Meet the polygamists of the Bible
In 1945, the Arab League launched an economic boycott of the Yishuv (a pre-Israeli state Jewish community in Palestine) and then, from 1948 onwards, Israel itself. In the 1970s, the US adopted two laws that prohibited American companies from furthering or supporting the boycott of Israel, which remains mostly symbolic.
Diamonds are often mined using forced labor in African war zones, and in the 1990s people grew concerned about buying them, as this would potentially fund rebel armies. In order to reduce the number of conflict diamonds on the market, the diamond industry established an international system that certifies they're conflict-free.
BDS is a Palestinian-led movement that advocates for companies and people to avoid doing business with Israel due to the country’s treatment of Palestinians. And while many support the movement, anti-BDS laws have also been passed in the US.
On Mexican Independence Day in 1965, Latino farmworkers helped Filipino-American grape workers protest for better wages and working conditions in Delano, California. It lasted until 1970, and led to the nation's first union for farmworkers, the United Farm Workers of America.
North Carolina faced a boycott when it tried to pass House Bill 2, better known as the bathroom bill. The law required transgender people to use the bathrooms and changing rooms in state-run buildings that corresponded to the sex on their birth certificate. But after business and sports leagues boycotted the state, the bill was revoked.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter refused to send American athletes to the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow as a protest of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. More than 60 nations joined the boycott.
In 2002, Africa Forum and Unite, the union of textile employees, called for a boycott of the clothing company Gap for exploiting its employees. Two years later, the company vowed to stop working with 136 outsourced factories due to the use of child labor and inadequate safety for workers.
In 1880, Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott retired from the army to become a land agent in Ireland. Boycott was told to raise the rent on his tenants, who later refused to work. He couldn’t continue business in such conditions and was forced to leave. This showed the true power of boycotts. It would also probably irk the captain to know his ended up being the name for this form of protest!
In 2018, British luxury brand Burberry admitted to burning millions of dollars' worth of unsold goods. Consumers were outraged at the environmental impact, and a boycott of the brand followed. Shortly after, Burberry announced it would no longer burn its clothes or sell animal fur.
In 1791, English merchant James Wright said he would no longer sell sugar from the West Indies because it had been produced by slaves. The boycott didn’t end slavery, but it did show early support for its abolition.
In 2005, there was a major boycott against Walmart, due to their workforce inequality and lack of environmental protection. The company ended up making changes to those policies.
In 1997, Pepsi had to cut ties with Burma, now Myanmar, which was ruled by a military government (as it once again is today). Pepsi's officials tried to argue that free trade would be good for the country, but boycotts from their shareholders and customers pressured them to leave.
In 2012, Chick-fil-A faced controversy when its then-president Dan Cathy criticized same-sex marriage. Reports also surfaced that the company donated to anti-LGBTQ organizations. The company's policy now maintains inclusivity, and it donates funds to youth and education programs.
In the 1990s, there was an international boycott campaign against Nike, which criticized them for hiring child workers and other human rights abuses. After years of boycotts and protests, Nike created the Fair Labor Association in 1999, a nonprofit that monitors their code of conduct and ensures they follow labor laws.
In the early 2000s, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an advocacy group of immigrants working in tomato fields in southwest Florida, called for a boycott of Taco Bell because the company would not negotiate with them. The boycott gained nationwide support, and in 2005 former President Jimmy Carter helped negotiate a resolution that included increased wages and better working conditions.
To protest the apartheid system in South Africa, an international campaign against the oil company Royal Dutch Shell was launched in 1986. Congress voted to override a veto by President Ronald Reagan on the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. This banned South African imports, airlines, and foreign aid from the US.
In 1984, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organized a three-day protest and boycott of Safeway, due to the chain's failure to sign the fair share agreement to improve employment and economic opportunities for black workers. The boycott ended with them signing the agreement.
Sources: (Los Angeles Times) (History of Yesterday) (Work + Money)
Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was known to have strong anti-Jewish prejudices and even ran a weekly newspaper in the 1920s with anti-Semitic articles. Both Jewish people and many liberal Christians joined the boycott and refused to buy Ford cars. Ford finally apologized and shut down the newspaper in 1927.
In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. This launched the Montgomery bus boycott, a 13-month protest during which black residents refused to ride city buses. The Supreme Court eventually outlawed segregation on public buses.
On May 1, 2006, immigrant workers boycotted work, businesses, and kept their kids from going to school. They were protesting H.R. 337, legislation that would have made it a felony to live in the US illegally.
In 2005, a group of teenage activists from Pennsylvania launched a boycott against Abercrombie & Fitch due to the sexist slogans on some of their shirts. Abercrombie later canceled the line.
Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, which sometimes ends in violence. In an anti-shopping move, Buy Nothing Day was launched in 1992 in Canada, which later spread internationally against consumerism.
In 1995, Shell gas company was planning to dump its Brent Spar oil rig in the North Sea. Greenpeace called for boycotts, and many customers decided not to fill up with Shell gas. Thanks to international pressure, Shell decided not to dump the oil rig.
After a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, there was a call to boycott the NRA. Companies like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Hertz have all ended their ties with the organization, and there has been widespread support for gun control in general.
In 2003, peace activist Leymah Gbowee and other Liberian women went on a successful s e x strike to end the country’s civil war. Gbowee won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.
After the release of the documentary 'Blackfish' (2013), SeaWorld came under scrutiny for keeping orcas in captivity. PETA called for boycotts of the park, and public attendance decreased. In 2016, SeaWorld announced it would no longer breed or feature shows with orcas.
In 2013, 1,100 garment workers died at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh when a building collapsed. The building owners had violated safety codes, which resulted in pressure on brands that worked with them via boycotts and protests. After the backlash, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was created.
In 1977, the Infant Formula Action Coalition first called for a Nestlé boycott after the company advertised its infant formula as "better than breast milk.” Complaints resulted in a worldwide boycott that lasted nearly seven years, and ended when Nestlé agreed to comply with most of the standards concerning infant formula. However, the company has continued to violate ethical marketing codes regarding infant formulas.
After fighting the French and Indian War of 1763, Britain was deeply in debt. They turned towards the American colonies as a resource by passing a series of taxes on goods, concluding with the Stamp Act of 1765, a direct internal tax designed to raise money to pay the cost of British soldiers. The colonists carried out a successful boycott of British goods, and physically threatened tax inspectors, forcing most of them to resign. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766.
Boycotts are something we have seen throughout history. They are a form of protest for moral, social, and/or political reasons, and their purpose is to cause economic loss in order to persuade a person, organization, or government to change a practice or policy that people are against. From anti-apartheid movements in South Africa to an international boycott against Nike, boycotts can be a powerful, nonviolent way to make a difference.
Want to read up on boycotts that changed history? Then check out this gallery.
Boycotts that changed history
These boycotts had a pivotal role in changing life as we know it
LIFESTYLE Movements
Boycotts are something we have seen throughout history. They are a form of protest for moral, social, and/or political reasons, and their purpose is to cause economic loss in order to persuade a person, organization, or government to change a practice or policy that people are against. From anti-apartheid movements in South Africa to an international boycott against Nike, boycotts can be a powerful, nonviolent way to make a difference.
Want to read up on boycotts that changed history? Then check out this gallery.