shop till we drop, take 2
No matter what we say, where we spend our money reveals our priorities, both in our homes and in our federal budgets. Recognize how powerful your dollars are and use them to change the status quo.
Organize a GIRLCOTT. Identify items you buy most often and find companies that sell those items with integrity and an eye toward preserving the planet for your grandchildren. Support those companies and tell your friends and neighbors. OR, you can organize a Community Girlcott! A Girlcott event publicly supports businesses whose practices are aligned with your values. It’s the opposite of a boycott — but similar in that it uses economic strength to create change. Girlcotts are great PHOTO OPS (second only to football & natural disasters) and are thus wonderful ways to educate & engage your community. Women hold 83%* of the purchase power in the U.S., and its time we use that power to create a healthy planet for the world's children.
You can Girlcott a business or organization for a number of reasons, including a company’s commitment to Fair Trade, using no child labor or offering a livable wage. You are applauding a specific thing — we’re not going for sainthood here — if a company has room to grow in other areas, so much the better to Girlcott them! To date, MAU has focused on Fair Trade, which helps ensure that farmers and artisans throughout the developing world receive a fair price for their products. But feel free to expand on the theme and give businesses a reason for being part of reshaping our global economy to support people and the planet.
There are many ways to Girlcott, from supporting a business in the newspaper or at a City Council or Board Meeting. But really the weirdest way, and thus our favorite, is to create an event. This can look like: a group of MAUs outside a business for an hour or two, informing shoppers about the Girlcott, and acknowledging the manager/owner of the business (a big photo op!) MEDIA SURROUNDING the event is a major component, as it will reach more people than you physically can. The goal is to make visible the economic strength shoppers have — both to the shoppers and to the sellers! Try to find an imaginative component for your Girlcott that is irresistible, such as presenting a barbershop quartet of Mothers!
- Choose a company to Girlcott. (Research first for major skeletons). Decide on date & time.
- Call the company and make sure they want to be Girlcotted. Confirm date.
- Write a letter to the editor inviting your community to join the Girlcott.
- Invite all friends & neighbors to participate.
- Create a certificate of appreciation to give to the manager/owner (you can download MAU’s version on the Web site).
- Design an event that matches your appetite and talents, possibly including costumes, songs, phrases you say to shoppers and certificate ceremony. Have cards that list other Fair Trade companies.
- Send a press release to your local media outlets inviting their participation. (sample on MAU Web site)
- Call the local media outlets and invite their participation again!
- Make signs and show up at the Girlcott with certificate, cards and signs saying why you support this business. Walk on stilts, with as many children as you can bribe and/or want to be there. Have balloons. HOPEFULLY a newspaper’s photographer is with you, happily snapping photos.
- Send news of your success to MAU: # of cards passed out, people attending and photographs.
- Consider yourself an expert Girlcotter. Put it on your resume.
* Time magazine
