Jennifer, no firm on this earth is perfect, not even the ones that declare themselves to be "green" or "humanity's best friend", case in point Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, supposedly run by two hippie types (or wannabe's). But that ice cream is damn good, and I don't give a rat's ass on what kind of political values they claim and whether they practice them or not.If we were to "boycott" every firm that has controversy or real scandals of some sort, then I don't know if we'll starve to death first or die from exposure to the elements (we'd all be naked with no roof over our heads either). And another example is Henry Ford was, in spite of his accomplishments, one of history's biggest assholes, and a bigot to boot, and hired a bunch of goons to fight the fledgling UAW, violently. That hasn't stopped me from buying Ford Motor Company products, neither has the Pinto scandal or more recent sexual harrassment cases (which I don't think affected even 10% of the firm). I understand that Ford is a major player in the Australian economy, btw. It certainly won't mean a Volvo is out of the question either, in the future (or a Bimmer, if they buy BMW too).
Getting back to soft drinks, are you sure that Coke products are all that you can get in many places? And are you really sure that Dr. Pepper is a saint? Btw you'll be pleased to know that 7up outsells Sprite and Dr. Pepper is way ahead of Mr. Pibb, at least here in the States. Again, I think Pibb is superior to Pepper by a huge margin. In fact, Pepper almost made me lose my lunch on more than one occasion.
To sum this all up, don't base your decision on what to buy (and not) regarding a company's size or creed. Yes, making money is a major objective of all businesses, nothing wrong with that. No, many firms are not saints. But at the end of the day when you shut off the lamp and the TV set, who cares? It ain't the end of the world! The world isn't even close to extinction. And the eco-system is better than it was 30 years ago.
Be happy!
Mike.
None.
