Joining The Rest of the World

"The American public can register their opinions at the ballot box, but for the rest of the world, all we can do is register our opinions via the marketplace."
Gerd Leipold, Greenpeace International Executive Director, April 2001

Since it appears our opinions don't seem to register on Diebold machines, our new improved ballot box, I think it's time we instead join the rest of the world.

Bob has a great lead-in post reflecting ideas I'd like to begin working with. I'll quote a snippet but please go read it and bookmark the links he offers. They are very helpful resources.

If you don't have time to explore these books and web sites, just remember this: Money is power (more or less), and when you buy Nikes at Wal-Mart or a new Chevrolet or a Big Mac or a tankful of gas, you are taking some of your power and giving it to one or more evil corporations who helped get Bush re-elected. You are also helping to destroy the environment, and are undercutting decent wages for people everywhere. In our current society, some of these purchases are unavoidable. But we should strive to avoid all unnecessary purchases that we can.

I'll begin with basic ideas, ideas many of us just may not think about, and offer web resources that have already done some research.

With the help of cs of not watching television, we will try to identify and highlight companies who manufacture or sell only items produced by folks with worker protections and by companies that are actively working to promote the progressive movement. Please feel free to join us!

Today I'll leave you with 3 links for you to consider:

Community Gardens by State, Province, and Country: Local produce

Conscious Consumer Marketplace: A searchable guide of environmentally and socially responsible versions of everyday items directing you to the nearest local or online source

Working Assets: Long distance and wireless phone service by the folks that give us all the great Act for Change actions, offer a selection of Shop for Change online stores, but best of all, donate a portion of your charges to progressive causes. If you, like me, are still using a land line for long distance, it's very simple to cut those strings to AT&T, SBC, or whatever big corporation handles your charges and give painlessly.

The following are companies to avoid doing business with:

Top 25 Republican Party donors (1999-2003) with global consumer brands

1 Altria (formerly Philip Morris) $6.5m
2 AT&T $5.36m
3 Microsoft Corp. $5.12m
4 United Parcel Services $4.48m
5 MBNA $4.38m
6 Citigroup $3.93m
7 Pfizer $3.9m
8 FedEx Corp. $3.4m
9 Bristol-Myers Squibb $3.4m
10 GlaxoSmithKline $3m
11 Wal-Mart $2.85m
12 General Electric $2.58m
13 ExxonMobil $2.35m
14 AOL Time Warner $2.31m
15 Anheuser Busch $2.23m
16 ChevronTexaco $2.2m
17 PepsiCo $1.9m
18 Schering Plough $1.8m
19 Archer Daniels Midland $1.8m
20 Wyeth (formerly American Home Products)$1.74m
21 Alticor Inc. $1.7m
22 American Airlines $1.62m
23 Ford $1.52m
24 BP Amoco $1.25m
25 Disney $1.25m

posted by Cyndy | link | | |
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