BUY BLUE ! The Buy Blue 2005 Christmas list ...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

http://www.buyblue.org/BlueChristmas

Airlines
Aloha Airlines
Frontier
JetBlue
Southwest
United
Beauty / Grooming /
Cosmetics
BeneFit
Christian Dior
Estee Lauder
Sephora
The Body Shop
Beer / Wine / Spirits
Boston Beer Co.
Sam Adams
Brown-Forman
Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort
E&J Gallo
New Belgium
LVMH
Hennessy, Moet & Chandon
Sierra Nevada
Big Box / Superstores
Costco
Bookstores / CDs / DVDs
Barnes & Noble
Powell's
Candy / Chocolate / Desserts
Lindt's
Cell Phones / Phone Service
Qualcomm
Working Assets
Clothes
Burlington Coat Factory
Claire's Stores
Frederick's of Hollywood
Gap
Banana Republic, Old Navy
J. Crew
Levi Strauss
LL Bean
Men's Wearhouse, Inc.
Patagonia
Polo Ralph Lauren
REI
Coffee / Coffee Shops
Caribou Coffee
Green Mountain Coffee
Peet's
Starbucks
Computers / Electronics
Apple
Fry's
Gateway
Eyewear
Luxottica
Arnette, Killer Loop, Ray-Ban, Prada, Vogue, DKNY
Fast Food
Arby's
Panera Bread
Sonic
Subway
Groceries
Trader Joe's
Gyms
Bally's Total Fitness
Holiday & Gifts
Lillian Vernon
Yankee Candle
Home & Garden
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Crate & Barrel
IKEA
Hotels
Best Western
Choice Hotels
Hyatt
Starwood
Jewelry
Signet
Leather Goods
Coach
LVMH
Fendi, Etc…
Satellite Radio
XM
Shoes
Foot Locker
Reebok
Timberland
Toys / Games / Video Games
Mattel
Nintendo

[marmar]

1. Cool. That shouldn't be too hard to live up to...

I'd like to add:

Travel destinations: The East Coast from D.C. up to Maine, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Oregon and Washington, and Canada.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. Hey, good news is that there are only 4 true red states left

http://surveyusa.com/50State2005/50StatePOTUS1105SortbyApproval.htm

Bush's approval exceeds dissapproval in only 4 states - Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Miss.

[Leilani]

64. You Forgot Hawaii!!

Hey all you blue staters...come to Hawaii, we need your business.

Most of us are prisoners to the Travel Industry.

[cantstandbush]

69. Sorry, but XM is NOT Blue. (Murdoch) n/t

[cascadiance]

70. Yes, but it gives a better "product" than Sirius does at this point.

I don't trust Newscorp or XM implictly, like I used to with Sirius. But I think it is more of a case of failure of Sirius to provide an adequate alternative that gets XM a blue rating than Sirius does. Looks like contributions-wise, XM does have an argument too on BuyBlue.org, but that's just one part of the picture.

XM is playing some very interesting "games" now with Sirius, which looks to be clueless on how to build and hold onto it's customer base now. Sirius thinks it can get tons of people that just want to listen to the NFL and Howard Stern, but there are tons of people that tried their service that weren't interested in either of those offerings. I was one of them when I went for Sirius Left and subsequently Air America. Sirius Left has slipped from what it was earlier, having Mike Malloy on before he went to Air America, and having Thom Hartmann on in the mornings before XM even had a progressive talk channel option.

Now they've utterly failed in trying to offer something else substantive to replace Air America's hole in their lineup and Sirius Left doesn't look like it's being constructively "rebuilt" either, and if you go to their message board (http://www.siriusbackstage.com/), they look to be PO'ing a lot of the righties now too, with the threats of pulling off Fox News and Alan Colmes from their lineup this week. Not having a RW news offering on their lineup makes it sound more "blue", but I measure that service more for what they DO have, rather than what they don't have. Newscorp is probably playing a game through XM on that one, first attacking to get left wing listeners over to XM through the Air America ploy, and now trying to use it's Fox News to split away Sirius's right wing listeners away from Sirius too.

I thought Sirius might have been trying to be tactful at cornering XM by being rumored to buying up Disney's ABC radio network properties, which though rumors was to get Disney content for kids, could also have been used to get access to KGO's progressive talk show hosts and/or to get exclusive control over Sean Hannity and other of ABC's radio talk properties that might have upset XM users if they were to go away from XM, to respond to the Air America exclusive stunt in the same fashion, forcing XM back to the bargaining table in having exclusive control over Air America. But that seems to have fallen through too.

Sirius just doesn't seem to be responding effectively when it is replacing Air America with some lame Korean language channel, which arguably from listener's points of view isn't even good for serving Korean listeners. They make a habit of preempting talk channels like Sirius Left over their with sports broadcasts (NFL, NBA, etc.), which XM doesn't, which is another annoying product quality problem.

[ellenfl]

2. home and garden . . . linens and things? it has been blue

for a while. i wonder why it's not listed.

ellen fl

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Only showing small donkey - maybe they are just picking big donkeys

[zbdent]

3. Hmm, Frederick's of Hollywood - now you're giving me ideas for

Mrs. ZBDent . . .

I shouldn't be surprised that FoH is blue . . .

[VaYallaDawg]

36. Me too, that name just jumped right off the page at me!!!!

[smoogatz]

6. Arby's? Sometimes it sucks being a Democrat.

Now I'm supposed to eat at Arby's?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. stop. I love arby's! beef n cheddar ? No?

[cascadiance]

29. Jamocha shakes are great too!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

55. potato cakes

[OnyxCollie]

23. LOL! I never see anyone at Arby's.

A local newspaper here reported an unsuccessful hold-up at an Arby's. The article didn't mention why it was unsuccessful, but I assume it was because the register had no money.

[1932]

7. Don't forget your local stores/small businesses.

[Patiod]

37. I shop small/local first (D or R) before I shop national (Dem)

I don't care who my local little hardware guy gives to - I go there first, then to Lowe's. Eat with the 3 Illiano brothers instead of Papa Johns, and the 401 Diner before Arby's. I'll patronize the local Republican committeman's restaurant before going to any chain, and the tiny local supermarket "chain" before Trader Joe's.

But it's getting harder and harder - there are almost no local new book stores (a few used bookstores, yes). No Powell's in the Phila. suburbs!

(Hotel-wise, I'm a total points whore, and don't patronize local institutions!! But at least I've shifted my substantial business spending to Hyatt and Westin/Starwood over Marriott).

[belpejic]

49. Indy bookstores

Hey Patiod,

I grew up in West Chester, PA, and there's a great indy bookstore there called Chester County Books (http://www.ccbmc.com/bookstore.asp). I used to be in the book publishing business, and this store is a bit of a regional legend. If you must, though, B&N is totally blue, more so than Borders.

EDIT: And, BTW, Amazon is surprisingly Red. What's up, Jeff?

[Patiod]

59. Sadly, West Chester is way out of my way - I'm in the NW burbs

I've heard about Chester County Books - they always have facinating autor events.

I have member card to B&N, and there is one within walking distance (if the township made things a little more pedestrian-friendly, that is)

There's also a sweet little murder mystery bookstore in Center City, but they've had to expand beyond mysteries to stay in business.

[shimmergal]

61. Starwood has really good employee policies,

too, compared witho most of the industry. They still give good discounts to my daughter, even though she ceased being on their employment rolls several years ago due to a buy-out. The current co. isn't nearly as generous.

[Patiod]

63. Redeeming points easier w/Hyatt & Starwood than Marriott

I think the whole concept of "reward rooms" sucks.

A hotel can have rooms available and tell you they are "booked up" in terms of "reward rooms". I can NEVER book a Marriott room when I want one - I'm not talking about holidays, either. I think they probably designate one room per weekend as a "reward room". I've called, and they are utterly inflexible.

Amerisuites, on the other hand, took just a few of my Hyatt points, and gave me a big, clean, convenient room near the airport, a sink and fridge and bed in a separate area from the sofa (so my SO could watch TV after I went to bed). Plus a van back and forth to the airport rental car area, as well as the airport itself. A class organization all the way. Great way to end a vacation! Try Amerisuites! Good prices and Blue to boot!

Starwood also has a "if a room is available for cash, it's available for points" policy. Their website indicated no points rooms available, but when I went on as a "civilian", there were rooms. I called and they were very apologetic and HAPPY to give me that room.

[tsuki]

8. I don't do Bed, Bath & Beyond because they sided with Overnite

to break the workers and the union.

[Bozita]

9. United Air -- Didn't they just dump their pension funds on the taxpayers?

[blondeatlast]

17. Yep--I don't care who they supported politically.

They screwed their long, longtime employees and left you and me to pick up the gap.

No to United--and what's scary is how many other companies in and out of the airlines are following their suit.

[rpannier]

21. Yep

And until they change management, I won't fly the friendly skies.

[npincus]

11. Thanks so much!

I'd never heard of this site... I just email their directory to a zillion people.

BOO HOO FedEx & Home Depot!

[AllyCat]

43. I worked at UPS for years in managment

and I still support them first because the employees are unionized. I assume the USPS is also union and support them as well when necessary. I avoid Fedex and DHL. I'm alwyas more likely to support union labor first.

So many ways to look at this. It's good to support blue business, but there are a lot of other factors. Gap Stores have a TERRIBLE human rights record among many other things. I NEVER shop there.

For additional information you can go to www.responsibleshopper.org and they will tell you other things about these businesses that I never knew.

[Oceansaway]

12. thanks !!

[mrgorth]

13. If I'm not mistaken

Levis. My favorite jeans.

[Dark]

14. KICK!

n/t

[win_in_06]

15. Southwest Airlines is based in Texas. Don't get much redder than that.

[esvhicl]

26. Don't forget Austin!

I live in LA\os Angeles, but find Austin more liberal than many areas of LA..

[win_in_06]

32. You're right about that. I love Austin

[jilln]

27. But it's a very progressive company

always listed near in the "best companies to work for" list.

[erpowers]

31. Southwest-Guess Who Supports the Troops

It is great that Southwest is on this list in that they are one of the companies that truly supports the troops. Southwest donates all of the snacks that are given to troops in the Hobby USO. I know that they probably get a tax rebate for this, but they could use the snacks for something else. They could be complaining about how they need those snacks to feed their passengers and that giving some to the USO causes them to spend more money on food for their passengers.

These snacks that they donate are pretty good snacks. They are name brand snacks like oreo cookies, Nabisco snack packs and trail mix. I think they may also donate the coke that is given in the USO, but I am not sure about that. So it seems that liberal companies are the ones that really support the troops.

[neuvocat]

54. I dunno...

I went to San Antonio and there were a number of gag gifts that you could get that skewered Bush. I'm sure there are a lot of people who hate Bush but you can't tell with the winner-take-all view that we have to put up with.

[parhelion]

16. Great List, Thanks!

I was looking for something simple and concise for "Blue" Christmas shopping, this is perfect. Thanks!

[AX10]

18. KICK

:kick:

Happy Holidays!

[Arugula Latte]

19. For some reason, Arby's surprises me. In a good way.

I would have thought they'd be red.

Same w/ Lillian Vernon.

[Carla in Ca]

20. Great list

Men's Wearhouse, Starbucks, BB&B, Crate & Barrel. I also just got a membership at Barnes & Noble. I didn't know about Trader Joe's. A new one just opened close to where I live.

[Richardo]

22. Woo hoo! Mattel!

We own Mattel stock.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. great idea

thanks

[The White Tree]

25. Panera Bread - that's great.

I love that place and am thinking of investing in the company. I love their products, they have a great lunch deal.

[jilln]

28. Blue doesn't mean no sweatshop labor, no union busting, no animal testing

etc. This is a nice starting point but only one aspect of these companies.

[Goldensilence]

35. agreed.

like saying oh well some of these companies are the diet coke of evil.

[AllyCat]

45. Try NoSweat Apparel for union-made garments!

www.nosweatapparel.com has items made here and abroad by union shops.

You can also check www.responsibleshopper.org for more info on companies and how they fare with human rights, environmental issues, and worker safety and benefits.

As I posted in reply to someone above, the Gap might be blue, but their human rights/worker rights record is appalling. I never go there.

[buyblue]

48. correction

Actually, yes, it does. The site is a collaborative effort much like Wikipedia and now you can submit relevant information on companies on issues such as union busting, sweatshops and more.

If you would like to submit articles to establish the BuyBlue ratings for a company please feel free to do so through our article submission procedure and you will be helping to build our database.

To see how to do this, see the guide blog here:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/2409

[jilln]

56. that's a correction?

The list posted above has several companies on it with questionable business practices. There may very well be other info on the site about them but if you just look at the list, it's CLEARLY about political donations.

Costco - use of eminent domain to steal land
Burlington Coat Factory - fur (including dog, until recently)
Bally's - regularly exposed for cheating customers
Gap - sweatshops


and that's just off the top of my head, obviously lots of people have problems with Apple, Starbucks, etc.

[buyblue]

57. the correction is that...

The issues you bring up ARE important and would factor into Buy Blue ratings. We all have jobs and are quite busy with operating the nonprofit itself, so we created the site's collaborative system so folks like yourself can build a complete picture of companies. We need your help.

If you are unhappy with the way companies are being portrayed, we encourage you to please use the system in place to fill in the ratings with documented evidence/coverage so that we can see the big picture.

I can assure you if we had a company on our list for consideration for the Christmas list that based upon the information on our site, had terrible business practices, while at the same time contributed to mostly Democrats, we would not include them on this final list.

We made our decisions for this list based upon the information which has been submitted already to the site (which in it's current incarnation is barely 4 months old) in addition to what we know about the political contributions of companies... we don't profess to be experts on any of the companies on the list, and can only work off of what we have on our site and has been submitted by visitors such as yourself.

[jilln]

62. ok, gotcha

if you search google for any of the companies I mentioned, you will find articles about what i said. i will circulate the link and see if friends would like to send in info, too

[buyblue]

66. thanks

Thank you... the goal is for BuyBlue.org to be community driven and we can only do that if people are proactive enough to fill in the blanks!

[corkhead]

67. I agree totally. I am not impressed with this list

I don't see enough evidence that tells me that these companies are truly "blue" to my satisfaction. I looked at this site when I first heard about it last year but didn't see much then either. The information on Trader Joe's for example, says little to convince me that it is a "blue" company. It seems like it's selection was arbitrary.

[cascadiance]

30. Citgo for gas while you're shopping... Staples as well...

7/11 here in California is where they sell Citgo gas...

Staples also made a good statement last election in pulling their ads from Sinclair broadcast stations when Sinclair was pulling all of their political stunts. Even though BuyBlue.org has them as a "red" company with PAC contributions, Staples should be rewarded for such actions! If you buy from there, might not hurt to mention that you are buying them specifically for what they did here. Might change their donations too.

http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/01/staples-pulls-sinclair-ads-cites.html

[auburngrad82]

33. Funny, I just finished my "holiday" shopping and it was all LLBean & Apple

Both blue.

[Patiod]

38. LL Bean employs locals, which is good enough for me

Every time I call there, I tell them how happy I am to hear their lovely New England accents and not accents from Bangalore!!!

[Lena inRI]

34. What a sweetheart you are!

And the link to a wallet-size pdf file is so practical!

You're my kinda shopper, Laura!
Best to you for the Holidays. . .:yourock:

[TrueAmerican]

39. Don't forget me.

I'm blue.
xbox 360
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8239127893&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

;)

Sorry, for the shameless plug

[buyblue]

40. big time thanks!

Thanks for spreading the word, Laura! We are excited to see this front paged this morning.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

[HootieMcBoob]

41. Why is XM satellite radio on that list?

It's owned by Rupert Murdoch and News Corp.?

[buyblue]

46. finding blue options for consumers is not always easy.

Our challenge was to provide a list of companies that are not seething with evil that people can actually use for their holiday shopping. Our decision for XM came from their political contribution ratings as per our official methodology. http://www.buyblue.org/node/2566/view/financials

This is in comparison to Sirius:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/1834/view/financials

Also, Xm is the official satellite radio provider for Air America.

Sometimes you have to choose your battles.

[cascadiance]

60. I have mixed feelings about XM vs. Sirius...

It used to be that Sirius was the clear "blue" option, when they had BOTH Radio Left and Air America channels on their system, and XM was partially owned by Clear Channel, and has ownership stakes from Newscorp too.

It looks like XM has been trying to change that equation recently, and unfortunately, Sirius appears to be LETTING them (whether it's a conscious effort or not). I just recently dropped my Sirius subscription and activated XM instead to get Air America, which went exclusively with XM and dropped Sirius. I would have stuck with Sirius, if they'd brought on board other progressive talk options, which they could have with other stuff that's not on Air America like Bernie Ward, Ray Taliafierro, Peter Werbe (on Mike Malloy this week), Democracy Now, etc.. But it was like they dropped us like a bad habit, and therefore I dropped them too., especially when Air America went more aggressively after Thom Hartmann, rather than Sirius making better efforts to carry Hartmann's whole show live when they had him already under contract.

Clear Channel has also dropped its investment in XM to a level that isn't showing up any more on reports. I'm still concerned about Newscorp, etc. owning XM, but I'm more concerned about Sirius dropping the ball when they had it in their hands.

[wryter2000]

42. So, when is DU going to wake up?

Why, why, why, do we link to Amazon? I've asked numerous times. There's no excuse for it. Barnes and Noble has an associate system, and with their membership program, frequent book buyers can save substantial money.

[rucky]

44. Don't Forget Your Dog!

www.bowwowbotanicals.com (shameless plug)
www.petaromatics.com
www.muttlucks.com
www.darford.com
www.sojournerfarms.com

[SteppingRazor]

47. Long as my buddy Jack stays on that list....

I'm happy. :beer:

[electron_blue]

50. Ooooh, Ikea. I love that store

[AllyCat]

52. IKEA rocks

They don't use old-growth hardwoods in their furniture, you can buy things unfinished to avoid toxic chemicals, they limit packaging and other "stuff" to reduce waste, and they work with overseas companies to take good care of their employees. No listing at Responsible Shopper, but they really try to maximize potential in their products (cribs convert into toddler beds, storage built into most items, and well made products that don't break). All at a reasonable price and pleasant shopping atmosphere. Everything I bought from them for my apartment 4 years ago still looks like new and is easy-care.

They even have nursing rooms (NOT bathrooms) available for mothers and their babies, something I've been scoping out with a baby on the way.

[electron_blue]

58. Yes, I know!! Their bathrooms have kid-size toilets & sinks

Plus the playroom for kids, although I haven't used it yet. I went there for my daughter's bedroom furniture bcs they, at the time, were the only large manufacturer of furniture in the U.S. who doesn't use wood with tons of chemical vapors (VOC's? - I'm brain dead right now).

[ProudDad]

51. I would add - BUY LOCAL

Buy used first.

Buy local from your neighbors -- mom and pop stores, etc. Avoid ALL large chains.

Starve the beast...

[LVdem]

53. I'll be flying Blue tomorrow

Southwest Airlines.

[joeprogressive]

65. Fill up with Shell gas.

They are barely Blue but only oil co. that is. Also, Tim Leatherman really stuck his neck out by supporting Kerry in a letter signed by numerous business owners so if you are in the market for a multi-tool buy a Leatherman. They also have kept their operations in US while others have gone to cheaper labor abroad.

[corkhead]

68. I am underwhelmed.

in retail, the list consists entirely of big box stores that are intent on wiping out independents. I don't consider that very blue IMHO.