No more Multinationals

I lost heart in this blog before Christmas when I realised it really wasn’t possible to rid my life of multinationals.

I had been quite enjoying myself finding out which companies were multinationals but really it was just an exercise on giving things up. I had not been to any High Street shop except EWM¹ since I started.

Then I decided I needed to buy a new top for Christmas so I did a quick search of the M&Co² website and on first reading it seemed ok, family firm, no branches abroad etc so I jumped on a 26 bus and went off to Musselburgh to my nearest branch. The assistant was great and hunted me out a top which was on display in the large lady section but they had smaller ones on the sale rail. I thought I had found a place where I could buy clothes, guilt free, but as I my transaction went through the assistant showed me pictures of their new branch, in Dubai! I could have cried. However I was too embarrassed to ask her to void the sale.

I took refuge in the fact that I had not bought anything from the big supermarkets. Then on December 24^th when I went down to Scot-Mid³ to buy marzipan to ice my Christmas cake and mincemeat for pies, it had run out so I had to further swallow my pride and head to Morrison’s⁴ to get some.

I needed to alter the terms of this blog!

After Christmas I got the most awful cold and was laid up for three weeks so I apologise for the lack of posts.

From this post onwards I will be going though different areas of commerce and pointing out those that are multinationals as I have been but I am not going to promise to avoid them but to comment on those that are more ethically sound and give an indication of those that are the best choice for the more ethically aware buyer.

By ethical I mean using ethically sourced raw ingredients, FSC branded timber or paper etc, pay their fair share of tax, which can be more than the legal amount (Goggle for example has just made an agreement with the HMRC to pay tax which amounts to 3% of their profits which is just disgusting given their huge profits⁵), pay their foreign workers a fair wage for the country they are working in etc, etc.

This means the blog can still be used to find out which companies are Multinationals which I believe is a useful thing to do both for myself and the world at large.

It is going to be a bit more difficult and I may not be able to do it but I am going to give it a try.

This will also mean that franchises like Spar⁶and Cost Cutters⁷will come back on my approved list as I feel a bit mean excluding them as they are generally small businesses banding together to increase their buying power.

I also feel it is a bit silly excluding businesses that cover the UK and Eire as although they are definitely separate states they are joined together and there are a lot of companies that only operate in these countries and no others, therefore only slightly multinational. This would mean that I could use the Cameo⁸ and Cineworld⁹cinemas and buy Lily O’Brien¹⁰chocolates amongst other things!

I have now interrogated the M and Co² website and they have had stores or franchises in other countries since 2012. However on reading their ethical policy I think I will use them again as it seems good.

Anyway I am back now and I hope you can join me on my journey to a more ethical but easier life!

References

I went to the Co-op today to get mixed spice and brandy for my first ever Christmas cake and I came back with neither. I didn’t know which brandies were multi-national and I couldn’t find the spice.

I thought I could do some digging to see if there was any way round this. There must be some independent booze suppliers that I can buy my Christmas drinks from!

I found DemiJohn¹ on Victoria St! It has 4 shops over the UK, Edinburgh, Glagsow, York and Oxford therefore not a multinational. In their website they go into great detail about their ethical sourcing.

Villeneuve Wines² on Broughton Street only has one other shop in Peebles. They also offer services to the hospitality sector and have an online shop. They have over 2000 wines on offer and 150 malt whiskies, though some of these will be multinationals, for example Jacob’s Creek³ is owned by Premium Wine Brands which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard.

The Fine Wine Company⁴ exists only in Portobello and Musselburgh. They specialise in wines from smaller vineyards and have a great online service too. Obviously they are not a multinational and a lot of their wines won’t be either.

Diagio⁵ of course is a multinational and is one of the world’s largest producers of spirits and a large producer of beer and lagers. It owns Smirnoff, Baileys, Jonnie Walker and owns 34% of Moet Hennessy, which itself owns Moet et Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy.

I would be okay to drink Belhaven Beers⁶, but I don’t like beer. I have been on their brewery tour in Dunbar, it was quite interesting and some of their fruit stouts were quite nice. Belhaven is owned by Greene King^7&8 who is called Greedy King in real ale circles for their aggressive acquisition policy. Although they are not a multinational I think I will avoid them anyway.

I cannot drink Glenmorangie⁹, which is distilled in Tain, near where I was brought up, as it is owned by a partnership of Louis Vuitton and Hennessy both multinationals. Nor Macallan¹⁰, which is my favourite malt whisky, either as it is owned by the Edrington Group¹¹ who own The Macallan, Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark, Highland Park whiskies, Snow Leopard vodka and Brugal rum. They are an independent international company, so by my definition a multinational.

Traquair House Ale pours a dark chestnut color that is virtually ...

Allegedly Brewdog Beers¹² are good; I say allegedly as I have never tasted any of them, unfortunately it is such a big company now that it has bars all over Europe although it appears that all Brewdog beer is brewed in Ellon, outside Aberdeen. I think that makes it a multinational.

My brother drinks Jacobite Ale from Traquair Brewery¹³. This is a tiny brewery in one wing of Traquair House, Innerleithen in the Scottish borders. It was started in the 60’s by the 20^th Lord using the original 19^th Century brewing equipment that was used to brew for the house and estate. It is run by the 21^st Lady of Traquair, Catherine Maxwell Stuart and is definitely not a multinational.

The Inveralmond Brewery¹⁴ in Perth also seems to be a smaller brewery. At the moment it is doing a beer called Santa’s Swallie which is available in the Co-op and online amongst other places.

Gin is experiencing a comeback and we have our own Edinburgh Gin Distillery¹⁵ in Rutland Place. They do all sorts of flavoured gin, which I have tasted and some of it is very nice indeed. The company is owned by the Spencerfield Spirit Company¹⁶ which is a small producer of Whisky and Gin in Fife. I would be able to drink their products if I wished too and I may get some of their whisky in for my visitors at Christmas.

I didn’t know about Hendricks Gin but as it is owned by Whisky giant Wm Grant¹⁷ and sons I won’t be drinking it anyway. In addition to this gin, the company owns Glenfiddich, Grants, the Balvenie, Sailor Jerry (rum), Tullamore D.E.W. (Irish whiskey), Drambuie and O.V.D Rum.

I am actually more of a port and sherry drinker and am not averse to a wee cider occasionally and I notice that some independent ciders have become available but if I cover all these here the post is going to be huge so I am going to split it into two.

No more Multinationals

Monday, 1 February 2016

APOLOGIES AND AMENDMENTS!

Monday, 30 November 2015

NON MULTINATIONAL DRINKS (Part One)