Buycott App Gives Consumers Back Power to Avoid Unethical Companies

Culture

Perhaps it's a strange concept to think of, but each time we buy a product we are voicing a political opinion. Did you know that every time you buy Brawny paper towels you are contributing to billionaire conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch?

The Koch industries owns, or is a subsidiary of a bunch of companies that the American consumer regularly purchase from. The Koch brothers even have their hands in yoga pants, a disturbing thought indeed. That's because they own the company that creates Lycra, a popular component of yoga pants everywhere. One of the most powerful ways Americans can voice their support, or lack thereof, is with their wallets. That’s where the new app Buycott comes in.

Here's what it looks like:

 

Photos courtesy of Buycott Inc.

Buycott was developed by a 26-year-old freelance programmer Ivan Pardo. Pardo took 16 months to develop the program after he heard Darcy Burner’s Netroots Nation keynote address last year challenging developers to create a program that informed consumers.

Buycott will show consumers the entire corporate family tree on your phone screen once you scan the barcode. You can even boycott business practices you don't agree with from inside the app via user-created campaigns. One of the campaigns, Demand GMO Labeling, tells consumers if the company they are purchasing from opposes the labeling of genetically modified food. That means that you'd know whether or not Monsanto, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kraft, Heinz, or Kellogg's was behind your food and what kind of money they have donated against GMO labeling practices. 

This app truly arms consumers with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions. Now you can truly control where your money goes. It's awesome, and I can't wait to go to the store to test it out for myself. 

Buycott is available for download on iOS and Android devices.