Consumers all over the United States are choosing to put their money where their mouth is through company boycotts.
While the reasons behind these boycotts fluctuate over the years, the more recent wave is over the elimination of certain hiring policies. Several large franchises, such as Target and Walmart, have removed DEI—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—from their policies, as it is no longer a federal mandate. Other U.S. companies–such as Meta platforms, Google, and Amazon–are also rolling back their DEI initiatives. Resulting from this, consumers planned to avoid buying products from these specific companies, fearing that the removal of DEI will lead to discrimination within companies.
The buzz has been all over social media, claiming that a boycott was planned to occur on Feb. 28. These social media posts were urging consumers to abstain from purchasing at major retailer companies. They were also encouraged to only buy necessities from small businesses. But, the question remains: Will boycotting work to create change?
While several consumers pledged not to make purchases during the 24-hour period, Amazon sales remained above average. According to Forbes Magazine, “For Amazon, maintaining steady sales during this initial boycott demonstrates the platform’s resilience to short-term consumer activism efforts.” Thus, activists are doubling down, planning numerous, week-long Nationwide Economic Blackouts, hoping they will provide a more sustained test of their effectiveness–as the Feb. 28 economic boycott did not appear to impact consumer spending greatly.
Although some may not engage in these boycotts, others have taken the initiative to promote their decision to do so. Junior Angel Bravo notes that he has avoided shopping at retail stores that have removed DEI from their policies and started shopping at alternative shops. Bravo states, “They’ll lose the profit they get from certain communities and get attention from separate communities that agree with them.”
Many, however, believe that boycotting will not necessarily have a great effect on society. Bravo fears this may be true, as well. “I didn’t think the boycott would create a large change. Although these companies deserve to be boycotted and put into a negative light, they will never really feel the negative effect due to their monopolies covering them wherever they fail.”
In contrast, some hold the opinion that boycotting when necessary will, indeed, have a powerful impact on the economy. Economics teacher Mrs. Erin Hartman enthusiastically says, “I think boycotts always send a message to the corporations that are affected. We’ve seen people across the political spectrum boycotting various businesses for various reasons in the last few years, and I think the mark is always felt.”
Consumers have their own personal preferences on how they believe companies should be regulated. Hartman adds, “I think it is wonderful to live in a free country where we can peacefully express our opinions in the way we see fit. Consumers should absolutely act on their conscience.” If those consumers believe corporations are wrong in regards to DEI, they should absolutely boycott those corporations, Hartman says. Adding onto that, Bravo believes that consumers should boycott, care, and empathize.
While the boycott may not have inflicted a significant change in the economy, there are several opportunities to contribute, when one is willing to express his or her convictions.
