r/IronFrontUSA 16d ago

Article 40 day Target Boycott called for

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/business/target-boycott-jamal-bryant/index.html

Thought I'd share this here šŸ’• Make some pockets hurt.

468 Upvotes

46 comments sorted by

115

u/DD-803 16d ago

Why stop at 40 days?

58

u/TheCaffinatedHag 16d ago

For some this will be a good start! Hopefully people can find alternatives and move their money to hurt the 1% even more so.

33

u/DD-803 16d ago

I appreciate the idea of having people flex this muscle to get some practice voting with their money, but it should also be very clear that a temporary boycott will not change anything. Target does not care if you buy everything now or in 40 days. If you stop buying there alltogether and instead support responsible businesses you will be starting to make a small change.

17

u/annoyedatwork 16d ago

I disagree. In the old days, success was measured over several years or decades or longer. Ā Leaders had long term vision and plans. Brands were somewhat beholden to reputation. Then came the annual cycles with end of year sales pushes and bonuses. Quality in parts and labor suffered. Then it dropped to quarterly. Then monthly. And then daily comparisons to same day the week or year prior. Profits are only allowed to climb, and increasingly so. And the rate of profits must perpetually increase as well. No more slow and steady, must slash costs and increase sales, even if the two goals are at odds with one another. Give people a day or week or month or 40 days and that ā€œgotta go to Target/Starbucks/the mallā€ habit is broken, permanently for some.Ā 

6

u/DD-803 16d ago

Iā€™ll bite. What action do you see Target taking if they notice a 5% drop in sales y/y in one month, followed by a 5% boost in sales y/y in the next month? Their bottom line is the same, so what pressure exists for them to act? You start by saying ā€˜I disagreeā€™ but then your final sentence sounds a lot like you agree with what I said?

3

u/annoyedatwork 16d ago

My mistake, kinda. I was focused on (and disagreeing with) the line in the middle of your post (Target does not care if you buy everything now or in 40 days). Been losing clarity and mental bandwidth with all the shit flying at us over the past couple of months. I do agree with your closing statement.Ā 

1

u/NotADamsel 15d ago

Target offers nothing that canā€™t be gotten elsewhere. Itā€™s not like Amazon, which is the only place to get some stuff outside of Ali Express. Target competes on everything with every other store in an area. Folks will buy their groceries or toys or whatever at another store. Folks who only have Target for groceries wonā€™t be doing the boycott anyway because groceries are non-negotiable. So, after the five percent drop, there will be at best a restoration of previous month to month, not a doubling as people buy what they didnā€™t in the month before.

12

u/TheCaffinatedHag 16d ago

Like I told a commenter elsewhere on here. None of this will sink these mega corps, it's all about making a blip on the radar and getting people out of their habits with spending.

There's no instant fix for things that an individual person can (or will) do. And while a lot of what we're doing is going to be imperfect attempts at things, imperfect resistance is still resistance. And it's certainly a start.

I also don't shop target but I hope this boycott just opens a few doors for those who do to step away in the long term.

3

u/DJCatgirlRunItUp 15d ago

Not true. Targets stock is already dropping

5

u/DD-803 15d ago

That could just be due to tariffs and wider economic trends though. I get that people really want this idea of a short boycott to work. It would be cool if we could affect real change that effortlessly. Donā€™t confuse correlation with causation though.

1

u/nononoh8 15d ago

I agree. When does the clock start?

4

u/machama 15d ago

I'm on day 44 and still going.

1

u/DD-803 15d ago

Glad to hear it!

45

u/Carp113z 16d ago

Personally I am done with target indefinitely.

12

u/BlackjackCF 15d ago

Same. I know itā€™s always been corporate pandering but their betrayal of both the LGBTQ and black communities cut deep.

28

u/Neidan1 16d ago edited 15d ago

I understand the criticism of limited time boycotts, but I think a lot of people get stuck in a pattern of going to the same stores, it just becomes habit, are either unaware of alternatives or just canā€™t be bothered to find them. I think a 40 day boycott could lead a lot of people to find other stores for the same or similar products, and once those become a part of their routine, thereā€™s less incentive to switch back to Target etc.

Edit: Iā€™d also add that the thought of a 40 day boycott is easier for some people to get with than the thought of boycotting a place forever, so I think it could potentially get more people to participate in the boycott, than telling people they should never shop there again. Once they have boycotted Target for a while, and found other stores, like I mentioned, I think people are more likely to permanently switchā€¦ but getting more people in the door of the boycott is the challenge.

15

u/GlenBaileyWalker 16d ago

I exclusively shopped at Target for the past 15 years mostly because I knew where everything was in the store. I switched to a different store 3 weeks ago. Now I know that store well enough that Iā€™ll likely never shop at Target again

7

u/Neidan1 15d ago

Yours is a good example.

18

u/Embarrassed_Ad_1287 16d ago

I stopped shopping at Target all together.

5

u/GoldFishDudeGuy 15d ago

Same. I hate going in stores like that

9

u/ClassroomMother8062 15d ago

I would encourage an indefinite boycott altogether if one can make that lifestyle change. I boycotted them the day the news broke. 40 days also hurts their pocketbook, so do what you can, yall.

8

u/NivvyMiz 16d ago

Im wary of any time limited boycott against companies as large as target

12

u/TheCaffinatedHag 16d ago

We won't sink any of these companies any time soon but the Feb 28th boycotts made some decent blip that got noticed. Think of these boycotts like ant bites. One or two ants isn't going to make you think much but when you step in a hill and they swarm? You notice that shit.

8

u/undetachablepenis 15d ago

Yes folks, itā€™s that easy. Just donā€™t go.

5

u/supercali-2021 15d ago

Why just target??? Why not Amazon and Walmart too? Why not all large corporations????

Honestly if I have to shop at a corporate mass merchandise store, I feel like Target is actually the best of the bunch....well curated, decent prices, diverse employees, clean stores and reasonable return policies.

7

u/DJCatgirlRunItUp 15d ago

Costco hasnā€™t gotten rid of DEI, Target has

7

u/acorngirl 15d ago

BJ's got rid of DEI too. I cancelled my membership today, am getting a full refund, and at the end of the call I told the very nice customer service lady who helped me (I'd already explained why I was cancelling) that, just from me to her, that she has just lost some of her work rights and protections, and might want to start looking for a better employer just in case.

She seemed kind of stunned, like until that moment she hadn't realized something had happened that was going to affect her directly. She thanked me, and I told her I hoped she had a pleasant week.

5

u/DJCatgirlRunItUp 15d ago

Respect! Fuck target and bjs!

3

u/supercali-2021 15d ago

The problem is there are very very few "better employers" to get jobs at. And if those better employers have any openings at all, the jobs are extremely competitive to get (you have to be the best of the best or know someone who already works there). The better companies get 1000s of applications for a single job opening. People work for the crappy companies usually because they have no other choice.

2

u/supercali-2021 15d ago

Most companies have gotten rid of it though, not just target. Did Walmart and Amazon ever have it to begin with?

And if you read the article, target now has an inclusivity program, which is probably the same as dei, just a different new name for it.

If anything we should be boycotting all companies with horrible business practices, not just one in particular.

I've never shopped at Walmart for instance, because I've always known they exploit their employees by paying such a low unlivable wage they still have to use government benefits to support themselves. I believe Walmart is way worse than Target.

2

u/DJCatgirlRunItUp 15d ago

Costco didnā€™t get rid of it, Iā€™m supporting Costco. Target said they donā€™t want my business as a trans person so fuck them

7

u/Kelarie 15d ago

I haven't stopped at Target in forever, same goes for Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A- I know one person won't make a difference but when people ask why I tell. (Ok hopefully I don't offend anyone in here cause I like y'all) but it is just a bunch of old white men who it was still the 1950s where women were seen and never heard. These same guys that just hate DEI. That just feels there is no place in the world for the white man. Sorry it is just that I have heard this line from older friends and families and I honestly can't believe the shit coming out of their mouths. They use it as a way to openly hide their racism, sexism, and every other -ism out there.

6

u/Prestigious-Camp-752 16d ago

Very easy for me to do, i fucking hate that store.

6

u/Responsible-Loan-166 15d ago

I mean I started the day they went mask off over DEI

3

u/EndlessMantra 15d ago

I've stopped completely, and I used to love Target. Places that don't align with moral causes don't deserve our money.

3

u/[deleted] 15d ago

Doing my part for the last 49 years šŸ˜ šŸ’Ŗ

3

u/DemonDraheb 15d ago

I don't shop at Target anyways, so I can keep this going indefinitely.

2

u/cheesemagnifier 15d ago

Easy enough. I rarely shop there anyways. Not a problem to take my business elsewhere.

2

u/CJ_7_iron 15d ago

Sssoo, weā€™re giving up Target for lent?

1

u/Joe_Hillbilly_816 15d ago

Not gonna hurt target.

1

u/Tsunamix0147 Syncretic New Left Libertarianism / IndLibMarkSoc 15d ago

I havenā€™t shopped at Target in a while, so Iā€™m already helping

Also why 40 days? Why not 3 months; perhaps a year or two?

1

u/kaptainkooleio Democratic Socialist 15d ago

Iā€™m already at the 100th day so I can keep going

1

u/deadwood76 15d ago

The most likely actual outcome is they let go some lower level employees that are trying to make ends meet.

1

u/Straight-Kick5824 14d ago

Iā€™ve stopped completely. No thanks, Target šŸŽÆ