I’ve recently learned of a new site, the Boycott Toolkit, which is a user based tool for organizing consumer based protests. Organized according to issue, the site both provides links to companies to boycott and producers to support, providing direct links to information for both. It is an impressive tool, maintained by a user community.
I must say, though, that in this age of global, corporate capitalism, I am often puzzled by how one orchestrates and effective boycott. We live in an era in which big, multinational corporations own dozens of companies which in turn control dozens of brands. And brands are now a commodity in themselves, licensed to companies that have no relation to the product originally associate with it. If Coca-Cola manufactured or controlled every product that is sold bearing its logo with legal license to do so, it would have to have to have business in virtually every industry available, from clothing to toys and sports equipment.