I only heard of this one this morning. But this was already the first year where I completed 100% of my online Christmas shopping without giving Amazon a single dime. (Is it weird to be proud of that? I have been on a sort of weak, semi-boycott of Amazon for quite some time, having dropped Prime — but I still tended to buy stuff from them if it was cheaper than elsewhere (which it often is) and did a lot of Christmas shopping there every year.) I also gave my relatives a non-Amazon wishlist which includes independent bookstores, small businesses, Bandcamp, etc.
This boycott targetting Home Depot because they ICE raids on their own employees got me researching the alternatives:
- I will be avoiding Menards in the future, because their owner is a Trump buddy, union buster, and donated to Koch Brothers stuff in the past.
- ACE stores around here aren’t great — okay for tools or fasteners but not the best choice for garden stuff, lumber etc. They donate quite a bit to Republicans and almost nothing to Democrats — but most of their stores are independently owned.
- Lowe’s is something of a mixed bag. Like HD, they have a PAC that has historically donated about 70% to Republicans and 30% to Democrats. But in 2024 their employees supported Harris twice as much as Trump, and the total political donations are fairly small for such a large chain. Their executives just tend not to make those kinds of donations themselves. Also in 2024 they turned a little bit chickenshit in terms of DEI (“for legal reasons” or in response to a conservative boycott threat depending on who you ask), though they do still support it. They also stopped sponsoring stuff like (Pride) parades at the same time. Still, they come out looking less bad than HD, so I guess this is going to be my choice from now on, for the most part.
- Harbor Freight, like ACE, is mostly about tools. Not super high quality tools, just “gets the job done but may not last forever” stuff in my experience. But their owners/employers donate overwhelmingly to Democratic causes. The nearest store isn’t very nearby for us though.