Boycotting Household Products Because of Politics? Add Georgia-Pacific to That List
When it comes to making everyday purchases for your home, boycotting certain products out of politics can often feel like you're going down the rabbit hole.
No matter what cause you champion, whether it's anti-factory farming or pro-GMO labeling, there's bound to be a brand you use every day that suddenly surfaces as an evil money-making machine for the powers that be. And that's when you have to decide which battle to pick.
Take, for example, Eden Organics, which we've dubbed the food world's Hobby Lobby. The company came under fire last year after CEO Michael Potter refused contraceptive coverage for employees and ran his mouth in a series of misguided rants to Salon.
If you care about GMO labeling, you may also care to know which companies were against it in 2012. Together, some of the world's biggest brands (Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo, among many others) contributed millions of dollars to defeat Prop 37.
Then there's the never ending fight against biotech behemoth Monsanto, whose reach in the marketplace is so vast, it prompted an app called Buycott to discern just who exactly is behind many of the consumer goods we buy on a daily basis.
With the recent news that the Koch brothers unveiled an $889 million budget for the upcoming 2016 elections, we have reason to worry. In modern politics, that's more than just a lot of money. It's about the same amount the entire national Republican Party spent in the last presidential cycle four years ago. And, it's double what Charles and David Koch (and their various entities) spent to buy off elections in 2012.
We've covered Koch Industries and its power in politics here and here, but it's often not clear how we as consumers can avoid fueling the Koch machine.
The next time you stock up on toilet paper, see which brand you're reaching for. Is it Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, or Soft 'n Gentle? All of them are made by Georgia-Pacific, a Koch company, as are Brawny paper towels and Dixie cups. You may or may not want to pick this particular battle, but you should at least be aware of where your money is going. After all, in this day and age, money is politics.
(And if you want to find out which other products do or don't align with your values, download the Buycott app for a real eye-opener.)
