Companies I'm Boycotting

There are some organizations whose practices or products are counter to what I believe are good ethics or good quality. I'm certain that there are many more organizations out there who deserve to be avoided but I'm listing the ones below which have either directly affected me or my friends and can be easily documented.

Coors

For decades, the Coors family has been pumping money into right wing, anti-gay and anti-choice organizations. They of course have the right to put their money where they wish but so do I. Click here for more information.

ExxonMobil Corp.

In 1999, ExxonMobil repealed Mobil's gay & lesbian non-discrimination policy after the companies merged. Since that time, the corporation's board of directors has consistently refused shareholder resolutions to reinstate the original non-discrimination policy.

CompUSA

The management of CompUSA fired an employee for accompanying his fiancee to the hospital from a car accident rather than working his afternoon shift. No family disaster dare stand in the way of CompUSA profits. Click here for the fiancee's father's letter (PDF).

Ford

In 2000, I took my 1996 Ford Escort in to Ourisman Ford for routine servicing. I got it back, drove it less than 20 miles and the engine died violently. It seems that a piece of the engine fell into a cylinder, scoring it so badly the engine needed to be replaced with less than 64,000 miles on it. Coincidence that it happened immediately after the engine was worked on? Ford and Ourisman Ford both denied any form of responsibility. Indeed, Ford's customer support people informed me by telephone that I should anticipate extensive maintenance --including engine replacement-- on the Escort every 3-4 years and that if I had really cared about having a low maintenance car, I should have bought one of their high-end models instead. I took part of their advice: I scrapped the car, then bought a Honda Civic LX. I have only the highest praise for Honda's customer care, but then again, after Ford's treatment, even the Spanish Inquisition would rate highly on customer care.

Sandals Resorts

"Sandals Resorts accept heterosexual couples only." So much for equality and progress in the 21st century. See The Toronto Star's article on the issue, from May 29, 2004.