As mentioned in my “Let’s Boycott Companies That Support ICE” article, Home Depot & Lowe’s share license plate data from Flock cameras at their stores with law enforcement agencies. While ICE technically doesn’t use Flock, local law enforcement will often search license place data in Flock for ICE. ICE raids have taken place at several Home Depot and Lowe’s locations as well.
Beyond ties to ICE enforcement, Home Depot has a long history of pushing conservative agendas and donating to Republicans (they have their own Super PAC, wtf?!). While Lowe’s is traditionally considered the “left” leaning of the two, they torched their DEI program in 2024 after pressure from right-wing groups.
I’ve recommended Ace Hardware & DoItBest/TrueValue in the past as an alternative to these companies, but they don’t always have everything that you’d find at a larger retailer like Home Depot/Lowe’s, and I know that sometimes local Aces or DoItBests can have Trump-loving owners. So – onto even MORE options!
I will also be continuing my De-Google series over the coming weeks, but occasionally switching between topics like this week’s article.
Stopping AI-Powered Government Surveillance: Following up from my article last week. Right now Jim Himes is trying to drum up support amongst his fellow Democrats to vote yes on the FISA re-authorization with no changes. You can take action directly through my Chilli account here. Follow me there to stay up to date – I’m continuing to add new actions as they’re relevant!
Listen to the latest episode of the Corporate Gossip podcast. Hosts Becca & Adam dive in on Larry Ellison and the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger, and I recorded a segment at the end for streaming alternatives.
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Outdoor Furniture: Here are C.O.T.S.-approved companies with outdoor options available from my furniture articles (part 1, part 2).
Secondhand Outdoor Furniture Options
Thrift stores & Buy Nothing Groups: Find your local thrift store by searching or check out TheThriftShopper.com. Buy Nothing Groups can be found on Facebook or through the Buy Nothing app.
Estate Sales: Find your local estate sale on EstateSales.net or EstateSales.org
Gardening Supplies: I am working on a refresh of my Gardening Supplies article as it was my first category that I researched. In the meantime, here is one employee-owned option: Gardeners.com.
Local Lumber Yards: Search for local lumber yards or local building materials stores to see what is near you.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore: Basically a thrift store for used furniture & building materials where you can find great deals.
What They Have: Selection at each store will vary based on donations, but in general they have building materials, furniture, appliances, and other items from home renovation projects.
Shipping? No, in-store only.
Harbor Freight: Home improvement store with a focus on tools & supplies versus construction or building materials.
The Details: Founded and owned by Eric Smidt. Harbor Freight spent $620K on lobbying from 2023-2025 on issues related to K-12 career & technical education and consumer product safety. Their lobbying spend seems to be in support of furthering and funding technical education based on this profile of Eric Smidt from LA Weekly. Of the $72K in employee and management contributions, ~94% went to Democrats. Harbor Freight does not seem to have a public diversity policy.
My thoughts: Normally I would not recommend a company that spent so much on lobbying, but it appears that Harbor Freight’s lobbying spend is directed to actually furthering technical education, not something that’s harmful to everyday folks or reducing regulations, etc.
What they have: Harbor Freight seems to be in between an Ace Hardware/DoItBest and Home Depot. They’re more tool and equipment focused than toilet and lumber focused, but seem to have wider inventory than Ace/DoItBest would in-store.
Store locations: Nationwide except Alaska & Hawaii.
Shipping? To all 50 states in the US, though Alaska and Hawaii may face restrictions or surcharges for larger items.
McMaster-Carr: Technically a B2B company but you can order online as an individual. McMaster-Carr’s catalog is extensive, so if you’re looking for a specific part I’d definitely check here. Their website also looks old-school, but people find it’s easy to use.
The Details: I can’t find a ton of sources for this, but by all accounts McMaster-Carr seems to be a privately held company. McMaster-Carr has not spent money on lobbying and approximately ~96% of federal contributions made by employees and management went to Democrats. McMaster-Carr supports inclusion & diversity.
What they have: I view McMaster-Carr as having everything a Home Depot/Lowes might have or even more, except for lumber. They even have furniture & storage, toilets & sinks, and office supplies.
Store locations: 5 locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, LA & NJ
Shipping? Yes, to US & Canada
MaxWarehouse: Online-only home improvement retailer.
The Details: According to their website, they are a privately-held Hispanic-owned business, and according to a UC Berkeley business school project that worked with them, they are owned by Grupo Cemaco, a Guatemalan retailer. MaxWarehouse does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy, though they are diverse-owned.
What they have: All the same categories as a Home Depot or Lowes, except lumber.
Store locations: None
Shipping? To the contiguous US states only.
Builder’s FirstSource: Building supplies for both DIYers and contractors.
The Details: Publicly traded with institutional investors as their largest shareholders. Builder’s FirstSource has not spent money on lobbying in the last three years, and supports diversity through employee-resource groups.
What they have: Building materials and services
Store locations: Nationwide with the exception of Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Illinois, Nebraska, Louisiana and Hawaii.
Shipping? They do offer job-site delivery services, but you can’t shop online.
Rockler: Rockler focuses on woodworking and woodworking supplies. You can find helpful items regardless of if you’re technically woodworking or not, depending on your needs and project.
The Details: Family-owned by the Rockler family. Rockler does not have a profile on OpenSecrets and supports inclusion & diversity.
What they have: Power tools, workshop items, hardware, wood (including lumber), and other items related to woodworking
Store locations: Mostly nationwide with the exception of some Southern states, north of Colorado & Kansas, and New Mexico.
Shipping? Yes, including to Hawaii & Alaska, though rates may be higher for those states and oversized items.
Hilti: Tool-focused retailer.
The Details: Family-owned company from Liechtenstein, with a North American headquarters in Texas. Hilti does not have a profile on OpenSecrets and supports DEI. The founder of Hilti, Martin Hilti, was involved with the Nazis during WWII, though I couldn’t find a ton of English sources that clearly state what he was doing, but has since publicly distanced himself.
My thoughts: While I don’t love the Nazi ties, I can’t find any evidence that that legacy has carried through to today.
What they have: Power tools & inserts, fasteners, tool storage, dust & water management, fire protection, measuring tools & scanners, modular support systems
Store locations: Mostly nationwide with the exception of North & South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana & Idaho.
Shipping: Generally seems expensive, though it looks like you can also do in-store pickup.
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Grainger: Best known as a tool manufacturer, but they also have a wide variety of products across home improvement categories.
The Details: Publicly traded company with institutional investors as their largest shareholders. Grainger has spent $360K on lobbying from 2023-2025, on issues related to the micro-purchasing threshold for the National Defense Authorization Act. Out of the $50K in employee and management contributions, ~74% went to Democrats. Grainger supports DEI and actually helps their B2B customers increase supplier diversity.
My Thoughts: I don’t love that they spent so much money on lobbying, but it seems like it was for a highly specific issue and the majority of their employee & management contributions went to Democrats. I was impressed by their Impact Report & their dedication to diversity, so put them in the questionable category versus Do Not Recommend.
What they have: Known for their power tools, they also have supplies for lighting and electrical, plumbing, HVAC, packaging & shipping, cleaning & maintenance gear.
Store locations: Nationwide
Shipping? Delivery to all 50 states.
Zoro: Online-only home improvement retailer with a wide range of inventory.
The Details: Zoro is owned by Grainger. Zoro supports inclusion & belonging.
What they have: All the same categories as a Home Depot or Lowes, except lumber.
Store locations: None, online-only
Shipping? Delivery to all 50 states.
Menards: Privately held and majority-owned by founder John Menard. Menards has not spent money on lobbying in the last three years and does not have a public diversity program. But Menards has tons of issues!
False Advertising for their 11% Rebate Program: Menards had to pay a $4.25 million multi-state settlement for deceptive marketing around their rebate program. Prosecutors successfully proved that using terms like “11% off” or “11% off everything” was false advertising, as the 11% is a store-credit for a future purchase, not an actual discount.
Anti-Union Behavior: National Labor Relations Board violations, including threatening to reduce manager pay by 60% if their store/s unionize.
Poor Employee Treatment: Menards had to pay a former employee $342K for not taking action after a customer kept sexually harassing an 18-year-old female employee.
John Menard Himself: Not only does Menard support Trump and Republicans, donate to anti-union programs from the Koch brothers, but he also allegedly sexually harasses women!
84 Lumber: Owned by Maggie Hardy, whose father Joe started the company. 84 Lumber has not spent money on lobbying, but Maggie and Joe Hardy have spent $17.5K on individual donations (aka their own money, not the company’s) to Republicans since 2022. In 2017, Maggie Hardy and 84 Lumber tried to air a pro-immigration ad during the Super Bowl, but Fox rejected parts of it. When interviewed, Hardy said she was pro-Trump, pro-border wall, and voted for him in 2016, despite the ad’s content. I haven’t found any information on her current stance on Trump, and none of the political donations the Hardys have made since 2022 were to Trump directly. 84 Lumber is committed to diversity and supports it through policies and training.
CPO Commerce: Acquired by Essendant, formerly United Stationers Supply Co., in 2014. Essendant was then acquired by Staples in 2019. Staples is owned by private equity firm Sycamore partners.
Tractor Supply: torched their DEI program in 2024 despite having a strong queer customer-base after a right-wing pressure campaign.
Hope you found this helpful!
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