I ain't buying nuthin' from you
December 16, 2019 9:58 AM Subscribe
Where can I find useful resources to know the political leanings of merchants I might buy products from?
Some companies have distinct political leanings. For example, the owners of Uline (office and warehouse supplies) are known to be big Trump supporters. The owners of Penzeys Spices are known to be big Trump detractors.
Yes I know, nobody likes living in such partisan times, and purchasing based on politics risks falling into the trap of making everything partisan, but sometimes it's not comfortable knowing the money you are spending might be helping a political figure to whom you are strongly opposed.
Although individual companies can be researched with Google searches, it would be convenient if there were one or more sources that provide an easy reference on the political leanings of different companies.
Some companies have distinct political leanings. For example, the owners of Uline (office and warehouse supplies) are known to be big Trump supporters. The owners of Penzeys Spices are known to be big Trump detractors.
Yes I know, nobody likes living in such partisan times, and purchasing based on politics risks falling into the trap of making everything partisan, but sometimes it's not comfortable knowing the money you are spending might be helping a political figure to whom you are strongly opposed.
Although individual companies can be researched with Google searches, it would be convenient if there were one or more sources that provide an easy reference on the political leanings of different companies.
This definitely doesn't help, because you're presumably not in the Czech Republic, but this question reminded me of the first paragraph of this article I read over the weekend:
Prague, July 2019. I’m sitting with Ivan Havel in a cozy alcove of the Austro-Hungarian–themed Monarchie restaurant when Monika Pajerová arrives. A student leader in the Velvet Revolution and still bubbling with energy thirty years later, blond, bespectacled Monika takes a smartphone out of her handbag and scans the barcode on my bottle of mineral water. The phone buzzes and displays a green-ink caricature of Andrej Babiš, the agribusiness oligarch and former secret police informer who is now the Czech prime minister. Beneath his frowning face are the words “Bez Andreje” (loosely translatable as “does not contain Andrej”), indicating that this bottled water is not a product of any of his companies. “It’s all right,” says Monika, “you can drink it!”posted by caek at 10:17 AM on December 16, 2019 [5 favorites]
Best answer: There's also Goods Unite Us.
posted by BostonTerrier at 12:40 PM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by BostonTerrier at 12:40 PM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]
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I will warn you that in general, you'll find companies donate all over the place. You may have an ethical dilemma about what to do with a company that donates equally to causes you support and causes you don't support. It's not uncommon to have a company donate to all candidates in a race equally.
posted by saeculorum at 10:09 AM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]