BOYCOTTING 

What is boycotting?  

Boycotting is a collective refusal to buy, use, or support a product, service, or organisation as a form of protest or pressure for change. Boycotting something is a powerful way to live your values and can lead to positive social change. 

How is boycotting used in antislavery activism?  

Boycotting has always been a powerful tool in antislavery activism. Boycotts of sugar produced by people enslaved by the British Empire in the 18th-century helped build public opposition to slavery. In modern times, consumer boycotts of companies linked to forced labour have led to improvements in ethical sourcing practices and legislation to improve supply chain transparency.  

What can I do? 

💰By choosing not to buy from companies who are either actively utilising modern slavery or not taking sufficient action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains, you can send a message that they need to do better. 

🚫 By choosing not to buy something at all, you can also help to address the over consumption crisis which is massively harming people and the planet. 

 There are lots of high-risk modern slavery products. You can reduce your consumption of these products, and boycott brands.   

Here are some areas and brands you can boycott:

Clothing/Fashion  

Fashion production often relies on exploited labour in low-income countries, where workers endure long hours, low pay, and unsafe conditions. Many fashion brands have been publicly linked to cases of worker exploitation. Others are not transparent about their supply chains, have shown little to no evidence of paying workers in their supply chains a living wage or undertaking responsible purchasing practices such as fair pricing negotiations and lead times. 

You can minimise your contribution to labour exploitation by reducing your consumption of fashion items. Opt to buy fewer items of a higher quality that will last longer, repair your items, participate in clothes swaps, or shop second-hand.  

But what if I have to buy something? Which brands should I avoid?  

  • Nine West, Stussy, Temu, Ally Fashion, Quiksilver and Jeanswest are all brands that are ranked as ‘we avoid’ by Good On You and scored badly in 2024 Ethical Fashion Guide.  

  • SHEIN, Sports Direct and Valleygirl are also popular branks ranked as ‘we avoid’ by Good On You.  

  • Forever 21, Ally Fashion, General Pants Co., City Beach, Billabong, Quiksilver, Roxy, Anaconda, Harris Scarfe, Novo Shoes, Industrie, Seafolly, TK Maxx and Spotlight are also popular brands who scored badly in 2024 Ethical Fashion Guide*.  

Sources: 

2024 Ethical Fashion Guide: Baptist World Aid Australia conduct annual research into fashion brands and give them a score out of 100 based on how they’re going at protecting workers and the environment. 

Good On You: founded in Australia, Good on You is a global platform (and downloadable app) that uses publicly reported information to rate fashion brands on the impact they have on people, the planet, and animals.  

Chocolate  

Cocoa is a key ingredient in chocolate and much of the world's cocoa is sourced from West Africa, particularly Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where child labour and forced labour are widespread in the cocoa industry. Farmers are often paid extremely low prices, leading to poverty that drives reliance on exploitative labour practices. Despite industry promises, progress in eliminating these abuses has been slow. 

What chocolate (and ice cream) brands should I avoid?  

  • Cadbury, Dairy Milk, Green & Black's, Milka, Oreo and Toblerone are all owned by parent company Mondelez International who lack transparency and commitment to improving their practices. In the one occasion that they participated in the Chocolate Scorecard in 2024, they were ranked 25th out of 38 large companies and they declined to participate in 2025.  

  • Starbucks came in 27th place in the 2025 Chocolate Scorecard with a total score of 37% including an ‘orange’ ranking for addressing child labour, indicating improvements in policy & practice are needed.   

  • Ben & Jerry's, Bubble o Bill, Blue Ribbon Icecream, Cornetto, Magnum, Streets, Golden Gaytime, Magnum, Paddle Pop, Vienetta, Weis Bars and Wall's are all owned by parent company Unilever who came in 19th place in the 2025 Chocolate Scorecard with a total score of 57% including an ‘orange’ ranking for paying a living wage & a ‘yellow’ ranking for addressing child labour, indicating improvements in policy & practice are needed. 

Source: Chocolate Scorecard Be Slavery Free work with universities, consultants and civil society groups to survey and rank chocolate companies and retailers on key sustainability issues including child labour and worker exploitation.