listing of the sort from their website and banning the accounts. Once again proving the positive impacts of boycotting.
Having said that, the art of boycotting is focusing your efforts on your companies of choice, I always recommend picking your big 3. If you try and boycott every immoral company under the sun, your efforts will become diluted and thus not so effective.