Resistance to the Left’s chokehold on corporate America often seems futile. If every airline, bank, and oil company supports ESG, where can I fly, fill up my tank, or keep my money? If I boycott Target… is it really any better to keep shopping at Amazon or Walmart?
When I first started boycotting specific brands, it almost felt childish—“like my little hundred dollar purchases here and there are going to take down Ulta,” I thought, but then I realized shutting down companies was not my goal.
While I stand with those who gleefully note the hits Bud Light and Target have taken to their bottom lines this year (sending companies the clear message: “go woke, go broke”), personally, snubbing a range of companies and brands is about reclaiming my dignity.
“Voting with my dollars” to support companies with missions and objectives openly hostile to my values eroded my self-respect. Every time I bought Pampers for my extremely sensitive-skinned baby, I knew I was saying “what you’re doing is just fine with me” to a company that funds Planned Parenthood. Every time I bought Seventh Generation laundry soap, I supported a brand that smeared law enforcement and funded the extremely-corrupt and racially divisive BLM.
Those small decisions every single day made me feel like a hypocrite.
The choice to boycott hasn’t been easy. When I deleted my Target account I had to call a 1-800 number and tell a human being what I was doing and why. My voice shook a little as I made sure that person understood I wasn’t some radical right-winger who had been hoodwinked by Instagram memes. I wanted this person to know I was a normal mom frustrated by the fact that when “voting” on the Target app for charities, I always had to choose the lesser of many evils (since zero conservative organizations were represented there). I made sure to tell the person that their clothes are manufactured in countries with abysmal human rights records and that their “greenwashing” products to get people to pay higher prices for basic necessities is appalling. I could go on—in fact, I had a dozen reasons to boycott them long before Target started marketing chest binders and tucking bathing suits to children. That was just the final straw.
And while leftists mock conservatives for their silly little boycotts, they’ve never had a problem engaging in them. Let’s not forget the great Chick-fil-a boycott of 2012 (the same year the company reported record profits) or the spectacularly-failed Goya boycott of 2020. While celebrity-fueled campaigns to take down wayward brands so frequently end up boosting sales, activists claim the point for them is a clear conscience. So if the political left boycotts companies for stepping a toe out of line from the accepted ideology, why should conservatives be embarrassed to do the same (especially when our boycotts… actually seem to work)?
Like most American women, I’ve always had the purchasing power in my home. In fact, 75% of women identify themselves as the primary shopper for their household. 85% of all consumer purchases in the U.S. are made by women—and that number soars to 93% for food purchases. Talk about girl power!
Keeping track of each company’s values and record can feel like a full-time job. Thankfully, conservatives have stepped up in the face of woke corporations (thanks, free market!) and many influencers have helpfully compiled lists of companies we should avoid—as well as those with products made in America, that are ethically sourced, and whose mission actually aligns with our values.
A new diaper brand actually just launched this week offering an alternative to major brands who contribute to causes that conflict with my values. Everylife diapers are brought to you by “men and women who are joyful about raising children, celebrating life, and championing parenthood…” Sign me UP!
Am I perfect with my purchases? Not always—but I no longer feel nagging guilt that I’m forking over my family’s hard-earned money to people who literally hate us. It feels good to support businesses that do support my values.
And just as some corporations are feeling the heat from boycotts, it’s heartening to see big business snap out of it and start finally backing away from their ESG addiction. I’m eager to see how the free market responds to Public Square—the patriotic, anti-ESG alternative to Amazon that just went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
These might seem like small steps in the right direction—but Americans are finally starting to get back what woke corporations have systematically taken from them in the last decades: Our choice.
And our dignity is sure to follow.