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Boycott Action Kit A guide for the International Day of Boycott Actions, March 20th, 2004 Table of contents
INTRODUCTIONCritical consumers: the new political superpower There are two superpowers today: the USA and the people who oppose the Bush administration's policies. Many people realise that the way they can most make a difference is as a consumer: No money for war! Boycott Bush! There are many examples of effective consumer boycotts, some of which you can find in this Boycott Action Kit. 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. Boycott Action Kit: a guide to prepare the International Day of Boycott Actions. The Boycott Action Kit has been first released during the US war in
Iraq for the first global day of boycott actions on April 15th 2003 as
a source of advice for anyone who wants to take part in, or organise an
action to inform consumers about how US corporations are shaping and supporting
the politics of the Bush administration. We already received positive responses from people and groups in i.e. Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Japan, Spain and United States for participation. However, this is not enough. We are looking for people to take action in many more places. And let us be clear, we don't expect mass mobilizations. Small groups
of people can make the difference. A well organized action might attract
the sympathy of many and can get positive mass media coverage. Translate it if you can. Let us know if you translate this Boycott Action Kit: magali@motherearth.org. We will upload it on our website... and please send us feedback on how useful you find it and what could be improved. Have a nice reading,
1. WHY BOYCOTT US PRODUCTS?By boycotting US products, we 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 Iraq in March 2003 and its occupation, the USA act as a "rogue state" and violate the UN charter. The US multinational companies targeted by the boycott have a clear financial link with the Bush administration: they all contributed money for the 2000 election campaign for the Republicans or/and have economic interests in Iraq, particularly petrol, armament, airlines and car companies such as ExxonMobil/Esso, General Motors and American Airlines. Today we need to hit where it hurts. The only language Washington understands is economical. 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
These unilateral policies 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.  According to World Watch Institute, world military expenditures in 2001 were conservatively estimated at 739.33 thousand million euros - almost 100 million euros every hour or 2.000.000.000 euros each day. The United States is now the world's sole military colossus, accounting for 36 percent of all military spending, or 266.13 thousand million euros. U.S. spending is now projected to rise to 364.82 thousand million euros (in 2001 euro) by 2009, or 1.000.000.000 euro per day.
You can sign-on for the boycott at: http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/index.php 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATIONA. History of boycottsThe 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. Boycott helped overthrow apartheid South Africa and end French nuclear tests as well. B. Successful boycottsApartheid 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 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 %. Additionally, French President Chirac committed to signing on to a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. France eventually ratified the CTBT in April 1998. More info at: www.motherearth.org/archive/archive/boycot/boyidx.html 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. C. The Power of BoycottWell-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. 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 got 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/). 3. 'NO MONEY FOR WAR! BOYCOTT BUSH' CAMPAIGNA. How is this boycott organized ?Today the Belgium-based For Mother Earth NGO (www.motherearth.org) coordinates this global No Money For War - Boycott Bush campaign. The first call to boycott was launched in an attempt to prevent war in Iraq, one month before the USA attacked on March 20, 2003. During the upcoming European (Paris, Nov. 2003) and World Social Forum (Mumbai, Jan. 2004) For Mother Earth will continue to set up a Global Council with campaigners from around the planet to coordinate this campaign and agrees to act as an international switch-board for this US boycott campaign. The number of organizations that are endorsing and spreading our call to boycott US goods is increasing and we expect this to continue. For this boycott campaign, we have a media strategy which is based on :
Resources to download at: http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/resources_en.php This boycott action campaign has been marked by the first International Action Boycott Day on April 15th 2003. The call for this international day was launched by For Mother Earth and the International Peace Bureau. We are now calling for another International Day of Boycott Actions on March 20th 2004, marking the first anniversary of the illegal attack on Iraq to put one more time international attention on US unacceptable policies and get more people participating and getting involved in the boycott campaign. B. The Boycott TargetsWe must be ready to justify why we chose our targets to consumers and
to media. Amongst the complete list of the US companies targeted by our boycott campaign, some of them belong to the 30 biggest Republican Party donors in the 2000 election cycle. List of Bush donors in annexes or at: http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/donors_en.php All those companies have strong businesses and/or financial ties with the US government and/or the US Army. They are visible, easy to identify and image-conscious. They are also able to exert substantial pressure on US government (i.e. oil, car and plane companies). List of 'Bad companies' in annexes or at: http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/index_en.php#companies As a result, we want the US companies targeted to pressure the US government into yielding our demands. This boycott should pressure the companies selected both by impacting their products sales and spirits and by attacking their reputation and media-image as we expose their complicity in the unacceptable policies of the Bush administration, i.e. the war and the occupation of Iraq. The reputation impact is easier to accomplish as companies pay more attention to cultivating more socially concerned images. However, companies remain highly sensitive to any consumer concern which appears to affect purchasing behaviours. We are also collecting the pledge of people and NGOs who sign the call to boycott US products on our web site. In this way, we are preparing to present numbers to the companies to show the support for and strength of the boycott. C. Brands hitAccording to an independent research done in 30 countries the US boycott has already had a damaging effect on leading US brands. The boycott calls are successful, as the brand image of various topline US products suffer. In a recent article in the London-based Independent, it was stated that "of the top 10 global US-based firms, only one saw an increase in its brand-power compared with a year earlier. All of the others were either unchanged, which is bad enough, or in negative territory." This survey which was carried for the fifth time saw US brands starting to sink for the first time. In contrast, the survey showed gains for the best-known non-US brands, the article pointed out. The survey results were originally published in the Newsweek magazine. D. The boycott time frameAs far as we know, the global boycott of US products is positioned to become the biggest boycott in human history as the opposition against the war in Iraq was gigantic ! This is a long-term action. It could go on for years as boycotts can take years before achieving the desired result. We have to consolidate our resources to continue in order to get results. We have to be prepared for an extended battle. This is one of the reasons to organize a second global boycott action day on March 20th 2004 to put together all the boycott forces. 4. Top 3 ACTIONS for the INTERNATIONAL DAY of BOYCOTT ACTIONS March 20th, 2004Here in Belgium we came up with several proposals for common actions we could take on Saturday March 20th 2004. Following are all relative small, fun and easy actions which can attract positive reactions and good news-coverage. If you want to participate, please contact us ASAP and please send us feedback and your idea(s). TOP 1. US petrol companies
ACTION: close symbolically an Esso-Mobil or Chevron-Texaco fuel station. We had positive experiences with this action. A separate handbook will go on-line ASAP. There are different possibilities:
TOP 2. Philips Morris International
Let us know which brands they sell in your region and be sure to inform people to stop smoking their cigarettes. Philip Morris donated $2.9 million to the election campaign of the Republicans in 2000. ACTION: have people with a mask of Bush and a Marlboro costume (enlarged cigarette pack) armed with a (toy) machine-gun to give out flyers near tobacco shops and in crowded (commercial) streets. We are in the process of making such a costume an will get picture and handbook on-line ASAP. See also posters in at: www.motherearth.org/USboycott/resources_en.php TOP 3. Coca Cola
ACTION: close Coca Cola vending machines with hazard tape or wrap Coca Cola vending machines in black plastic and hazard-tape and open info-stall with alternative drinks to sell in front of it. Here we can put forward the local alternatives to US brands compromised because of funding the Bush electoral campaign. Organic and/or fair-trade drinks; public transport and bikes or Q8 gasoline; how to quit smoking or alternative brands; information on Linux as alternative to Microsoft...
OTHER POSSIBLE ACTIONS Supermarkets ACTIONS at supermarkets with an info-stall with alternatives (cfr. above) and a banner. You can also play some street theater like the Basque anti-war group people who staged a die-in next to Coca Cola bottle (photo below)... 
Microsoft No wonder that Microsoft-boss Bill Gates is the richest person on earth. But there is a non-commercial alternative for windows now: the Linux operating system. Free, open and much more stable than Windows. These days Linux is as user-friendly and easy to operate and has as much choice in utility-software as Windows or Apple. ACTION: You want to participate in the boycott by sitting in your office or home? It is possible! Boycott Microsoft! If you plan to start the change to Linux, send the story of your intention or change to your network of friends and colleagues. Let us know. Linux: Check www.linux.org , www.linux.(your country code) or for a user-friendly distribution www.mandrake.com. Free softwares: If you don't want to dump Microsoft yet, try some free software that runs on windows
A choice for free software is also a choice against patents and for free information: www.eurolinux.org To get more people than just the organising core group (or even just you as one person!) to your actions you need to outreach. There are countless ways of letting people know about your plans and convincing them to join you.
These are some examples on how to spread the information and reach activists, and to people who are not (yet) involved in peace movement. Be aware that different groups and people may have different reasons for joining the campaign. Here are some examples: Bar, shop & restaurant owners Development groups Environmental groups Families and parents groups, Medical organisations International issues/justice organisations Peace organisations Political parties & lawyers groups Public spending campaign groups If your campaign is going to be successful, it is vital that you reach people who are outside of the activist "scene". This will show that there is broad public support for your message, and stop you from being marginalized or criminalized. GETTING YOUR MESSAGE IN THE MEDIA Through the years campaigners & activists have realised that there is effort and skill needed to get a campaign published in the mainstream and alternative media. These guidelines are to give you a start. Publishing your campaign is not just about attracting attention to yourself or even to your political issue. It is also about responsibility. Today you want to stop the violation of the UN charter and international law and get this information to the public and political leadership. Be aware that members of the media - like all of us in some way - have their own agendas. You need to be aware that sometimes your words and even your issue may be manipulated, even by sympathetic journalists. In other cases your action may not be reported at all, however much effort you put into getting the media there. Non-violent actions are very good tools to get public attention to your campaign 1. Before the event:
2. During the event:Radio news and news agencies cover events as they happen. Their news desks are among the first to call when your protest has started. Call them with regular updates if your event takes several hours, and brief them once it has ended. Don't forget to appoint one activist responsible for the contacts with the media during the event, to give regular briefings, point out spokespeople and photo-opportunities, take note of their names and contacts, deal with press calls on the mobile, etc. SPECIAL MEDIA TERMSEMBARGO- give information under 'embargo' if it's confidential until a certain time. POOL- release your photographs or TV-footage as a 'pool' so other reporters can also make use of them (not exclusive). OFF THE RECORD- Go 'off the record' if you don't want this information being quoted (but be aware that some journalists might not respect this - so be careful what you tell them). EXCLUSIVE- You can give a reporter an 'exclusive' story (one which you don't give to other reporters) if this might help to break the news. You might be able to give it to other reporters afterwards, but it's important to be careful. ATTENTION: TOO OFTEN FORGOTTEN 3. After the event:From experience we know that this is very often neglected.
The following companies were the largest donors to the Republican party
election campaign 2000, it excludes trade bodies or associations. More info: Center for Responsive Politics: www.opensecrets.org/overview/topcontribs.asp?Cycle=2000&Bkdn=DemRep
1. MBNA $3.0m |
Last update : October 2004 • Campaign and Press Enquiries