With help of app, consumers support brands with matching ideals
Work & Lifestyle
Buycott helps shoppers stick to their principles by letting them know if brand histories clash with the causes they support.
We’ve already seen crowdsourced barcode comments courtesy of Open Label, giving consumers more information about the products they buy. Now a new app called Buycott is helping shoppers stick to their principles by letting them know if brand histories clash with the causes they support.
Available for free on the App Store and Google Play, users first select the political issues they feel it’s important that companies uphold. The app encourages consumers to join broad causes such as demanding GMO labeling, cruelty-free dairy, equal pay for female employees. They can also choose to ban specific brands or brand affiliations for personal or political reasons. When they scan a barcode using the app, Buycott will search its database for connections with particular issues and let the user know if they should avoid or buy it.
Buycott hopes to engage consumers in the decisions made by corporations they support with their money, helping them to vote with their feet while shopping to ensure they’re not funding activity they don’t believe in. Are there other ways to bring greater transparency to the supermarket?
Spotted by Murray Orange, written by Springwise
11th November 2013
Website: www.buycott.com
Contact: www.buycott.com/about#contact