r/Anticonsumption • u/Healthy_Block3036 • 1d ago

Corporations Target struggles after end of DEI program and boycott, with foot traffic down 8 weeks in a row.

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/target-dei-demise-boycott-foot-traffic-down-eighth-consecutive-week/?itm_source=parsely-api
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u/Wirklichx 1d ago

They pulled the pride merch. That was my line in the sand. They forget who actually shops there in cities. Fuckheads.

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u/accostedbyhippies 1d ago

I have a friend who designed merch for that pride collection and she said it was a nightmare from the moment she signed the contract. They kept cutting the collection, changing the financials, made her remove her credit and then pulled the entire collection. Working with Target wound up costing her money.

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u/dignifiedstrut 1d ago

Yeah, I live in texas and would regularly look forward to checking out the pride stuff in June. Surprised to see in 2023? my local target had absolutely nothing. Hell even the walmart next door had a mini pride stand with hats, socks, flags and pins.

Target sent me a shopper survey afterward and I let them know I was disappointed in seeing them cave to manufactured outrage from conservatives and haven't been back since.

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u/AnotherRTFan 18h ago

Their pride designs were ass for the most part, but bowing down to bigots so fast made me so fucking mad. It's why I am gonna keep boycotting. And why I went to my hometown's Pride celebration and came out to the rest of my extended relatives on FB. I would not be controlled by fear from extremists. I will not back down.

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u/Bayou13 15h ago

That was mine too.

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u/Comfortable_Angle671 1d ago

Pride merch turned a lot of shoppers off … especially if they shopped with their kids

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u/warm_kitchenette 1d ago

Yeah, right, children are the ones freaking out when they see rainbows on stuff. We can't stop people from being bigoted and stupid.

I insist on a store that supports my friends and family, and ones that do not align with fascists.

I haven't spent money in Target since last year. I cannot imagine ever spending money there again, not without a clean sweep of the C suite.

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u/Comfortable_Angle671 1d ago

It isn’t about children freaking out. It is about exposing them to the positive and protecting them against the negative. A child might not mind going to a strip club but it is the responsibility of the parent to prevent it.

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u/warm_kitchenette 23h ago

Here's some merchandise from 2023 for pride month.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/reviewed/2023/05/23/pride-month-brands-giving-back-lgbtq-community/70248233007/

Can you identify which products are exactly like "going to a strip club"? Can you identify any products that could not be shown on network TV?

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u/Comfortable_Angle671 8h ago

If Target created a display of tassels, garter belts, pasties and high heels and added rainbows, unicorns and glitter to attract the kids.. would that be okay? It still promotes sexuality and immorality. As my grandfather said, you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig. So no, I don’t want my kids exposed to either and I certainly don’t support using a Biblical image representing a covenant from God being used to promote these things or condone these acts.

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u/warm_kitchenette 6h ago edited 5h ago

So you cannot identify any product that would "like going to a strip club". You cannot identify any product here that could not be shown on network TV.

You pivot to a different hypothetical, one that didn't actually happen. It's a stupid hypothetical, since kids do like high heeled shoes, which are available everywhere. Do you think high heels are very sexual? Have you worked in an office, been to a wedding, or walked down a street in a major city, ever?

No child would even understand a pasty, since they haven't been used since the 1970s, and they are overtly sexual. Tassels are ... what? You are aware that tassels appear in every context: curtains, clothing, bags, right? Are you thinking about tassels that appear on strippers, because that's what you try not to think about? Strippers?

Rainbows are known as a covenant to Christians. Crosses are also known as a symbol to Christians. If they are holy to you, you have that privilege. Worship them.

However, you cannot stop them from being used in other contexts. Should I stop using the letter t because it is a symbol holy to the Christians? Should non-Christians -- the majority of the world -- stop looking at rainbows? Are prisms ok?

Jews and Muslims don't eat pork. Hindus don't eat beef. This is part of their religion. Do you think they have the same right that you claim, to stop you from consuming pork or beef because it is offensive to their religion?

Your thinking is disordered and foolish.