Boycotts can be a useful tool for consumers to exercise their democratic rights. So what is a boycott, are boycotts useful, and when are they ethical?
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Campaigners have long used boycotting as a tactic to help them achieve their goals. It’s helped create progress around issues like racial justice, human rights and fair treatment of other animals.
This list contains examples of companies changing their practices following a boycott campaign. However, it’s worth noting that companies rarely confirm whether their decisions to change their activities were a direct result of campaigners’ efforts.
Historical boycotts
Boycotting as a campaigning technique has a long history.
One of the earliest examples of a successful campaign was the boycott in England of sugar produced by slaves. In 1791, after Parliament refused to abolish slavery, thousands of pamphlets were printed encouraging the boycott. Sales of sugar dropped by between a third and a half. By contrast sales of Indian sugar, untainted by slavery, rose tenfold in two years. In an early example of fair trade, shops began selling sugar guaranteed to have been produced by 'free men'.
Perhaps the most famous boycott was against South Africa in opposition to the apartheid. South African exiles and their supporters called for a boycott of products from South Africa in 1959 – in protest against the racial segregation enforced by white colonial politicians and discrimination and violence against Black people in the country. The boycott initially focused on fruit and vegetables, but later targeted chains like Marks & Spencer and Next – causing some companies to pull South African products from their shelves. For the next 35 years, the boycott was a central part of the anti-apartheid campaign. After decades of grassroots organising – as well as pressure from international leaders – apartheid was ended in 1994.
The Alabama bus boycott is another famous historical example. In 1955 Rosa Parks refused a bus driver's order to leave a row of four seats in the "colored" section and move to the back of the bus after the white section had filled up. Her defiance sparked a successful boycott of buses in the area, with residents instead carpooling, riding in Black-owned cabs, or walking, some as far as 20 miles. It caused the bus company's profits to crash, as dozens of public buses stood idle for months. The company lost between 30,000 and 40,000 bus fares each day during the boycott.
