Consumer Boycotts

A boycott is a form of consumer activism that involves voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons. The word entered the English lexicon during the Irish Land War and is based on the name of Captain Charles Boycott, the estate agent of an absentee, who was subject to ostracism organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. That year, protesting tenants demanded a substantial reduction in rent from Boycott, who not only refused but also evicted them from the land. Rather than resorting to violence, everyone in the locality refused to deal with him—local businessmen stopped trading with him, and even the local postman refused to deliver his mail. The boycott continued for some time, and it was used by The Times of London in November 1880 as a term for organized isolation. Captain Boycott withdrew to England in December 1880.

Even though the term was coined in 1880, the practice dates back to much earlier times. Americans boycotted British goods during the American Revolution. In 1830, the National Negro Convention encouraged a boycott of slave-produced goods. Later examples of boycotts were the use by African Americans during the U.S. civil rights movement and the United Farm Workers union grape and lettuce boycotts; Indians, organized by Mohandas Gandhi, boycotted British goods in the early 20th century; and the Jewish boycott against Henry Ford in the 1920s was also a success story.

Around 40 percent of Fortune 50 companies are shown to be boycotted at any given time, and research has demonstrated that their sales can plummet by 10 to 40 percent in the next six to 12 months after a boycott against them has been called. Organizations such as Nestlé (criticized for marketing breast milk substitutes), Nike (criticized for unfair labor practices in Asia), KFC (for allegedly mistreating chickens), Levi-Strauss (for closing production facilities), and Target (targeted for not using the words “Merry Christmas” in their advertising) have all been the victims of boycotts in recent years.