My friends and I put this together and are blitzing our email lists with it. I thought I could post it here and anyone interested could just cut and paste it into an email and send it out to your friends if you want. Here it is:
"Vote with your pocketbook"----what does that mean?
As an American citizen, you voted at the polls. But your political power didn't end on November 2nd. Our system needs regulatory changes and enforcement to protect consumers, workers and the environment, and sadly, our votes last November did not accomplish this. But in the meantime, there is something we can do. The power to vote with our pocketbooks is actually immense and this power can be turned around and used to fight the system and enact positive change! I'm forwarding this letter to you to tell you about a new way to fight the GOP and their corporate cronies. All over America, (and even the World) people have decided to "buy blue."
What is "buying blue"?
"Buying blue" is simply the act of keeping your values in mind when making consumer choices. Would you choose one company over another if you knew one was GW Bush's largest campaign contributor? Or perhaps a certain company is notorious for paying slave-wages and trampling worker's rights. Does the way a certain product is made offend your sense of stewardship for our environment? There are many complex aspects when it comes to consumer choices and it can seem overwhelming. The good news is that several new websites have sprung up to help you make better consumer choices based on your "blue" values. In this e-mail we have put together all the links we could find to help. Use the links. Save them to your favorites. Browse through when you have time or check them before making big purchases if possible.
http://www.buyblue.org/http://www.choosetheblue.com/main.phphttp://www.responsibleshopper.org/compare_all.cfmhttp://www.boycottbush.net/consumers.htm(It's worth noting that buying blue is not necessarily a partisan practice. Most of us don't object to a company merely because its owners are Republicans, but because of the underlying issues they commonly ignore or oppose, such as worker's rights, environmental protections and the need to keep corporate influence OUT of our political system. The day we find a Republican that cares about these issues and practices their business accordingly, is the day we cheerfully do business with a Republican.)
What if I can't afford to "Buy Blue?"
We are painfully aware that the current system has made it hard for many of us to do without the big-box shopping choices available. For example, if you feel you can't afford to shop anywhere but Wal-Mart, no one is going to hold it against you! Likewise, it may take too long to drive to the "blue" choices and no one will fault you for that, either. Driving long distance uses gasoline, but small businesses owned by locals (be they lefties or righties) are usually blue compared to big chains. (Small businesses keep the cash local, keep small groups of local people, including the owners, well-employed and contribute to the uniqueness of your community.) The key is just to think about your consumer choices first and do what you can according to your means and concerns.
Will buying blue really make a difference?
This is a good question. Will we bring the corporate giants to their knees? Not likely. Will we cut off Bush's funding? Not a chance. Is buying blue worth it then? YES!
Here are some of the reasons to buy blue:
1. The Creation of Demand for Ethical Products and Services:
We may not be able to bring a corporation to its knees, but buying blue WILL influence corporations to a certain degree. The more consumers make it plain that they ARE paying attention to the ethics of the companies they purchase from, the more companies will make an effort to be more ethical, etc. You can help create a demand for ethically-produced products and services. There will still be plenty of demand for the other kind, but your efforts will make a difference. It's worth citing Costco as an example. Many left-leaning consumers are choosing to shop there more often and Costco's sales have risen impressively since the "buy blue" campaign has started. By contrast, Wal-Mart lost sales over the Christmas holiday season and we believe boycotts from the left contributed to this.
2. Environment:
You are probably already somewhat aware of the impact of your choices on environmental issues. Most people prefer NOT to have pesticide residue in their baby food. No one wants to build their deck out of old-growth forest. Dolphin-safe tuna is a perfect example of how our consumer choices successfully affected the environment.
3. Personal Satisfaction:
I don't know about you, but I am personally dismayed when I find out a company I do business with is contributing untold gazillions to electing politicians I vehemently oppose. I hate when I find out a product I bought damaged the environment unnecessarily in its production. If my buying blue makes no other difference, at least I know my money is not going to these companies and that just plain makes me feel better.
Here are the links again. Please pass this email along to anyone who might be interested and thanks for joining us in the effort to make a difference!
http://www.buyblue.org/http://www.choosetheblue.com/main.phphttp://www.responsibleshopper.org/compare_all.cfmhttp://www.boycottbush.net/consumers.htmPS Who are we? We are not affiliated to any organized group or any website. We are just a handful of regular people who want to inform our friends and spread the word. The Buy Blue movement is just a blanket name we've tagged to the general movement on the left to boycott unethical companies and discourage the undue, negative influence of huge corporations on our democracy and economy. Buy Blue is also the name of one of the websites listed above but we are not affiliated with them or any of the links provided.
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