Buycott.com
 Buycott.com logo | |
| Buycott Inc. | |
| Industry | Technology, social activism |
| Founder | Ivan Pardo |
Key people | Maceo Martinez |
| Products | Consumer advocacy software |
| Website |
buycott |
Buycott.com is an Internet-based platform and smart-phone application that reads the Universal Product Codes (UPC) barcode on a product, and suggests whether a consumer should buy or avoid that product based on how well it aligns with the consumer's values and principles. The consumer joins to various Buycott campaigns to indicate their support or their opposition to various issues and topics. The app prevents them from purchasing from corporate entities - and their affiliates - that endorse policies which conflict with those campaigns. The consumer can thus "vote with their wallet", and opt to purchase a competing product, or forgoing the purchase altogether.[1]
Buycott.com was launched to encourage Corporate Social Responsibility, prior to the point of purchase, and raise awareness that consumer purchases have real-world consequences. The app has a rich database behind the web interface, and uses over 20 million UPC tags as unique product identifiers.[2] Buycott.com also queries consumer activists for scanned product information when the database is missing product descriptions or other information, each campaign's database relevancy and success is dependent upon the membership's participation.[3] As of March 2015, the largest activist campaign is Demand GMO Labeling, a group of more than 176,000 activists, that primarily targets firms who donated funds towards the defeat California's Proposition 39. Proposition 39 would have required the labeling of genetically modified foods.[4]
References
- ↑ Braddock, Greta (28 February 2014). "Good shopping: 6 apps that help buyers give back". Tech Page One. Dell.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
Buycott — “Buycott helps you to organize your everyday consumer spending so that it reflects your principles.”
- ↑ O'Conner, Claire (14 May 2013). "New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart". Forbes. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
Burner figured the average supermarket shopper had no idea that buying Brawny paper towels, Angel Soft toilet paper or Dixie cups meant contributing cash to Koch Industries through its subsidiary Georgia-Pacific.
- ↑ Godfrey, Mary (18 March 2013). "App of the Week: Buycott". Technology Review. ABCNews. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
The information, however, is only as accurate as a company’s public data—corporate structures and priorities change. To that end, its success will depend, in part, on users and how involved they are in staying on top of that information.
- ↑ "Demand GMO Labeling". Buycott.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.