I’ve gotten some questions about boycotting from my videos that I thought would be worth addressing in an overview. If you have more questions beyond what I’ve covered here, let me know in the comments!
In case you missed it, I was live on Substack yesterday with and . We had a great conversation about the difference between a boycott and a migration, why things are so frustrating now, and how I got my “boots with the fur” repaired 🤣
Join me on Zoom! I’ll be on The Citizens Assembly call on Sunday March 15th (1pm EST) with Blackout the System to talk through my work and approach. You can find the Zoom link on their website.
At the end of the day, we’re people trying to get good and services in an economy that is dominated by corporations who do not have your best interests in mind. There has been a decades-long shift from small & mid-size local businesses to massive multinational corporations. Take Walmart as an example – they have aggressively grown their store footprint to the detriment of local businesses and communities, where now they are often the only retailer in town in some areas.
We are in a situation where depending on where you live, your financial status, disability or other concerns you may not be able to fully boycott a certain company or service. If you can’t – that’s okay.
Do not guilt-trip yourself or accept shaming from others because you can’t do something perfectly. Any reduction in spend or usage with badly behaving companies is still impactful, and there are other ways to fight back. Boycotting is only one piece of the resistance puzzle.
People have also commented about how they work at companies that support ICE but can’t quit – no one is asking you to quit your job, and if they are, they probably haven’t had to find a new job in awhile. The job market is dismal right now and it’s hard enough to find a job at all, let alone one at a good or decent company. So as far as I’m concerned, if you work at a “bad” company, you don’t have to quit. If you work at Amazon for example, you could get involved with unionizing efforts as a way to fight back instead of quitting. But if you want to find new employment, that’s great!
As for Cut Off the Spigot – I share these alternatives as a resource to you to make your own choices, not as a means to tell you exactly what to do. I cannot know everyone’s exact circumstances or situation, and as such, I cannot judge people.
I trust you to know when to push yourself to find an alternative, and when to throw in the towel and accept it is what it is. I do recommend however not to make assumptions about what alternatives are out there, and always at least search/look for options before giving up. I’ve found local stores that have what I need that I didn’t even realize were there!
You have control over your own spending, but you can’t control a lot of other factors, like the purchase and service choices of others. On an individual level, it’s best to focus on where your money is directly going and what choices you can make.
If a small business uses FedEx to ship their goods for example – you don’t know if they’ve had a contract in place that they can’t easily get out of, or maybe FedEx offers them the best rates and they need to offer lower-cost shipping to remain competitive. But you can decide to buy your cleaning supplies from that small business versus Amazon/Target/Walmart, which I feel like is a bigger win.
Similarly, if your school or work uses Amazon or Google for a lot of services, it’s okay if you can’t boycott them directly because the larger organization is making the purchasing and service decisions.
However, if there are larger institutional changes you want to make, start getting involved with other people or existing local organizations if there are any. This is where solidarity and organizing comes in.
For example, let’s say your town has a contract with ICE or a data center proposal on the table. Connect with other concerned neighbors and locals to work together to attend meetings, drum up broader support, and other methods to get them to cancel the contract or proposal.
Cut Off the Spigot is entirely community-funded. Subscriptions start at $5/mo on BuyMeACoffee and $8/mo on Substack – and you get a merch discount if you sign up before 3/31/26!
Start with what matters to you and what you care about – maybe ICE is your biggest concern, or the environment and climate change. What makes you so frustrated or angry that you want to take action? What inspires you?
Once you’ve found what matters most to you – pick one or two things to change and build from there. Don’t try to change everything at once. It’s better to build changes you can maintain and sustain than quick one-day or multi-day boycotts. We’re in this for the long-haul, and it’s better to go low and slow than flame out in a month and be frustrated.
It took me a good three months to get off of Amazon completely, and I’m glad I didn’t rush it. If I had, I think I would have gotten overwhelmed and ended up running back to Amazon which I absolutely did not want to do!
For digital products & services, you also don’t need to delete the app or your account right away while you’re making a transition. It can be helpful to keep your account for a bit as a reference in case you need to pull some info. But if you’ve gotten all you need out of the app/etc, feel free to delete!
If you have something that you previously purchased from a not-so-great company and it functions well and you still use it, there’s generally no need to donate it or throw it away.
For example, you might have Ikea furniture that still works great, but Ikea isn’t great. Keep the bookcase instead of replacing it. They already got your money, so what’s the point of you spending even more money to replace it with something else?
The one exception I would make for this is for Ring security cameras and similar products/services, because the inherent nature of the product (security video footage that can be utilized for AI scans) is bad.
And of course, if you have the means and are able to replace it easily and you’ll feel better for having done so, go ahead! (Donate physical goods if they’re in good condition too!)
Maybe you’re driving somewhere and the only place open late at night is McDonalds. You need to eat – it’s okay to go there. With prep and determination you can avoid a lot of these companies, but it’s okay if you fall short sometimes. Just pick yourself up and keep going instead of shaming yourself for not doing something perfectly.
You do not (and should not) need to spend all of your time and energy on boycotting, you need to keep yourself sane too! Take time to recharge, hang out with friends, go dancing, have fun! Joy is a form of resistance.
There are so many other parts to resistance work beyond boycotting. If you can’t make a ton of changes to your spending habits, check out some of the other ways to fight back.
I go into detail on each of these in one of my previous articles, so check that out if you have questions or want more info. You can also check out my article on What to Do If You Can’t Participate in the General Strike for other ways to support & fight back.
Build Community Locally: Get to know your neighbors! From what we’ve seen in Minneapolis, having local connections is so important if/when things go down.
Build Resistance Together: Join local organizations or groups fighting for change. Maybe you can’t go to every protest, but you can write an email, make a social media graphic, or other support. There are a lot of ways to help organizations beyond what you may think!
Join Progressive Organizations: I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) because it’s an easy way to jump in and get involved with promoting the change I’d like to see in my city and state. DSA leaders know how to get things done (hey, we got Zohran to win!) and through my work with them I’ve learned a ton about political organizing.
Beyond DSA, there are organizations like Working Families Party, 50501, Blackout the System, May Day Strong, Leaders We Deserve, and others.
Start or Join a Union: We have power as individuals but it grows exponentially with solidarity across groups. If you have an option to join a union, whether for work or as a tenant, definitely do so! If you don’t have one but feel that there’s a need for it, start one!
Contact Your Local, State, & Federal Representatives: I know it can feel like screaming into the void, but if we don’t make our voices heard they’ll just keep doing what they’re doing. This is still an important piece!
Run for Office: Maybe you can’t launch a federal campaign right now, but there are plenty of local offices with direct impact where we need progressives. For example – your local school board! These positions are important to how local areas run and can have an outsized impact for your community.
CutOffTheSpigot.com is a wonderful resource 😊 Check out the Articles page to search & see if I’ve covered something, or browse the Resources page to find tons of helpful links. You can also Make a Request for Cut Off the Spigot to cover a particular company or topic.
Boycotting decisions should be made using accurate, confirmed information, not rumor or misinformation. If you’re doing your own research, make sure you are checking sources to ensure they’re accurate.
Media Literacy Resources
Guide from University of Oregon on Evaluating Sources with methods like SIFT and E.S.C.A.P.E.
Resource Portal from Monmouth University on evaluating sources and avoiding misinformation, including the Cranky Uncle game
If you are utilizing generative AI like ChatGPT (alternatives coming next Friday!), or Google’s AI results, double check all sources, do not assume what is in the summary is correct. I have often found the AI summaries are wrong once I click through on the source links.
Company Ownership: Search “[company name] ownership” or “[company name] acquisition” to see what results come up and go from there.
If companies are publicly traded, I like MarketScreener for their stock ownership info.
If you want to see if a company has venture capital or other investors, my recommended source is PitchBook. You can’t search on their site without a subscription, but if you use a search engine and enter “[company name] pitchbook” it’ll come up and be viewable for free.
You can also search terms like “[company name] investors” or “[company name] venture capital” to see if there are any news articles or other sources that come up.
Lobbying Spend: OpenSecrets.org
OpenSecrets.org is fully transparent and shares detailed information including lobbying reports. You can even search by an individual name to look up how executives, owners and founders are spending money politically.
I do not recommend GoodsUniteUs. Their information doesn’t include any way to drill down further, nor a time period of when these donations were happening, and can often be inaccurate. Their recommendations are also incredibly questionable – on the TJMaxx page they recommend Hobby Lobby as an alternative which is crazy.
Boycotting Tools: Boycat.io
Boycat: Helpful, searchable platform to quickly look up companies, with information on why they’re not recommended. With their app you can scan items while you’re in the store.
Available On: Web, Browser Extensions (Chrome, Firefox), iOS, Android
Next week I’ll be kicking off my De-Google series with Search Engine & ChatGPT/Google Gemini alternatives.
Cut Off the Spigot is entirely community-funded. Subscriptions start at $5/mo on BuyMeACoffee and $8/mo on Substack – and you get a merch discount if you sign up before 3/31/26!
Check out CutOffTheSpigot.com for resources, merch, and more!
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