Buycott

Buycott is new app that's creating some buzz. It's "a platform that empowers consumers to make well-informed purchasing decisions” and saves their precious dollars from getting into the bank accounts of the companies whose business practices they resent. It reveals the corporate ownership structures behind the multitude of brands on the market and makes it easier to trace whether the chips you're about to buy has anything to do with Monsanto.  Here's how it works. After scanning a barcode Buycott traces the brand to the parent company that owns it and then let's you know if it's in conflict with the campaigns you've joined or created. A campaign has a goal ("Avoid Sweatshop and Child Labor" or "Support Veterans", for example) and a list of companies that it aims to support (buycott) or avoid (boycott). So, if you support gun control, for example, the App will tell you that it's a good idea to buycott Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and boycott Starbucks coffee.