Hello there! You may have already read my little bit about this in the about me section. The purpose of this page is to explain what ethical blogging and buying means to me. By choosing to become an ethical beauty buyer, I am peacefully protesting against the oppression of Palestinians in their home land.
Upon finding out that many of the major makeup industry brands have a link to this oppression, often by funding some of their millions of profit made directly to it. I realised that buying into these brands went against my morals and values. If you do a quick google search on Palestine, it will not take you long to see what heartbreaking brutal conditions innocent men, women and children and forced to live under.
Limited hours of electricity supply, no access to clean water which leads to diseases being spread, vital medical supplies being blocked from entry into the country, which leads to many many deaths that could have been avoided had the medical aide been there. And that is just the tip of the ice-burg. Essentially it is the removal of basic human rights that
I cannot support any brand which donates their profits to fuel this oppression. I wish I had been aware of this in the past and I am exercising my freedom of choice, to not fund them any further. I work hard for my wage and would rather my money does not go towards such oppresion. The following quote is one I stand behind very much so and this is true for ALL cases of injustice, not just the Palestinians' :
Upon finding out that many of the major makeup industry brands have a link to this oppression, often by funding some of their millions of profit made directly to it. I realised that buying into these brands went against my morals and values. If you do a quick google search on Palestine, it will not take you long to see what heartbreaking brutal conditions innocent men, women and children and forced to live under.
Limited hours of electricity supply, no access to clean water which leads to diseases being spread, vital medical supplies being blocked from entry into the country, which leads to many many deaths that could have been avoided had the medical aide been there. And that is just the tip of the ice-burg. Essentially it is the removal of basic human rights that
I cannot support any brand which donates their profits to fuel this oppression. I wish I had been aware of this in the past and I am exercising my freedom of choice, to not fund them any further. I work hard for my wage and would rather my money does not go towards such oppresion. The following quote is one I stand behind very much so and this is true for ALL cases of injustice, not just the Palestinians' :
'If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.' - Desmond Tutu
I would like to make it clear that peacefully boycotting is not in any way the same as hating a particular religion or race of people. It would be extremely ignorant to hate and blame a large group of people based on the actions of a minority. In the same way that all Muslims cannot be blamed for 9/11, all Jews cannot be blamed for the ongoing oppression of Palestine. And in fact, there are many Jewish people who share the same views as I do, as well as people of the Christian faith, other faiths and those with no faith at all.
I boycott because I do not want to fund the removal of human rights from a group of innocent people. Whilst the Palestinian/Israeli conflict cannot be removed from being seen as political, I look past that and think about the people who 's every day realities are that they may not come back home from work or school that day, because that is exactly what they are faced with living under oppression.
The three main parent companies that I boycott are L'Oreal, Estee Lauder and P&G.
I boycott because I do not want to fund the removal of human rights from a group of innocent people. Whilst the Palestinian/Israeli conflict cannot be removed from being seen as political, I look past that and think about the people who 's every day realities are that they may not come back home from work or school that day, because that is exactly what they are faced with living under oppression.
The three main parent companies that I boycott are L'Oreal, Estee Lauder and P&G.
Thankfully I found a wonderful blog called ArtOfPalestine and FULL credit goes to the blog owner for supplying such a detailed list of brands to boycott.
2023 update - Unfortunately this link does not work anymore...I do have an updated post with clear information based on the BDS guidelines. Please read this here.
Companies to Boycott
Estée Lauder brands:
- Aveda
- Becca
- Coach cosmetics
- Smashbox
- Tom Ford
- Aramis
- Bumble and Bumble
- Aerin
- American Beauty
- Clinique
- Bobbi Brown
- Darphin
- Donna Karan
- Ermenegildo Zegna
- Flirt!
- Goodskin Labs
- Grassroots Research Labs
- Jo Malone
- Kiton
- La Mer
- Lab series skincare for men
- MAC
- Michael Kors
- OJON
- Origins
- OSIAO
- Prescriptives
- Tommy Hilfiger
- Too Faced Cosmetics
- Tory Burch
Ahava: Ahava products are made with “dead sea minerals” from occupied natural resources on the West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem.
Revlon: Revlon’s largest stakeholder, Ronald Perelman, is a major trustee of the Simon Weisenthal foundation, which runs the somewhat ironically named Museum of Tolerance. The Museum has been criticized for its presentation of the Holocaust as justification for the Zionist takeover of Palestine and for its decision to open a branch in Jerusalem on the grounds of the Mamilla Cemetery. This historic Muslim cemetery goes back 1,000 years and has been desecrated by the project, with skeletons removed and discarded against archeological ethical standards and Israeli law. Revlon also owns Almay.
L’Oreal: This one is a doozy, because it’s pretty bad, but manufactures just about everything. L’Oreal Israel operates a factory in the Israeli town of Migdal Ha’emek in the Lower Galilee. The settlement of Migdal Ha’emek was established in 1952 on lands belonging to the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian village of al-Mujaydil, whose original inhabitants are still denied the right to return to their homes. L’Oreal Israel also manufacturers a line of products using Dead Sea minerals under the name “Natural Sea Beauty” that is exported to 22 countries. It should be noted that one third of the western shore of the Dead Sea lies in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. While the entire shore and its resources are systematically closed to Palestinians by Israeli military occupation and apartheid practices, Israel exploits the Dead Sea for international tourism, mining, and improving its image.
L’Oreal’s activities in Israel are not, however, limited to L’Oreal Israel. While Palestinian academics and students in the occupied territories and Israel are systematically impeded by Israeli occupation roadblocks and other oppressive measures from conducting normal academic life and research, L’Oreal awarded a $100,000 “lifetime achievement” award to a scientist at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science in July 2008. The Weizmann Institute, since its establishment, has been a major center for clandestine research and development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons on behalf of Israel’s military establishment with which it has close ties. It is, therefore, one of many academic institutions in Israel that are in collusion with the state’s violations of international law and Palestinian human rights, and which are targeted for academic boycott by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
L’Oreal brands:
- Lancome
- Giorgio Armani Beauty
- Yves Saint Laurent Beauté
- Biotherm
- Kiehl’s
- Ralph Lauren
- Shu Uemura
- Cacharel
- Helena Rubinstein
- Clarisonic
- Diesel
- Viktor & Rolf
- Yue Sai
- Maison Martin Margiela
- Urban Decay
- Guy Laroche
- Paloma Picasso
- Vichy
- La Roche-Posay
- SkinCeuticals
- Inneov
- Rogers&Gallet
- Sanoflore
- L’Oreal Paris
- Garnier
- Maybelline New York
- Softsheen.Carson
- Essie
- L’Oreal Professionnel
- Kérastase
- Redken
- Matrix
- Pureology
- Shu Uemura Art of Hair
- Mizani
- NYX (recent acquisition)
Procter & Gamble: P&G is ubiquitous, but unfortunately, it’s one of the largest clients of Israeli company Avgol Nonwoven, which makes textiles for hygienic products. Avgol Nonwoven operates a plant in the Barkan industrial complex, an illegal Israeli manufacturing settlement on the West Bank adjacent to the settlements of Barkan and Ariel.
Procter & Gamble brands include:
- Always
- Tampax
- Luvs
- Pampers
- Bounty
- Naturella
- Tempo
- Charmin
- Whisper
- Dodot
- Puffs
- Crest
- Gillette
- Oral-B
- Scope
- Vicks
- Venus
- Clearblue
- Fusion
- Braun
- CoverGirl
- Herbal Essences
- Max Factor
- Nice ‘n Easy
- Pantene
- Vidal Sassoon
- Dolce & Gabbana
- Ivory
- Aussie
- Head & Shoulders
- Old Spice
- Secret
- Olay
- Clairol Professional
- Cheer
- Bounce
- Daz
- Era
- Gain
- Mr. Clean
- Comet
- Downy
- Fab
- Gala
- Mr. Proper
- Ariel
- Cascade
- Dash
- Dawn
- Dreft Laundry
- Fairy
- Joy
- Myth
- Swiffer
- Febreeze
- Duracell
Johnson & Johnson: Unfortunately, the second major corporation manufacturing health and beauty products in the US also has problematic ties to Israel. In 1998 Israel bestowed a Jubilee Award to Johnson & Johnson. Awarded personally by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Israel’s 50th anniversary, the Jubilee Awards were given to select individuals and companies who, through their investments and trade relationships, have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy.
Johnson & Johnson brands:
- Johnson’s baby products
- Aveeno
- Lubriderm
- Aveeno
- Neutrogena
- Vendome
- Clean & Clear
- Roc
- Bebe
- Band-Aid
- Bengay
- Neosporin
- Cortaid
- Listerine
- Rembrandt
- Tylenol
- Sudafed
- Pepcid
- Nicorette
- Motrin
- Immodium
- Dolormin
- Benadryl
- Mylanta
- Zyrtec
- Splenda
- Benecol
- Lactaid
- Visine
- Acuvue contact lenses
Kimberly-Clark: If you hoped Kimberly-Clark might provide an alternative to Johnson & Johnson or P&G products, you’re about to be disappointed – they also received a Jubilee Award in 1998.
Kimberly-Clark brands:
- Kotex
- Depends
- Poise
- Kleenex
- Scott
- Viva
- Cottonelle
- Wondersoft
- Thick & Thirsty
- Huggies
- Pull-Ups
- GoodNites, Little Swimmers, Snugglers, etc
To read the full list, including some which are in the green zone click HERE
The way I see it is if my sister, uncle or grandparents were being forced to live under such inhumane conditions, I would do anything and everything in my power to help. The reality is I alone cannot do much to help the Palestinians, but I can control where I spend my money and I refuse to play a part in their oppression, no matter how tiny that part may be. At the end of the day I can eat, sleep and put makeup on in peace knowing it hasn't in any way been funding the suffering of innocent people.
If you have any queries please feel free to ask me.
