Heather Mace: Boycotts speak volumes at the holidays

This weekend marks the official beginning of the holiday shopping season. For many Americans, that means flocking to whichever retailer offers the lowest prices on their friends’ and families’ wish lists. For others, however, it means holding steady to a practice they adopted nearly a year ago: boycotting some of the biggest merchants in the business.

Shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, a number of boycotts formed in response to his executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in government and private sectors. One company that acquiesced to Trump’s demands was Target, which cut initiatives to support not only Black employees, shoppers and small business owners, but groups like women, veterans, and people with disabilities. What followed was a nationwide Target boycott that began on Feb. 1 and continues to this day.

Since the boycott began, Target’s stock value has declined by 3%, hitting a 52-week low in November. While Target executives blame the sluggish economy for poor performance, activists are quick to point out the impact of their coordinated efforts. In fact, instead of fizzling out at the holidays, this and other boycotts are only growing. For example, the “We Ain’t Buying it” campaign adds Home Depot and Amazon to the list of companies to avoid buying from over the Thanksgiving weekend. The group contends that Home Depot has done little to thwart ICE raids at their stores, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has funded Trump’s authoritarian policies in exchange for tax breaks.

Recent boycotts aren’t limited to retailers, though. When ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in September over the host’s comments about activist Charlie Kirk, thousands of people canceled their subscriptions to parent company Disney+. Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of writers joined the “Boycott, Divest, Unsubscribe” campaign against The New York Times, pledging not to publish their work in its opinion pages for what they call the paper’s anti-Palestinian Gaza coverage. At this point in our country, many people feel helpless to fight political policies they disagree with. What they can control, however, is where to spend their money. So when corporations take actions that don’t align with people’s values, it only makes sense that they fight back with their wallets.

That’s not to say following through with boycotts is easy, especially at the holidays. I have shifted my shopping away from Target and Amazon since January, and it’s tough to resist the temptation to fulfill every wish with the click of a button. I’ll even admit that at Halloween, I caved and bought a few Amazon costume pieces for my children that we couldn’t track down elsewhere. But for the most part, the experience has been relatively painless — even positive. I’ve moved some of my Target runs to Fry’s or Costco, both of which have refused to cut their DEI programs. I’ve also become more intentional about purchases since impulse Amazon buys are off-limits. Our family has always tried to support local businesses, but cutting out a few key big-box stores makes that goal even easier. And utilizing eBay, Etsy, or Poshmark instead of Amazon has led to saving money on more than a few new or slightly used items.

Like any collective action, boycotts can at times feel futile or ineffective. However, seeing Target’s financial losses reminds me that change doesn’t happen all at once. It happens when people draw a line in the sand and decide that their values are more important than convenience. It happens when groups remember that their purchasing power is just that: power. Holiday shopping might be a little trickier for those engaging in boycotts this year, and it may even mean we don’t get the best deal out there. But in the long run, that’s a small price to pay for standing up for what’s right.