lifeonq.com

Buy for Equality this Holiday Season

Just in time for your holiday shopping, the Human Rights Campaign has released its 2008 guide to gay-friendly businesses. Buy for Equality 2008 is designed to help LGBT shoppers direct their queer dollars to queer-supportive businesses. Directing your spending toward tolerant companies helps put your money where your rights are.

The guide rates businesses based on the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality index, an annual report card that rates corporations based on an analysis of their employment policies and business practices as they affect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors.

Buying for Equality 2008 covers more than retailers. It offers suggestions on where to gas up your car, what bank should have your money, even which pharmaceutical company manufactures the gay-friendliest medications. In addition to ratings for major retailers, there are listings of individual products.

So, for example, you will know that you should drive past the Wal-Mart (score: 40) and stop at the K-Mart instead (score: a perfect 100). If you need to stop for gas on the way, pull in at the BP or Shell stations (score: 100) rather than Exxon (score: 0). While at the K-Mart, you might want to get your nephew a Ken doll for Christmas (Mattel score: 88) rather than G.I. Joe (Hasbro score: 50). There’s no advice on what to do about Chinese lead paint, however.

In addition to HRC’s guide, I would offer a supplemental suggestion: to shop independent gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses as well. The mega-corporations have an edge in marketing, perhaps. But there’s no better way to support your community than to support the people close to home.