Boycotting was once an easy way to move a company to improve its product, treat its employees better, make more ethical decisions in purchasing the raw materials for its products, and to alter its impact on the environment. It was an effective tool. Boycott this company and its products and change could happen.
It's not so easy any more. Finding what company actually owns a product is convoluted and complicated - Lipton Tea, for instance, is a simple company with one major product - tea. Both Unilever Corp and PepsiCo own portions of Lipton Tea and dry soups. Unless you are boycotting both Unilever and PepsiCo, how do you determine what portion of Lipton Tea will you also boycott? In this case, it's slightly easier simply because of Lipton's itself - they have the "add water and make it yourself" line of products associated with Unilever, and the pre-made and bottled teas associated with PepsiCo. It's further simplified by the fact that both Unilever and PepsiCo are users of Monsanto materials, so if you are boycotting Monsanto, naturally you's boycott PepsiCo and Unilever and therefore Lipton teas and dry soups.
Of course, if you're boycotting Monsanto, it's far more complicated than that.
I saw a list that claimed to be a comprehensive list of products to boycott that used Monsanto's copyrighted seeds/products and realized it was not comprehensive at all and was out-dated. Some of the companies listed had merged with other companies or simply ceased to exist. A quick check of business references confirmed this. Since some of these companies are still in the process of merging or de-merging (why can't they just call it "splitting"?), I could accept that they might not be totally up-to-date yet, but when the merger/de-merger took place several years ago, I do expect the list compiler to have done some simple, basic research and cleared that all up.
Cadbury is one of those companies that merged, de-merged, merged again and is de-merging once more, and possibly they are de-merging in order to merge with someone else.
Keeping track of all the companies and all the products they spew out of their factories is a complicated and time-consuming job. Expecting busy people who want to be conscientious and supportive of the environment, society, and caring for the health and well-being of themselves and their families to keep track of all of this polymergerous business is unrealistic.
A boycott helps focus attention on the thing you feel needs changing, and it narrows and focuses attention so others don't have to spend all that time on it. Making your boycott as simple and reasonable as possible will help them and you.
If you decide a company needs to be boycotted, for whatever reason, here are the steps I've learned will both help you get through the boycott and to make the boycott as effective as possible.
Here's how to boycott:
Research
Create a plan of action
Contact the company you are boycotting
Do not annoy the lower level employees
Tell others who and why you are boycotting
Hand out cards or fliers
Talk to the company's suppliers, buyers, and businesses that contribute to their success
Organize a petition
Be polite
Be honest
Be factual
Stay focused
Be persistent and patient
Walk your talk
Research is the most important step of boycotting. If you get your facts wrong the whole boycott falls apart and it makes it harder for the next boycott to happen. Dig deep, dig hard, and line all those ducks up in a tidy row. Make sure it really is what you think it is before you act.
Create a plan of action - what do you hope to accomplish with this boycott, what change do you want to see happen? How can that change be accomplished? Who needs to make those changes? Who has the power in the company to listen to you and implement any changes? How will changing improve the business and/or increase profits? How will a change improve their community standing and image? When you create a boycott plan, do so from a positive position, one that is a win-win for everyone. Help the company see the winningness of any change you request.
Once you know what it is you are boycotting and why, contact the company you are boycotting and inform them. Don't mess around with the lower level employees, the ones you see in the front offices and counters and such - they have no power in the company and you accomplish nothing by talking to them at this point. Aim for the top. Be polite, focused, concise, and factual. Then move on to the next step.
After you have informed the company that you are boycotting them and why, tell others. Make cards or fliers and pass them out. Be polite, focused, concise, and factual. Can't stress that enough. Be calm, too. Tell everyone how making the change you want will benefit everyone. Be passionate, but refrain from yelling, violence, or aggressive behavior. Write letters to the editor, encourage others to join you in your boycott, use the internet judiciously. Facebook, websites, email, twitter, and other social media can help. Also print posters, make phone calls,
Avoid libel and slander. Consult an attorney to be sure you are steering clear of those. Documented facts help.
Speak to the businesses that supply the company, that buy from the company, and that contribute to the company's success. Tell them why you are boycotting and what change you hope will happen. Recruit them to your side, if possible.
Organize a petition and direct it to the person in the company with the most power. That's where your earlier research pays off. Make the message of the petition brief, factual, and focused. Make copies of the petition and find places where you can solicit signatures and spread the word. Make sure you have cards or fliers to give to everyone, whether they sign or not. Collect names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers. Depending on the scope of the problem, local ordinances may require a minimum number of signatures - again, this is where your research pays off.
When the petition is filled, make copies and send it in to the company to the person you've already identified as the one with the most power to listen and make the change.
In everything you do regarding the boycott, remain factual, focused, honest, and polite. Passion is good, violence and aggression are not. Document your facts. As long as you remain polite, you retain your power in the boycott.
Be persistent and patient. It can take a long time before the company feels the effects of your boycott, and maybe a longer time to react. Don't give up.
And while you are boycotting, don't purchase from the company you are boycotting. Stay abreast of new products so you don't accidentally break your boycott. If you do accidentally buy a new product the company makes, be honest about it and then stop buying it. Don't make excuses for breaking the boycott. It can be very hard to do this, especially if you are boycotting a huge company like Monsanto, who seems to have stuff everywhere!
Good luck with your boycott!