Hi Lactnetters:
Some interesting points have been raised on the subject of boycotting. An earlier post (sorry, I forget from whom) mentioned the necessity of letting companies know, from time to time, that one isn't buying such-and-such a product or products. Otherwise they can't be sure that a section of the population is boycotting these products as it may not show up as significant in their marketing figures if they are expanding sales with a new advertising campaign. Letting the companies know seems to me an excellent idea, if enuogh peole did it on a regular basis: "Dear Sirs, This is to let you know that i'm not buying your coffee/chocolate/drinks [be specific] because of ...."
My personal choice is that I boycott other products made by artificial baby milk (ABM) companies. (I am not going to name companies here.) I also boycott products make by bottle and teat companies - if there is an alternative available. Unfortunately, the best disposable breast pads happen to be made by a company whose marketing practices have not always been lily white. If the occasion arose, I would boycott other products that have nothing at all to do with infant feeding, e.g. if a company became known as an environmental vandal.
Aggressive ABM marketing has been getting most of the attention for many years, but what about the bottle and teat companies? They have had huge success in making bottles an intrinsic part of industrialised societies, to the extent that the community associates babies with bottles (and has done for a century or more). This is of course, helepd by generations of community acceptance. When companies sell ABM, they profit only through artificial feeding (including top-ups). When companies sell bottles and teats they not only promote artificial feeding, but they also encourage more bottle-feeding of breast milk, often to the detriment of the mother's confidence. (I've read many variations on this scenario on Lactnet.) I'm not talking about times when there may be a good reason, but other instances, such as to carry a bottle of breast milk if away from home, rather than to breastfeed, or have the father share the feeding, or any one of a whole list of social reasons for increasing bottle sales. Then there is the assumption that babies "need" bottle feeds in hospital, which gets bottles into babies mouths and mothers and staff seeing bottles as normal. Bottle and teat sales are big bucks, with all the ancilliary products such as expensive steam sterilisers, pumps, and more.
I'm only barely touching on the subject here. I'd be interested in other Lactnetters' ways of making a difference, even a small one, in reversing the ubiquitous dependence on bottles, and all that that leads to.
Ultimately, choices in purchasing are complex and personal, and there is a whole range of reasons for buying, or not buying, a product - cost, quality, taste, making a point, and so on.
Happy holidays, to those who are celebrating, and a happy (Western) New Year.
Virginia
in Brisbane, Queneslnad, Australia, whre we are having come much-needed rain.
On Mon, 25 Dec 2006 23:19:05 Karleen Gribble wrote:
It's one thing we know that companies will change their practices if it
makes economic sense to do so...if companies realise that people care about
the non ethical behaviour of their company they will change...they at least
have to be seen to be doing the right thing. So yes, boycotts and other
customer pressure works.
Personally, I don't buy Nestle. It takes me 0 time and 0 effort to do so.
It's one of the easiest things possible to do and is part of what I do to
seek to live an ethical life. Importantly for me, my children also
understand the issues. Breastfeeding advocacy takes all different
forms...there's plenty of work and plenty of opportunities for all.
Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it.
Karleen Gribble
Australia
(who had to suffer through church this morning when the minister tried to
describe a deprived Jesus born without the availability of baby monitors,
sterilised bottles or dummies...the stoopidity was astounding!)
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