Who Elected George W Bush? You Did!

Maintained by Ethical Consumer magazine and drawing on research from opensecrets.org, the Boycott Bush website encourages consumers to shun companies who have donated the most to George W Bush's election campaigns. The project was launched on Bush's rejection of the Kyoto treaty, but also objects to his “illegal invasion of Iraq and other regressive steps such as opposing weapons proliferation treaties”. Following is their list of major UK brands owned by top-25 Bush donors at the time of writing.

Computers, internet and media

AOL, CompuServe, Netscape Navigator, Microsoft, Walt Disney

Couriers

UPS, FedEx

Electrical goods

Hotpoint, GE- branded consumer electrical goods

Food and drink

Carte Noire, Kenco, Maxwell House, Ribena, Horlicks bedtime drinks, Lucozade energy drinks, Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Ice beers, Dairylee, Philadelphia, Dine Bar, Marabou, Milka, Suchard, Terry's, Toblerone, Bird's custard, Kraft foods, Doritos, Walkers crisps, Pepsi, Quaker breakfast cereals, Sugar puffs, Granose, Protoveg and Realeat meat substitutes, So Good soya yoghurt (not So Good soya drink)

Medicine and personal hygiene

Anadin painkillers, Benadryl, Sudafed decongestant, Calpol, Diflucan antifungal, Feldene P gel, Listerine mouthwash, Rappell, TCP throat pastilles, Euthymol toothpaste, Aussie shampoo, Aquafresh and Macleans toothpaste, Beechams cold remedies, Contac cold and ‘flu remedies, Eumovate eczema treatments, Oxy acne treatment, Panadol paracetamol, Lactacyd Femina feminine cleansers, NiQuitin nicotine patches, Solpadeine painkillers, Zovirax coldsore treatment, Coppertone sun lotion, Amway toiletries and cleaning products, Nutrilite vitamins and food supplements, Artistry skin care and colour cosmetics, eSpring system, Mahna Bloc therapeutic magnets, SA8 laundry detergent

Store cards owned by GE Capital Bank

Includes those offered by Monsoon, Kwik-Fit, Laura Ashley, New Look, Debenhams and House of Fraser

Supermarkets

ASDA

Tobacco

Marlboro, Parliament

Travel and transport

BP, Esso and Mobil- branded lubricants, Texaco petrol, Ford, Land Rover, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, American Airlines flights.

Not that technically speaking, it's not necessarily the companies that make the donations: due to US political laws, it's very often organizations “affiliated” with the company, or their employees. But the effect is the same. Also note that some of the businesses listed above (such as AOL) have given more money to the Democrats than the republicans- not that trying to buy influence with all the candidates is much better. Finally, be aware that this list looks at the period 2000-04. At least one company listed –BP- has promised to stop all political donations.

For the most up-to-date list, methodology and background on the campaign, go straight to the sources.

Bush Boycott

Open Secret

The Rough Guide to Ethical Shopping by Duncan Clark