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 boycotts
Apartheid
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.
You can find more significant boycott
victories in Co-op America's Boycott
Organizer's Guide (See: Further Reading).
C. The Power of Boycott
Well-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