Which Brands Have You Quit Using and Why?
Go woke or go broke. I don't know if that'll be the actual outcome, but some temporary pain might be nice
I’ve always been one of those people who speaks up when things don’t seem fair or right. It got me into a lot of trouble when I worked in corporate America, which is part of the reason why I work for myself now. It also explains why my circle of friends has dwindled since I refused to shut up about the madness surrounding COVID and the vaccines.
But the way in which I or you or any of us protests against the bad things we see in the world doesn’t always have to be vocal. In many cases, the actions we take in private speak volumes about who we are, what we believe in, and what we value.
I’d like to think it says something to the companies we quit using, too, but I don’t know if that’s really true. Except maybe in this most recent case…
I’ve been thinking about this a lot ever since PayPal updated its policy to include a $2,500 fine for users committing the always generic sin of “misinformation”. And then almost immediately rescinding that fine, claiming that was never their intention.
Bull.
Shit.
I’ve been using PayPal in my freelancing business to issue invoices and process payments since 2013. I am not thrilled at the idea of having to find a new solution after all this time. But I will because, seriously, fuck those guys. Just as they have a right to name themselves the arbiters of misinformation and to assess a fee to their users, we have a right to leave them in the dust.
I’m not going to lie, though, I’m getting really tired of this. In just the last few years, I’ve quit spending money with the following companies and/or using their platforms:
Amazon
Zappos
Walmart
Facebook
YouTube
Netflix
Hulu
Spotify
Instacart
DoorDash
Whole Foods
Starbucks
Wikipedia
Delta
And those are just the big name companies I’ve pulled away from. There are so many random brands that I once loved that I had to pull away from after they showed their woke and authoritarian colors.
Who else has been doing this? Which companies have you kicked to the curb? And what was your breaking point?
By the way, if you’re wondering which companies to boycott in your own life, the International Liberty Forum has a good list of WEF-supported brands to ditch now.