Shoppers looking more closely at political stance of companies
Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006
What’s in your shopping cart ? Increasingly, it’s full of political statements.
Identity shopping, once the pursuit of only political radicals, is moving to the mainstream.
Do you drive a big SUV (right-winger !) or a hybrid (persnickety liberal !)? Organic produce or carrots grown with chemicals ? Coors beer (Republican contributors ) or microbrewery New Belgium (Democratic backers )?
People have taken part in boycotts for generations, and there’s nothing new about blending politics and purchasing.
But the fervid 2004 presidential election pushed politics far into the checkout line, and the movement has grown since.
Events like a Pennsylvania jury ruling earlier this month that Wal-Mart owes Pennsylvania workers $ 78 million for unpaid overtime and lunch breaks fuels the bonfires roaring in the hearts of some activists.
Blaine Hardesty of Arvada, Colo., used to belong to Sam’’s Club, and frequently shopped at Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s and Home Depot. “ When we discovered their political-donations policies, we changed our habits, ” Hardesty said.
Now, among other places, Hardesty and his wife shop at Costco, which contributes to Democrats.
“ I will shop at places that are neutral, such as Lowe’s over Home Depot, even though I have two Home Depot stores closer than the one Lowe’s in my area, ” said Tracy Bond of Westminster. “ I have a friend that even fired his dentist when he found out that the dentist was a Bush supporter. I haven’t gone quite that far. ”
They have loads of company on the left.
“ A lot of our audience makes decisions solely on this stuff, ” said Jay Marvin, the morning host on AM 760 Progressive Talk, a left-leaning Boulder, Colo., station. “ Times have changed. You’ve got groups that have ramped up this pressure. ”
Marvin says a big difference between now and years past is the left’s embrace of the shopping-politics nexus.
Conservatives — particularly religious conservatives — have long been expert at directing their supporters away from suspect companies and services, often based on specific issues. But until the 2004 election cycle, the left didn’t push so hard for political shopping, Marvin said.
You’re a lefty and not sure where to shop ? Now you can head to buybluecolorado. org and discover that during the 2003-2004 election cycle, Wal-Mart gave 78 percent of its campaign contributions to Republicans, while Costco sent 99 percent of its political money to Democrats.
Home Depot gave 82 percent of its contributions to Republicans, and Outback Steakhouse favored Republicans 98 to 2.
The right, it appears, does not have a similarly exhaustive guide to corporate political donations, although the Buy-Blue site could be nearly as handy to a Republican as to a Democrat.
Christian Moreau, a Highlands Ranch, Colo., real estate agent, helped launch the Web site — the first regional site to grow out of the main buyblue. org site that launched shortly after the 2004 election — because “ everybody involved in politics is very attentive to this. ”
“ It’s a start, ” he said. “ People have to start voting with their wallet more because it affects us. ”
He also hatched the Colorado Progressive Business Alliance, a group of like-minded businesses that help spread the word about companies that support Democrats and progressive issues.
Raven Brooks, who created the main BuyBlue Web site, says his site has grown swiftly. Earlier this month it announced a new partnership called the Blue Fund, a mutual fund that, like others, invests only in companies that are deemed socially responsible but with a twist: The companies also must make at least 50 percent of their political donations to Democrats.
“ The way we look at it is you not only have to act progressive but be progressive, ” said Brooks. “ So we look at how they contribute their political dollars. ”
It all makes politics a tricky business for companies, says GG Johnston, president of Johnston Wells Public Relations in Denver.
“ Getting in the political crosshairs can have extreme ramifications for years to come, ” she said. “ Consumers are more informed than ever before because of the Internet. They make decisions based on a lot more information than ever before. It’s not just retail. Companies simply have to understand that when they take a stand on an issue, they can either alienate a group or align with a group, and they need to consider that when they make a decision. ”
Arvada, Colo., retiree and conservative blogger Jim Cannon, for example, never buys Levi’s apparel “ because they support the gay-rights agenda. ” He also shops at Wal-Mart because of the company’s support of Republicans, although in the end, what really drives his shopping decisions is “ what’s best for my pocketbook. ”
The environment, as an issue, isn’t as charged as gay rights or abortion, but it’s not innocuous, either. That hasn’t stopped homebuilder McStain Neighborhoods from championing its pro-environment message.
“ We’re trying to a certain extent to be evangelists for the environment, ” said Eric Wittenberg, president and chief executive officer of the Louisville, Colo., company. “ It’s one of the things that differentiates us in the business. Assuming we do everything else right, we want people to prefer us because they get a house that leaves a smaller footprint on the earth. ”
Could it lose customers who dislike environmentalism ? Sure, but Wittenberg thinks the number of people put off by McStain’s pro-green public face is small and shrinking.
Deals, not politics, guide Republican blogger and computer consultant Clay Calhoun’s shopping habits. But he did stop going to Target last year when the company denied Salvation Army bell-ringers from soliciting in front of their stores.
And given Costco’s support of Democrats — and Wal-Mart’s backing of Republicans — he’s more likely to spend his money at Wal-Mart.
But it’s not uniform among Republicans, he said. “ I know there are a lot of Republicans who don’t like what Wal-Mart does. ”
Ross Kaminsky, a Nederland, Colo., libertarian blogger, does a lot of shopping at Wal-Mart, a company “ responsible for more Americans’ jobs than the U. S. military, ” he said. “ The fact that liberals hate Wal-Mart says two things: They are brainwashed by unions and have no real understanding that Wal-Mart does more for lower-income Americans than any company has in history. ”
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