I started to write an instagram post about this, but realized I couldn’t fit what I wanted to say into the format, so I’ll try to reflect on the current Etsy boycott here. What follows is a reflection on the growing number of consumers and sellers boycotting Etsy over their ineffectual response to the existence of “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise being sold on the platform.
I’ll start by saying that I’m a lover of merch! I’ve got no problems with merch. Merch can be an important moment of expression, allegiance, and community building. I’m a lover of the sort of merch that’s cheeky while causing no harm. Or the sort of merch that artists create as a way of buffering their income. Those instances of merch support causes that I believe in.
I try to run my small business in the spirit of community building, inclusion, and harm reduction. That last one is especially important, I think, because I don’t think that the sorts of communities built around harming others are of value to society.
Here’s a bit of context if you’re reading this, but unfamiliar with the current Etsy Boycott:
A growing number of consumers and vendors are boycotting Etsy by closing down their accounts, permanently closing their shops, and/or putting their Etsy shops into vacation mode. These actions are being taken over Etsy’s stance in permitting the sale of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ merchandise. It feels really terrible just using the term–a gimmick designed to market a concentration camp as though it’s an amusement park thrill or a safari ride. The fact that ANY market exists for this “merch”– that any person would want to cheer on the enforced detention (without due process) of migrants–is devastating. The open glee this merch expresses over ethnic cleansing and torture is terrifying.
The Etsy Boycott is gaining traction, and for good reason.
I find myself in agreement that Etsy should indeed remove these listings. It seems a no-brainer, in fact, because their own written policy prohibits the sale of “hate items.” Here’s how their most recent policy defines a “hate item”:
Etsy does not allow items or listings with violent or degrading language towards people based upon: race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status, or caste (collectively, “protected classes”). We also prohibit items or content that promote organizations with such views.
“The following items are not allowed on Etsy:
- Content which directly or indirectly contains violent or degrading commentary against protected classes
- Items that support or commemorate current or historical hate groups or their leaders, including propaganda or collectibles. Examples of hate groups include Nazi or Neo-Nazi groups, Ku Klux Klan (KKK) groups, white supremacist groups, misogynist groups, or groups that advocate anti-gay, anti-immigrant, or Holocaust denial agendas.
- Items that contain slurs or derogatory terms in reference to protected classes”
You can find Etsy’s full Anti Discrimination and Hate Speech Policy here
And you can find Etsy’s full discussion of what constitutes a “Hate Item” here
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ merch can be easily codified as ‘hate item’ because it celebrates the human rights violations of immigrants and migrants in the US. It commemorates what can only be described as white supremacist glee over an emergent ethno-state. It glorifies the agendas of ICE raids, which are conducted by deputized members of Nazi, Neo-Nazi, white supremacist, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, and misogynist hate groups.
To argue that “Alligator Alcatraz” merch wearers/sellers/creators should be able to carry on under the guise of “freedom of speech” is to mistake white supremacists as a “protected class.” Human rights law is designed to protect vulnerable classes against the precise sorts of violation we’re witnessing.
White supremacists are not a “protected class” under human rights law (nor should they be)
White nationalists are not a “protected class” under human rights law (nor should they be)
Christian nationalists are not a “protected class” under human rights law (nor should they be)
Christo-fascists are not a “protected class” under human rights law (nor should they be)
It would be very simple for Etsy to release a statement publicly positioning themselves in line with their own policy. That’s all they have to do. Follow their policy. That is, after all, why policy is written. It’s in place for rapid reinforcement, to mitigate a PR disaster, and to build/sustain trust in a business
But this is not what’s happening.
Instead, what Etsy is doing is disabling the accounts of members who message sellers privately, asking them to remove their “Alligator Alcatraz” merch. Sellers of said merch are turning around and flagging the message as “harassment” in violation of Etsy’s anti-harassment community guidelines, and then this is triggering the shutdown of the “harassing/offending” messagers’ accounts.
Here’s what’s actually happening, though:
Etsy laid off over 1/3 of their human workforce and automated most of their systems with AI. They traded human discernment for bots–all the while continuing to market their platform in a wishy washy human-centric sort of way. They continued their interpellation of buyers to Come buy, Come buy where it’s human and friendly and sellers will share their whole life stories with you; Come buy, Come buy where it’s feminine and friendly and passionate and NOT a faceless corporation. Come buy, Come buy from a sanctuary space that soothes the soul.
Etsy’s bots might be de-activating “Alligator Alcatraz” merch as I write this. But in the absence of a public statement about the steps they’re taking in support of their policy and community–it’s kinda meaningless. It’s the absence that speaks volumes and tells you everything you need to know about Etsy Inc.
But we already know this about Etsy, don’t we???
Etsy has “told” us who they are. We need to start believing it.
If you’ve been listening, you’ll know that Etsy is perpetually in VIOLATION of its sellers’ rights, right? If you’ve been listening to the staggering number of Etsy sellers (and former sellers) who detail same-samey instances of their unprompted, accidental Etsy business closures because of AI running amock (and, yes, the complete absence of human discernment) you should already suspect who Etsy Inc is. Etsy Inc is its shareholders who are just rich people trying to get richer at the expense of middle class and poor people.
Let me take this moment to remind you of what Etsy did to our business about 1.5 years ago. We still haven’t recovered from it. You can read my full account here: https://unfetteredsupply.com/etsy-hurt-my-business/
What I learned from Etsy shutting us down is as follows:
Etsy will be unaffected by even their biggest sellers leaving the platform. Especially now. Part of why they’ve cultivated the platform to centralize drop-shippers and items that are “pretend handmade” is to de-prioritize sellers with truly unique, truly handmade work. Of course, their marketing still suggests the opposite. But Etsy Inc. will live off the PR spoils of Etsy’s leftist, creative, crafty origins for as long as they can.
By creating an algorithm that matches buyers with the lowest price point and free-est shipping possible for their item of search, what Etsy has done is reinforced factory-to-buyer shops (not unlike Temu, but just not at Temu’s bargain prices). Those factory-to-buyer shops have adapted clever visual disguise and with the help of AI writing tools, they can operate on the platform pretty seamlessly. These are not the shops that will pull out of Etsy over Alligator Alcatraz merch.
No, the shops that will pull out are the ones that have been on Etsy for years and are frustrated by the proposition of needing to market a business they care about in a place that is increasingly less hospitable to human rights.
The buyers who will pull out of Etsy are also the most conscientious buyers–the customers who try to be ethical, who truly care about the businesses they’re purchasing from. And also, they’re the customers who’ve previously believed in Etsy’s human/e marketing flourishes.
These losses will further transform Etsy, and for the worse
The marketplace has already changed, and this will exacerbate those shifts
Still, I’m not going to pull Unfettered Co from Etsy as a form of participation in this boycott, and here’s why:
- I don’t think the boycott will punish Etsy Inc. It’s going to help Etsy Inc. reinforce what it actually values, which is profiting at all cost.
- There are not yet healthy alternatives to Etsy. Sellers still don’t have anywhere else to go that offers as much value. I wish that this weren’t the case, yet it undeniably is.
- Rather than punishing Etsy, the boycott will create more work for sellers who are already scrambling to find other platforms with actual shared value. More work is not necessarily a bad thing, and it will hopefully lead to prosperity for those businesses putting in the effort now. But, I really just think that meaningful changes are not quick. Imagine shopping for a new place to live under the duress an instability of no income. You might need to move multiple times before finding a suitable fit for your needs…all the while the energy/time/resources it’s taken you to move have come from other facets of your business and life.
- Etsy’s seller demographic consists of anywhere between 80-90% women, sole business proprietors, and entrepreneurs aiming to supplement their incomes. I’m not describing businesses with tremendous resourcing, funding, or capital in place to quickly pivot to alternative marketplaces.
- Etsy remains a marketplace where, as a consumer, I can still find apparel with messaging I strongly believe in. I can find a ton of LGBTQ and Pride focused merchandise, art, and craft. I can also easily find intersectional feminist products. I can find the work of bipoc makers when I look for it. I can find anti-colonial, anti-racist, and anti-imperialist swag too. There are far more sellers on Etsy putting products out into the world that affirm human rights than deny it.
- When it comes to my own business, most of our customers purchase directly from our website, but not all of them know about it. Etsy has been useful as a platform that guides people to our virtual home, and once there we can reinforce our values in places like this blog or our quarterly newsletter.
- I’ve found that the customers who purchase from Etsy often do so because Etsy allows Afterpay and more advanced forms of consumer protection. I understand the precarious feeling of purchasing from online businesses, and I want to leave those particular olive branches extended.
In lieu of permanently closing Unfettered Co on Etsy, here are the pro-active steps I’m taking:
- In order to work toward transitioning away from Etsy while ensuring that my business can survive that transition, I’ve applied to be listed on The Little Blue Cart, which is a growing directory where progressive businesses can list their products. The promise of spaces like The Little Blue Cart is that businesses are thoroughly vetted and buyers can be more certain about the shared political leanings of small businesses they’re purchasing from. Check out what The Little Blue Cart is building.
- I’m writing this blog post. As a way to try to reflect on what’s going on, as a way to work meaningfully and wholeheartedly where and when it matters most, and as a way to acknowledge that none of this is exactly simple. I think that letting people know where you stand and why you stand there is the most ethical thing any business can do. That’s a practice of transparency, and its a sustainable one at that.
In closing…
In closing, I want to point out that it’s impossible to inhabit capitalism (a system) while feeling uncompromised by it. Capitalism functions by forcing us all into positions where our values are compromised. It’s very hard, actually, to lead a business progressively. I think many small businesses discover that pretty quickly, and many potential businesses never start because the climate of business is overwhelmingly inhospitable to integrity. As entrepreneur, I’ve found myself frequently needing to silence or swallow how I actually feel about things. It’s always just seemed “part of the gig.”
I’ve also learned just how rigged this system is in favour of the right. An example of all of the corporations that Unfettered has relied upon, some of which continue to be indispensable to the functioning to the life of our business:
–The Government of Canada (directly funding Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people and denying that it’s genocide while diverting funds toward the continued colonization of Indigenous people along with legal funds preventing them from accessing documents that detail the extent of Canada’s genocide)
–Canada Post: a Crown corporation in part funded by The Government of Canada (see above) who’s perpetually in labour disputes for mistreating their employees
–FedEx: Trump donor
–UPS: Trump donor
–Meta: Trump donor
–Uline: Trump donor (we’ve almost made it through our very last backlogged Uline box, though!!! )
–Amazon: Trump donor
–Paypal: Musk and Thiel company
–Home Depot: Trump donor
There’s no business of any sort whose operations do not–at some point or another–fund the sorts of forces that are shaping the world disastrously. The best we can all do is to become more aware of where our money is being spent, to make changes where we’re capable, and to keep speaking up about the sort of world we wish to inhabit.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading,
Janis
