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First time drawing Barbara

[Image ID: The Destiel confession meme edited so that Dean answers 'JK Rowling posted upskirt photos of a woman on Twitter' to Cas 'I love you'. /End ID]

No one doing this should be allowed to call themselves a feminist.

But like separately just ohh my fuck the art is so beautiful this is mom and dad I'm throwing UPPP I love these skins so much

"I've got special arrows too. The pointy kind that'll go right through you."

Everytime I've met a male Deathstroke fan they love his aura and coolness. Don't worry guys that was retconned and it was one bad writer.

When I began this blog, it was my intention to keep it strictly focused on the art of Palestine, and not to use it as a sounding block for pro-Palestinian politics. This is not to say the two things are unrelated – to the contrary, the art coming out of Palestine and from those living in exile is often explicitly political, and in all cases is shaped by the ongoing occupation of Palestine. My feeling was, and largely still remains, that this is a place for contemplation rather than debate. In light of the latest assault on Gaza, however, I have been doing a lot of talking with friends about BDS. What started as a conversation bemoaning the affiliation of MAC cosmetics with Zionist causes rapidly turned into a project; I spent the better part of a day compiling a list of cosmetics, health and personal care brands to avoid if you’re boycotting Israel, along with alternative products to use.

The process was abysmal. Surely, I have taken care never to underestimate US corporate ties with Israel, but even so, the explicit connections and the vast scope of products involved is frankly demoralizing.  That said, the boycott of Israeli goods is a vital step towards liberation for Palestine, and if you are interested in learning more, visit the BDS website and consult the list below.

A note about the scope and content: I focused on health and beauty items because they are the items I use most in my daily life, and because my friends – who seem disproportionately to be incredibly beautiful and well-groomed femmes – wanted to know about the products they are using. To do an exhaustive list is impossible at this juncture, though I hope to make lists focused on different sales arenas in the future. Topically, it bears repeating that Palestine is a feminist issue – we as women and/or feminist advocates should remember this as we make choices about the kind of products we buy for our bodies.

The list is after the cut, please share widely! 

key: BDS target; made in Israel; economic partners of Israel.

Ahava

Albaad Rostam tampons: CVS; Kroger (Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Fry’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Jay C, King Scoopers, Kroger, Owen’s, QFC, Pay Less, Ralphs, Scott’s Food & Pharmacy, Smith’s, Harris Teeter); Rite Aid; Target (Up&Up); Walgreens; Wal Mart (Equate).

Amazon (per BDS, not the post above)

Delta Galil industries fabrics: 1,000 Mile; Avia; BHS; Calvin Klein; Columbia; Converse; Dillard’s; Etam; HEMA; Hugo Boss; Hunkemoller; JC Penney; Joop!; Kenneth Cole; Lacoste; Lane Bryant; Lulu Lemon; Maidenform; Marc O’Polo; Marks and Spencer; Matalan; MLB; Nike; Penguin; Pierre Cardin; Primark; Sam’s Club; Saucony; Sears; Spanx; SweatyBetty; Target; Tommy Hilfiger; Triumph; Umbro; UnderArmor; United Colors of Benetton; Victoria’s Secret; Wacoal; Walmart; Wilson; Wolf Lingerie.

Estée Lauder: Aramis; Aveda; Bumble and Bumble; Aerin; American Beauty; Clinique; Coach cosmetics; Bobbi Brown; Darphin; Donna Karan; Ermenegildo Zegna; Flirt!; Goodskin Labs; Grassroots Research Labs; Jo Malone; Kiton; La Mer; Lab series skincare for men; MAC; Michael Kors; OJON; Origins; OSIAO; Prescriptives; Smashbox; Tom Ford; Tommy Hilfiger; Tory Burch.

Google (per BDS, not OP, so i recommend consulting DuckDuckGo or Reddit when looking for alternative brands)

Johnson & Johnson: Acuvue contact lenses; Aveeno; Band-Aid; Bebe; Benadryl; Benecol; Bengay; Clean & Clear; Cortaid; Dolormin; Immodium; Johnson’s baby products; Lactaid; Listerine; Lubriderm; Motrin; Mylanta; Neosporin; Neutrogena; Nicorette; Pepcid; Rembrandt; Roc; Splenda; Sudafed; Tylenol; Vendome; Visine; Zyrtec.

Kimberly-Clark: Cottonelle; Depends; GoodNites; Huggies; Kleenex; Kotex; Little Swimmers; Poise; Pull-Ups; Scott; Snugglers; Thick & Thirsty; Viva; Wondersoft.

Lavan body products

L’Oreal: Biotherm; Body Shop, The; Cacharel; Clarisonic; Diesel; Essie; Garnier; Giorgio Armani Beauty; Guy Laroche; Helena Rubinstein; Inneov; Kérastase; Kiehl’s; Lancome; La Roche-Posay; L’Oreal Paris; L’Oreal Professionnel; Maison Martin Margiel; Matrix; Maybelline New York; Mizani; NYX; Paloma Picasso; Pureology; Ralph Lauren; Redken; Rogers&Gallet; Sanoflore; Shu Uemura; Shu Uemura Art of Hair; SkinCeuticals; Softsheen.Carson; Urban Decay; Vichy; Viktor & Rolf; Yves Saint Laurent Beauté; Yue Sai.

Moroccanoil hair products

Procter & Gamble brands: Always; Ariel; Aussie; Bounce; Bounty; Braun; Cascade; Charmin; Cheer; Clairol Professional; Clearblue; Comet; CoverGirl; Crest; Dash; Dawn; Daz; Dodot; Dolce & Gabbana; Downy; Dreft Laundry; Duracell; Era; Fab; Fairy; Febreeze; Fusion; Gain; Gala; Gillette; Head & Shoulders; Herbal Essences; Ivory; Joy; Luvs; Max Factor; Mr. Clean; Mr. Proper; Myth; Naturella; Nice ‘n Easy; Olay; Old Spice; Oral-B; Pampers; Pantene; Puffs; Scope; Secret; Swiffer; Tampax; Tempo; Venus; Vicks; Vidal Sassoon; Whisper.

Revlon: Almay.

Neutral/Palestine-Positive Brands, as alphabetized by parent group (accurate per date of original post):

100% Pure Cosmetics

Beiersdorf Corporation: Aquaphor; Eucerin; Nivea.

Church & Dwight: Arm and Hammer; First Response; Li’l Critters; Nair; Orajel; OxiClean; Spinbrush; Trojan; Vitafusion; Xtra.

Clorox: 409 Glad Green-Works Brita Burt’s Bees Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter; Glad Güd Liquid Plumr SOS Tilex

Colgate-Palmolive: Colgate; Irish Spring; Lady Speed Stick; Softsoap; Speed Stick.

Coty Corporation: Alba Botanica; Chloe; Mark Jacobs fragrances; NYC; OPI; Philosophy; Rimmel London; Sally Hansen.

Diva Cup

e.l.f. cosmetics

Everlane

Farouk Systems: Biosilk hair products; Chi haircare and tools; Royal Treatment hair products; Sunglitz hair products.

Ilia Cosmetics

Luna Pad

Lush Cosmetics

LVMH Group: Benefit cosmetics; Fresh cosmetics; Makeup Forever.

Moon Cup

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

Shiseido: Ayura; Bare Escentuals/Bare Minerals; Bite Beauty; Deva Curl; NARS.

Tillie Nail Polish

Unilever: Axe; Ben & Jerry’s; Dove; Lipton; Ponds; Saint Ives; Simple skincare; Timotei; Toni&Guy; Vaseline.

general rule of thumb: shopping secondhand (for non-beauty or food items) or locally-made is typically your most ethical option, unless you’re living in Occupied Palestine or the USA.

this principle applies not only to the free palestine movement but to social justice causes as a whole (be that animal wellbeing or anti-colonialism, BLM or environmentalism, feminism or modern slavery abolition, queer liberation or worker’s rights!).

the bigger the corporation, the less likely it is to behave ethically across multiple issues: e.g. unilever might not be an active economic partner of israel but it is one of the world’s top polluters.

the BDS website, Ethical Consumer (some paywalled content), and apps like Boycat are great resources to check against when making your own personal boycott “cheatsheet” but truly successful boycotts are targeted: Ahava and Amazon are active targets for BDS, Johnson & Johnson is not.