Who should we be boycotting?

[RickH]

Dyson.

well a recent BBC report on those who paid the most tax put him in the list.So maybe atleast he isnt tax avoider like some of the rich? maybe need to boycott those celebs in the BBC with their private company finace deals who pay very little?

Although an item this week on the BBC News website suggests the "bad guys" were really the BBC as they insisted on stars using private companies to continue working for them (presumably to limit BBC liabilities over tax, NI, etc.) - BBC director general Tony Hall apologises to stars over tax.

[rjb]

Dyson.

well a recent BBC report on those who paid the most tax put him in the list.So maybe atleast he isnt tax avoider like some of the rich? maybe need to boycott those celebs in the BBC with their private company finace deals who pay very little?

Almost the entire population are tax avoiders. Do you use your personal allowance to avoid paying tax. I don't mind admitting to this perfectly legal tax avoidance. Tax evasion however is an entirely different thing which is a criminal offence.

[Sweep]

Dyson.

Bought a cleaner 20 yrs ago Lasted a few years, brittle plastic syndrome, we’ve boycotted them ever since.

My Dyson fell over and its own weight snapped the handle in two. That surely can't be good materials design?

[ThePinkOne]

Any clothing company whose supply chain uses bonded labour or otherwise treats the garment workers badly (e.g. poor wages)
Any company whose supply chain uses bonded labour

Admittedly not easy, but doable- if you shop carefully. It also helps if you make your own clothes as it's easier to purchase fabric made without bonded labour (machine made). Basic thing: Anything with hand-done beading, fancy work and hand-sewn detailing that is under 100 quid is more than likely made by bonded labourers or people getting a few pence an hour. Machine embroidery- well it depends, if made in EU it's probably OK, but in other places- it depends. Over 100 quid is no guarantee either- it could be an inflated profit margin or it could be the makers were paid better.

I do embroidery and a 10-inch square piece done as an inlay for a special box (I get boxes made by a chap in UK) takes me something like 10 hours to set up, 80 hours sewing time and 5 hours to mount. Quite a few quids worth of materials too as I used hand-died cotton and real silk threads from USA, Italy and a UK artisan.

Do the maths and you will see that if a person gets paid fairly for their time making something like a top with hand embriodery on, the only way the prices are what they are is if the person doing the stitching is badly paid (even by the standards of their own country) and works long hours.

TPO

[661-Pete]

I do not drink, so I cannae boycott witherspoons, but should one boycott organisations whose owners have certain political views?

But surely you drink alcohol-free drinks - which all pubs (including W******spoons) offer an ample supply - at a price. So you are in a sense boycotting them already.

I don't patronise our local branch of said establishment, either - but then I never have done, and the reasons are (a) I'm not really interested in the place, and (b) they regularly place outside tables to block one of the local sets of cycle racks. So I can't 'boycott' them any more than I do already....

Boycotting because of political standpoint? I'm never sure if it's worthwhile.

Dyson.

Bought a cleaner 20 yrs ago Lasted a few years, brittle plastic syndrome, we’ve boycotted them ever since.

Same here. I think they had a problem back then, maybe they still have.

[reohn2]

Perhaps going of their performance we should be boycotting politicians.
Apologies to those already do.

[Oldjohnw]

I stopped buying The Times years ago because it is owned by Murdoch.

It is impossible to be entirely morally clean but you can do a little here and there.

[Cyril Haearn]

The boycott of barclays in connection with apartheid was successful, I think it helped Mandela become president
It was a big theme in the media in the 1980s and made people including me more politically aware
..
Alternative facts/onions welcome

[pwa]

"Boycotting" something because of a practical thing, such as Dyson because they break, is not really "boycotting" in the sense in which I use the word. "Boycotting" is when you reject a company or product in spite of the fact that it could be useful to you. Some sacrifice is needed to make it "boycotting". I boycott Amazon because I think that huge business is hoovering up trade at the expense of smaller businesses that pay more tax to fund our hospitals, and that treat their workers with more respect. Doing business with Amazon is giving the finger to your fellow human beings. So when I want something I can get cheaper via Amazon, I look elsewhere and pay more. That is boycotting. It involves not putting immediate self interest first.

[Tangled Metal]

Dyson.

well a recent BBC report on those who paid the most tax put him in the list.So maybe atleast he isnt tax avoider like some of the rich? maybe need to boycott those celebs in the BBC with their private company finace deals who pay very little?

I'm not proposing to boycott the guy's tax which is due anyway, only the brand that is Dyson. The two aren't the same. Also, I'm not quite sure how you can boycott James Dyson anyway.

[Tangled Metal]

I boycott Dyson because I completely disliked the cynical way he took existing technologies that are effectively used for similar uses in other industries and tried to patent them. Rather they put in an initial patent application but didn't proceed because they knew it would never meet the patent laws' standards to be successful. So they had patent pending for years before other brands woke up and realised the scam.

The fact he's taking the registered head office out of the UK is only an extra to my reasons to boycott.

And plastic issues aside (other brands have similar issues) dysons are still good products. As someone who gets vacuum cleaners almost every year and has killed a vacuum in 20.minutes of use the durability of other parts make Dyson a good option for me.

[durhambiker]

I'm still boycotting shops even though the offending owners and/or staff are long gone. However many times the shop changes hands, it is connected to the original by a psychic chain of representation, that can never be broken.

"Psychic chain of representation...Yes,,,will watch out for that 1

[Cyril Haearn]

I'm still boycotting shops even though the offending owners and/or staff are long gone. However many times the shop changes hands, it is connected to the original by a psychic chain of representation, that can never be broken.

"Psychic chain of representation...Yes,,,will watch out for that 1

Never? Reminds me of Mr Small, a lad at work, he was huge, maybe 120 kg! I imagine his grandad was small

I boycott shops where loud disagreeable music/muzak is played
I have unboycotted shops where agreeable classical music is played

[Cyril Haearn]

Bottled water, boycotting that is a no-brainer, and pognophobic organisations
Is w*****spoons pognophobic?

[pwa]

Bottled water, boycotting that is a no-brainer, and pognophobic organisations
Is w*****spoons pognophobic?

As far as I know Wetherspoons have no problem with beards. Where do you get these notions?