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    ‘They’ve lost my trust’: consumers shun companies as bosses kowtow to Trump

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    In late January, Lauren Bedson did what many would likely find unthinkable: she cancelled her Amazon Prime membership. The catalyst was Donald Trump’s inauguration. Many more Americans are planning to make similar decisions this Friday.Bedson made her move after seeing photos of Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, sitting with other tech moguls and billionaires, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai, just rows behind Trump at his inauguration.“I just couldn’t stand to see them so cowardly,” Bedson, of Camas, Washington, told the Guardian. “I lived in Seattle for over a decade. I was a fan of Amazon for a long time, I think they have a good product. But I’m just so disgusted. I don’t want to give these billionaire oligarchs any more of my money.”It’s a sentiment that many Americans have been feeling since Trump entered the White House. Companies and business leaders who were once passive or vocally critical of Trump are now trying to cozy up to him, leading consumers to question the values of the brands they used to trust. A recent Harris poll found that a quarter of American consumers have stopped shopping at their favorite stores because of shifting political stances.Many are being inspired by calls to boycott coming from social media. One boycott has gone viral over the last few weeks: a “blackout” of companies that dropped some of their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals, including Target, Amazon and Walmart, is planned for 28 February with protesters planning to halt all spending at these corporations for the day.View image in fullscreenBut people are also making the decision to boycott at their kitchen tables, trying to figure out how to resist Trump, and perhaps corporate capitalism at large, within their own communities.The Guardian asked readers how their shopping habits have changed over the last few months, as the political climate started to shift after Trump’s win. Hundreds from across the country said that they have stopped shopping at stores such as Walmart and Target that publicly announced the end of DEI goals. Dozens like Bedson had cancelled long held Prime accounts. Others have shut down their Facebook and Instagram accounts in protest of Meta.“I’m just trying to do little things that make me feel a little bit empowered, to stake my claim against what’s happening and how companies are acting in ways that are opposed to my values,” said Kim Wohlenhaus, of St Louis, Missouri, who cancelled her Prime membership, deleted her Meta accounts and has stopped shopping at Target. “It feels good to be able to do something.”Erica Bradley, of Reno, Nevada, said she stopped shopping at Target because of their changing DEI policies.“I don’t plan on going there ever again, just because I feel like they’ve shown that they’re not really committed to these things,” Bradley said. “They’ve lost my trust.”View image in fullscreenFor many consumers, the shift away from the big companies has revealed how much they have come to rely on them. As of last spring, 75% of American consumers had Amazon Prime memberships, a total of 180m Prime accounts, according to Bloomberg.Bedson said cancelling her account made her aware of a culture of consumerism in American where “in some ways, it feels like we don’t have a choice”.“Amazon is so convenient,” she said. “I think we all have become very complacent or complicit, and it’s hard to make these changes. But on the other hand, what else can we do?”It’s been a year since Bradley cancelled her Prime account, after she saw Amazon’s union busting. She recalls a transition period as she was adjusting to life without Prime, but it ultimately led her to spend less overall.“I just decided I don’t really need a lot of these things. Like I don’t need more clothes, I don’t really need more house decorations, which are things I used to spend a lot of money on,” Bradley said. “It’s not retail therapy anymore.”The Harris poll found that a third of Americans are similarly trying to “opt out” of the economy, cutting down on overall spending as the political stances of corporations have become murky.View image in fullscreen“It’s like a Whac-a-Mole now,” Wohlenhaus said. “You could really look in any direction and find something you dislike about the way corporations are caving to this administration.”Wohlenhaus said she has started to prioritize shopping at local businesses. She kept her Costco membership, since the company affirmed its DEI policies.During Joe Biden’s presidency, many of the boycotts against companies actually came from conservatives who felt corporations were caving to a “woke” mob. But boycotts didn’t amount to any serious consequences – with two exceptions. Bud Light saw a drop in sales after it sponsored a post by a transgender influencer and Target removed some of its Pride merchandise after conservative backlash.It’s unclear what the consequences of the current backlash will be. But Wohlenhaus and others voiced optimism that consumers are thinking critically about the choices they’re making at checkout.“Hopefully if thousands of other families are doing what we’re doing, I think they’ll start to feel it,” she said. “We don’t care about your products as much as we care about those values that we cherish.” More

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      UK marketplace sellers face ‘second Brexit’ hit from Trump’s US import rules

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      Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.The changes were introduced at the start of February in an attempt to protect US retailers from a surge in competition from the likes of Chinese online marketplaces Shein and Temu, but were indefinitely paused after the US customs service struggled to cope with the massive increase in parcels requiring checks last week.However, they are expected to be implemented within the coming months, potentially driving up prices for US consumers and hitting sales for online retailers.Before the change, parcels with a value of less than $800 (£635) shipped to individuals in the US were exempt from import tax and did not pass through the usual customs checks. That scheme, originally designed to help smooth online shopping, is being revoked after it emerged that the number of shipments under the “de minimis” rules had ballooned to more than 1bn, valued at $54.5bn by 2023 – most of them from China or Hong Kong via firms including Shein and Temu.“You are looking at an increase of $30 to $50 per consignment [group of parcels],” said Brad Ashton at the advisory firm RSM. “It is creating a perfect storm for online retailers putting goods into the US market. It has a lot of the hallmarks of Brexit in terms of its potential impact on small traders.“Businesses will see their margins eroded because costs will increase. We may get to a point where the changes make a UK business uncompetitive in selling to the US.”The widespread use of Chinese factories for many British brands, particularly in fashion, means businesses such as Asos and Boohoo will be drawn in, as well as many UK independent marketplace sellers.It will not just affect goods made in China and then sent from the UK, but potentially a much wider array, as any package containing even one product made in China may have to pay import tax and pass through customs checks, further increasing costs, according to experts.There is also an expectation that the de minimis rules will eventually be scrapped for all imports, no matter their origin.About $5bn worth of parcels were exported to the US from the UK under de minimis rules in 2021, according to a Congressional Research Service analysis of data from US Customs and Border Protection. About 80% of that was estimated to be related to online retail, with fashion likely to be a large proportion of it.Chris White, at the logistics company Fulfilmentcrowd, said that during the brief period when the rules were in place in early February, one-third of the parcels it shipped to the US from the UK were found to be of Chinese origin and subject to the new taxes.Fast-fashion specialists Asos and Boohoo sell about £300m of clothing a year to the US. Both are already struggling to compete with the rise of Shein and high street retailers, which have revived after the Covid pandemic. John Stevenson, a retail analyst at Peel Hunt, said Asos and Boohoo would have to “adjust prices or take a view on [the] profitability of operating in the US”.As well as the higher tax charges, customs checks required after the rule change will add as much as two days to the processing of orders, making UK retailers less competitive with US-based operators on the speed of delivery.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionStevenson said the hit to Asos and Boohoo was “not business-critical” in the way it could be for Shein or Temu, which he believed were heavily reliant on the tax benefit, but that it would have an impact.In the short term, online sellers will probably have lower sales because of uncertainty among US shoppers over possible taxes. White said that during the period when the new rules were in place, similar parcels were loaded with different levels of duty as local customs officers made different decisions.He said a further element of the rule change might be to expose brands that were “trading on an image of being British or European” as being “made in China and not Savile Row”, potentially damaging their appeal.There would be “lots of crossed fingers and puzzled faces” over the changes in legislation, with retailers potentially opening more US warehousing or, longer term, to switch sources of supply, White added.Boohoo closed its US warehouse earlier this year, and Asos is scheduled to close its facility there in November. However, a reversal could be on the cards if the de minimis rules are confirmed. Many fast-fashion companies have already diversified their supply chains – making more in India, Bangladesh or Turkey. Trump’s tax changes could accelerate this further.Shein is reportedly incentivising Chinese suppliers to set up in Vietnam, according to a report by Bloomberg.It is not clear when the new rules might be implemented as the US tries to put the technology and workforce in place to handle the new system. Experts say it could take weeks or months.While there is a chance that Trump will change his mind, as he has done on tariffs with Canada and Mexico, no business can bet on which way the US might jump. More

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      Inside Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ crackdown on US consumer watchdog

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      The termination email for a score of employees at the top US consumer watchdog arrived in the late hours of the night.“Unfortunately, the Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs,” dozens of probationary staffers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were informed on 11 February.“For these reasons, I regrettably inform you that I am removing you from your position of [job title], with the agency and the federal service [effective date],” continued the letter from Adam Martinez, CFPB’s chief human capital officer and seen by the Guardian.The CFPB has long been known as a popular agency, one that’s recovered more than $21bn for defrauded Americans since its creation in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But now it faces the threat of dismantlement, and becoming the next institution under the Trump administration to potentially be rapidly hollowed out from within – a situation that could cause consumers the need to fend for themselves against predatory financial practices. More broad layoffs may be on the way.“It’s been really stressful to potentially lose my way to support my family as the primary breadwinner,” said one of several CFPB employees who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation. “But the chaos that’s happening is impacting not just the bureau, but consumers and industry.”The trouble began earlier this month, when the newly appointed acting director, Russell Vought, issued a sweeping order halting all agency operations. Staff were instructed not to perform any work tasks without explicit written approval. The agency’s headquarters was abruptly closed, its website went dark, and its social media accounts were deleted.“This has been unprecedented,” said a second CFPB employee, who joined the financial watchdog just before Trump’s first term. “No administrative tasks, no trainings, we can’t do anything. We were in the middle of exams, doing what we do. And now there are open questions about everything.”The freeze has left both CFPB staff and the financial institutions they oversee in limbo. Ongoing examinations have been suspended mid-process. Statutory deadlines loom with no one authorized to handle them. Even routine consumer-protection functions have ground to a halt.“Right now, they’re not allowed to proceed with any kind of court cases,” a third employee explained. “Any of these cases they’re litigating against any kind of bank is presumably going to be thrown out, which really sucks.”The work stoppage came with a twist: the possible installation of surveillance software on employee computers just days before the shutdown, two current staffers told the Guardian.“People are almost scared to work. There are concerns of keystrokes being monitored,” the first CFPB employee said. “No one wants to get fired for insubordination.”“I would have it open and I’d be, like, jiggling my mouse to keep it green,” the second employee said, “if only because I’m just extremely nervous about what the consequences are of a work stoppage.”The CFPB did not return a request for comment.This climate of fear has only been amplified by the tech billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” team, who were granted access to CFPB’s headquarters and computer systems. Hours after their arrival, Musk posted “CFPB RIP” with a tombstone emoji on his social media platform, X.The CFPB holds vast amounts of sensitive consumer and corporate data, raising serious security concerns. The bureau maintains one of the federal government’s largest consumer-complaint databases, containing millions of detailed records about Americans’ personal financial struggles, from mortgage difficulties to credit card disputes. This includes social security numbers, account details and comprehensive financial histories.“Companies submit confidential business information, trade secrets and information about consumers,” the third employee went on. “People reveal very personal, sensitive information, and it seems like there has been very little regard towards protecting that.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionMeanwhile, the administration is preparing for even more dramatic cuts. According to legal filings from a federal workers’ union on Thursday, plans are believed to be under way to terminate more than 95% of the bureau’s employees, in effect rendering it impossible for the agency to fulfill any of its statutory functions.Another legal filing from the union that represents CFPB employees on Friday seeks an injunction to prevent further disruption, arguing that Vought’s moves violate separations of powers by obstructing Congress’s mandate to protect American consumers.There are fears that CFPB’s potential demise would leave a massive void in consumer protection. Over the years, some strong enforcement actions included a $120m settlement with student loan servicer Navient over illegal practices, a $175m penalty against Block’s Cash App for inadequate fraud protection and a $3.7bn order against Wells Fargo for mismanagement of auto loans, mortgages and deposit accounts.Still, Trump has been explicit about his intentions to gut the agency. When asked whether his goal was to eliminate the CFPB entirely, he told a press pool on Monday: “I would say, yeah, because we’re trying to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse.” He added: “It was a very important thing to get rid of.”Adding to the confusion, Trump moved to install his own pick atop the watchdog, nominating Jonathan McKernan, the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board member.McKernan, who quit his FDIC post just a day before his nomination, would potentially be moving from an agency focused on banking stability to one focused on consumer protection. He took a parting swipe at financial regulations as he left the FDIC, posting on X that he hoped it would “succeed in its mission while also reversing the regulatory overreaches of the last few years”.The actions come despite overwhelming public support for financial protection. A September poll from Americans for Financial Reform showed that 91% of voters believe it is important to regulate financial services to ensure they are fair for consumers, including 95% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans and 88% of independents.But the administration is looking to move ahead and dismantle the agency’s infrastructure anyway. As the future of America’s consumer financial watchdog hangs in the balance, its employees remain defiant.“We’re the watchdogs. We do this work to protect all American consumers. It doesn’t matter who they voted for, where they live,” one staffer said. “What matters is that people have rights. There are laws to protect them, and we’re here to do the work to help protect them, and we’re not going to be bullied.” More

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      Poor reviews, missing product: firms’ anti-woke offerings soak consumers

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      Rightwing companies are attempting to “bilk” conservative Americans by pushing “anti-woke” products including razors, chocolate and floor cleaner, an analyst said, as the Daily Wire news outlet launched a “reclaim masculinity” multivitamin.The launch of the “manly green vitamin capsules”, which cost 10 times more than Centrum-branded multivitamins, fits into an emerging pattern of companies selling what they claim are masculine products in reaction to big brands allegedly embracing liberal values.In an article announcing its multivitamin, the Daily Wire asked readers if they wanted to “buy your men’s health products from a company that partners with drag queens and supports radical organizations that push gender procedures on children”. It did not name any particular company, but the “us v them” dynamic used by the Daily Wire and others is clear.Buying and consuming the multivitamin will help with that, the Responsible Man website says. It adds that the product, which comes in “manly green vitamin capsules”, “may be the finest Men’s Multivitamin on the market”.One of the best-known of the rightwing products, Jeremy’s Razors, was launched by the Daily Wire, a rightwing news operation, in 2022, while last year a Georgia man launched Ultra Right Beer, a rightwing alternative to Bud Light, after the latter ran a limited ad campaign with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans activist.Both products have received poor reviews, but that hasn’t stopped the Daily Wire from entering into the world of vitamins.“As a man, you have people relying on you and the world conspires to see you fail,” claims the Responsible Man multivitamin website, which was launched by the Daily Wire at the start of May.“With so much chaos and uncertainty, it’s crucial to take charge of your life and responsibilities.”As Media Matters reported, the site is promoting its multivitamin as a response to what it calls a “woke mind virus”, which it vaguely claims is infecting US corporations.This isn’t the Daily Wire’s first foray into selling rightwing products. Its co-founder and co-CEO Jeremy Boreing launched Jeremy’s Razors in 2022, after the razor company Harry’s said it would stop advertising on the Daily Wire.Going back further, brands such as Black Rifle Coffee have championed their conservative leanings to appeal to Republican-supporting consumers, while PublicSquare – like Amazon, but for people who “respect traditional American values” – has been backed by Donald Trump Jr.“What’s newer, I think, is we’ve seen from the Daily Wire in particular a sort of range of issues in which the media outlet side is kind of creating demand for particular products by tearing down particular companies,” said Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters, a progressive watchdog group.“And then on the business side, they’re creating a supply of products that they can endorse and sell, so that people can buy them instead.”Jeremy’s Razors has continually received poor reviews – “Absolutely terrible … Would rather use products from a woke company than rip my skin off with Jeremy’s Razors,” one person wrote on the company’s Facebook page in March – but that hasn’t stopped the company, and what seemingly began as a fit of pique has since evolved into a whole range of Jeremy’s products.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThere’s an all-purpose cleaner: “Sure to wipe out woke,” the blurb says; a shampoo: “Softens hair, not masculinity”; and a hand soap: “You’re not responsible for woke culture, and you don’t have to participate in it either. Wash your hands of it all.”“They’re attacking existing men’s health companies, saying that they can’t be trusted and are bad. And then they are providing you instead with an alternative,” Gertz said.“You just have to give them money and they will give you a product that I guess you can feel more politically comfortable with. Effectively what we see on the right is they create a very dedicated audience and then they bilk them for all they’re worth.”Notably, with many of the rightwing companies, commitment to non-woke causes comes at a price. Ultra Right beer retails at $45 for 24 beers, about twice the price of the liberal Bud Light. The Daily Wire’s multivitamin costs $39.99 for a 30-day supply – about 10 times the price of Centrum multivitamins.There’s a risk for the customer, too, even aside from the irritation allegedly caused by Jeremy’s Razors.Ultra Right Beer earned an F rating from the Better Business Bureau in January, after it received 175 complaints in six months – mostly for not delivering beer people had paid for.“​​Ordered 6 months ago. Tried to call no answer, emailed several times, no reply. Complete disgraceful fraud,” one person wrote on the Ultra Right Beer Facebook page.“I was duped!” More