Six

“I’m going for coffee, do you want me to grab you anything? I’m going to Starbucks.”

That’s how Tawny started the day yesterday. I hate when people mention certain companies combined the idea of joining. Then I am obligated to say I don’t shop at that store, or use those products. I am always faced with the “why not” question.

The reason is that they are one of my six.

Yeah, I boycott six companies. I would like to boycott every company that I think is terrible, but let’s face it, that would be the vast majority of companies. I don’t expect my lack of money spent will influence these companies in any such way, but hey, I like to feel superior. Yup, big old superiority complex and I don’t feel bad about it in the slightest.

1. It all started in 2000. I don’t remember the exact details but I remember going to McDonalds and coming out with a conviction. I used to love McDonalds, in the adolescent way of loving everything “cool”. But somewhere along the way I realized that every time I ate at McDonalds, I came out feeling shitty. Greasy. Disgusting. So I stopped. It’s been 7 years and the smell of McDonalds fries wafting on the breeze (how does McDonalds do it? You can smell those fries for miles!) can make me feel nauseous. I have since become a vegetarian and with the exception of Subway (which hasn’t made me feel very good the last few times I went), I no longer spend money at any of the major fast food venues. I won’t even buy a drink. And I feel damn good about that.
2. If you want to see the ugliest face I can make, just mention the word – WALMART! It’s making me shudder even to type it. I hate everything about Walmart. I hate that they make more money than most countries in the world, but they still bully companies. By that I mean, if a company wants to charge higher prices so they don’t employ children or sweat shop labour, Walmart will stop buying from them, effectively forcing them to use terrible labour practices. Heaven forbid that some American pays 2 cents more, who cares about Chinese children. I hate that they place their huge ugly stores on the outskirts of town, leading to urban sprawl, and increased traffic. I hate that Walmart is the scene of consumerism at its worst, low paid employees and frenzied shoppers. I hate that Walmart doesn’t feel the need to pay female employees the same as male, or have females as managers. I could go on, but really, I just HATE everything to do with Walmart. I won’t even go in their stores, because the lights, I swear, inspire a fog of the mind that puts you in the perfect mode to buy, buy, buy without thinking. Of all things in the world, I hate Walmart the most. End of statement.
3. Coming from a former b-baller, it may be strange that I don’t buy from Nike. I used to. I used to have new basketball runners every year and I insisted on Nike. Jordan knows best, can’t argue with him. All my workout gear was Nike. But really, everyone knows that despite huge profits the people who make the shoes only make pennies. I can’t have that on my conscience. Now, nothing I own has Nike and I try to steer clear of all major athletic brands that choose to pay huge endorsements to whiny basketball stars rather than their own workers.
4. Shell is a terrible company and they don’t even try to hide it. In a day and age when alternative fuels have become a catch phrase, Shell doesn’t even pretend to care. It reeks havoc in South America all for the all mighty dollar. A geologist who was investigating Shell in the Amazon went mysteriously missing. Coincidence? I don’t know. I’d rather get an empty tank and have to push my car for kilometers than fill up at a Shell station. But, I don’t own a car, so I really don’t have to worry much about this one.
5. Starbucks. Why is it suddenly the thing, to walk around in Lululemon gear and have a Starbucks coffee cup in your hand? When did Starbucks become the status symbol for young urbans? Why are there 5 Starbucks in downtown Victoria alone? Starbucks in theory should be good. They support fair-trade. But from what I understand, it’s one hardly bought coffee a month. Why support fair-trade and then put three stores that run at a loss around a local funky shop? I don’t drink Starbucks but I hear it isn’t even good coffee. Why is it everywhere then? I swear, it’s a conspiracy. Just wish I could figure out what kind of conspiracy.
6. This is my newest one, and it makes me so sad to say it but here goes – Cadbury. Cadbury, the makers of so many delicious chocolate creations. Cadbury, the company that employs child labour in the Ivory Coast. I can not in good conscious buy from a company that dose that. Even if they do make those tiny eggs at Easter. And so many of the chocolates at Halloween. I’m proud to say, that there were tons of Cadbury around the office the other day and I didn’t partake. I did eat other candy which is bad, because Cadbury isn’t the only company that uses children to harvest cocoa. It’s just the first one I heard about.

Hey, I don’t expect you to join in my boycotts. Just don’t expect me to join in your merry displays of consumerism gone bad. Don’t even expect me to join in the using of the air of some of these places. I’m stubborn. And damn proud of it.

So needless to say, I didn’t get anything when Tawny offered. What’s the point of having convictions if you cave when someone else offers to get something for you? Fortunately, being lazy goes nicely with convictions, or at least mine, because to fulfill them, I don't do anything.

S.