How to Boycott a Company

Boycotts have been recorded as a practice since the early 1800's, and they are usually done in response to a particular thing that needs to be changed.If you find a practice that is unethical within a company or you hear something that should be changed about an organization that they do not respond to, boycotting is a way of having your voice heard loud and clear!I'll show you how to successfully boycott a company. Doing this can bring about business and social change!

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Research. Check your facts and sources with one another to make sure you have the truth. Call the company or organization yourself with questions about the cause or concern that is upsetting you and inspiring you to consider a boycott. Beware and be careful of a company's response as it will often be "PR" fluff. Get the facts, and you are on your way!

2. Once you realize a boycott is the right thing to do, make the choice and stick with it. Don't buy anything more from the company until they meet the demands and reasons of the boycott. Stop patronizing the business in any form. Make no monetary or personal contribution to it in any way.

3. Talk the talk. Make your voice heard if you are boycotting a company. It is most effective to use all possible means of communication with a company. Call, e-mail, fax, stop by in person to voice your opinion, post on their online message boards, and send a letter via the post office. The more they hear your truth, the more they are likely to listen.

4. Spread the word. By writing to the editors of local magazines and newspapers, you will influence the opinions of others. Talk about it to every single one of your family and friends. They will spread the word, and it will spiral. There is significant strength in numbers. Encourage them to do all that is outlined in Step 3.

5. Make cards or fliers. Hand these out to people who give business to the company you are boycotting. Find out where you can legally stand near the building in the way of their traffic, and target peak hours where you can reach the most people. You want to use your precious time devoted to your cause in the most effective way possible.

6. Talk to their suppliers and the business who help contribute to their success. Find out if they are aware of the boycott and the reasons behind it. Ask them their opinion. Likely weary and afraid of the boycott themselves, or hopefully a company with a conscience, they will get behind you in your boycott.

7. Walk the walk. Make no exception to your boycott. Not only can this destroy your voice and credibility in standing up for what you believe in, but the funds keep the company going as though the boycott doesn't matter at all. If they are hit in the pocket books, they will certainly listen to you.

Tips & Warnings

• Be polite in your communication with them. This keeps your power in tact.
• Be direct and to the point at all times in a boycott.
• Know your facts before you speak out. Nothing shows up an unprepared or uninformed person like hesitating to answer the basics.
• Realize that employees of a company often have no true power. Don't waste your time antagonizing them.
• Focus on what you want to accomplish with your boycott.
• Don't jump on a bandwagon. Make sure you know what you are standing up for when you participate in a boycott.
• Never yell or resort to any kind of physical or verbal abuse against the company or its supporters and owners.
• Don't be rude to those who choose to ignore your boycott. Inform and move on.