In this section, we cover some details regarding how Boycott Buddy was created. To provide some background, Boycott Buddy
is the follow up project to
FuckNestlé.art, a Nestlé boycott tool launched in 2023. This tool was widely used and shared, and people asked for
a more detailed and broad project to document and help people avoid mega-corps — hence leading to the creation of Boycott Buddy.
Boycott Buddy is designed and developed by
Zachary Jordan.
The logo design was created by
Eugene Kim.
Brands and corrections are reported from around the world by users of the site. Icons are provided by
HeroIcons.
Boycott Buddy would not be possible without the public contributions made by thousands of committed people from around the world to document the crimes and companies of mega-corporations.
To form our database, Boycott Buddy surveys and combines existing open source lists. The early stages often begin with crowdsourced lists such as those available on Wikipedia.
We then visit corporation websites, which often
avoid offering a clear and easy to browse list, and fill in missing companies. From here, we browse other public information such as community posts, online company databases (such as barcode lists), and news of recent acquisitions or sales.
Once we have collected as much information as is publicly available as possible, we then vet our list and confirm that it is as up to date as can be achieved before categorizing. This is a continuous process and one that we rely on the community to support with. To fill out our database over time, we provide a mechanism to our users to report missing companies, which are then also verified and added. The result we are pursuing is a growing list that evolves over time to document the current status of these companies.
This process is handled manually by our team and people who offer to help with the project. AI technologies, such as those offered by Open AI, are sometimes used to assist with the copywriting process but is not involved in brand discovery.
Some brands may be missing from our list. All views are my own and do not represent my employer or anybody else.
Inspirations
The initial project that inspired the precursor to this one (FuckNestlé.art) is a project called PeopleCott by Charles Stover. It's sadly no longer active, but I'll include a link to it
here in case it ever comes back.
Edit July 2024: I just noticed PeopleCott is back, so the link actually should be working again. Thanks Charles!
I'm also inspired by long history of successful boycotts against mega corporations — let's continue this tradition of pressuring some of the most powerful organizations on Earth to do better by their consumers and our shared planet!
I'm done reading
