Whenever possible, the Olympia Food Co-op should honor nationally recognized boycotts which are called for reasons that are compatible with our goals and mission statement.
Exceptions to this policy include:
Staple products that are being boycotted across the board ( e.g. if someone called a boycott on all non-organic bananas) or for which alternated brands or product lines are not available; or,
Dietary specialty products for which alternatives are not available.
In the event that we decide not to honor a boycott, we should make an effort to publicize the issues surrounding the boycott and why we are continuing to carry the product in question, to allow our members to make the most educated decisions possible. When a member informs us of a boycott, we should ask them for as much of the following information as possible:
- Who is calling the boycott
- How to contact them
- Basic outline of the issues involved
- Parameters of the boycott (what products are specifically involved); and,
- What will end the boycott
A request to honor a boycott may come from anyone in the organization. The request
will be referred to the Merchandising Coordinator to determine which products
and departments are affected. The M.C. will delegate the boycott request to
the manager of the department which contains the largest number of boycotted
products. The department manager will make a written recommendation to the
Staff who will decide by consensus whether or not to honor a boycott.
The written recommendation should include:
- Who’s calling the boycott and why
- List of products we carry that would be affected
- Information on availability of alternative products (inc. price)
- Significant difficulties in honoring the boycott
- Recommendations of other affected department manager
- Exceptions to the recommendation (e.g. “I recommend we honor the boycott
except for this one particular product, and here’s why.”)
The department manager will post a sign informing customers of the staff’s decision and reasoning regarding the boycott. If the staff decides to honor a boycott, the M.C. will notify the boycotted company or body of our decision.
The Co-op will not accept bulk orders for items produced by the target of a Co-op honored boycott. Bulk orders for items produced by targets of boycotts which the Co-op has not yet formally chosen to honor will be accepted.
Approved by Staff *** May, 1993