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February 27, 2025
Feb. 28 ‘Economic Blackout’ Boycott Planned by Activists: Will It Be Effective?
If you’ve been active on social media over the past few days, chances are you’ve witnessed at least one post related to a so-called “economic blackout” boycott slated to take place on Feb. 28, as the month draws to a close.
According to The Washington Post, the man behind the boycott is named John Schwarz, known online by his handle of TheOneCalledJai on TikTok and Instagram. Schwarz lives in the Chicago area and founded The Peoples Union USA, the activist organization responsible for promoting the Feb. 28 boycott.
Schwarz — a 57-year-old meditation teacher — was spurred by the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to shrinking the federal government as impetus to make a move.
“They’re dismantling so many things in this country,” Schwarz said, per The Post. “If people are going to step in and make a change that benefits the people, it’s now.”
Backed by $65,000 in GoFundMe donations — and with Schwarz having gained 255,000 new Instagram followers and over 100,000 new TikTok followers during the course of the past few weeks — it appears the movement has some clout.
“We’re all exhausted. We’re all tired. Enough is enough,” Schwarz said. “We can’t sit back and watch these people boast about their wealth … and then we’re all sitting at home in anxiety and fear, not knowing how we’re going to make it till the end of the month.”
How Will the Feb. 28 ‘Economic Blackout’ Boycott Work?
The blackout’s goal is fairly simple: don’t buy anything (if at all possible) on Feb. 28, particularly from large corporations. Whether it’s in-store or online, the aim is to halt purchases from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the month.
“No Amazon, no Walmart, no fast food, no gas,” Schwarz said, as quoted by Yahoo! News. “Not a single unnecessary dollar spent.”
When it comes to essentials, the boycott’s backers are suggesting that participants stick to small, local businesses.
“Do not go out and shop at any big, major store,” Schwarz said in a recent Instagram video. “If you have to, go to the local pizza place, the small local boutique.”
“For our entire lives, they have told us we have no choice, that this is just how things are, that we have to accept these insane prices, the corporate greed, the billionaire tax breaks, all while we struggle just to get by,” he said in the video. “For one day, we are going to finally turn the tables.”
The Peoples Union USA has several follow-up boycotts planned as well, as The Washington Post relayed, including:
- March 7-14: Amazon, including Whole Foods and Prime purchases.
- March 21-28: Nestlé — including Nescafé, Toll House, Stouffer’s, and Purina.
- March 28: All large corporations and retailers.
- April 7-13: Walmart.
- April 18: All large corporations and retailers.
- April 21-27: General Mills — including Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Gold Medal, and Pillsbury.
Other Boycotts Launched Over DEI Concerns
USA Today reported that several other activist groups or faith communities have launched their own recent boycotts, most related to the retreat from DEI policies taking place as of late.
The news outlet indicated that a Feb. 1 boycott of Target had kicked off in connection with Black History Month over the company’s turnaround on the DEI issue in recent months. Rev. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, is leading a second boycott against Target for similar reasons, according to CNN.
“He [Rev. Bryant] is urging Black Americans to stop shopping at Target and to sell their stock in the retailer for Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting that this year lasts from March 5 to April 17,” CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis and Eva McKend wrote.
A boycott involving the Latino community — rallying around the hashtag #LatinoFreeze and supporting “Latino American, Black American and Allied American Businesses that are supportive to this [DEI-supportive] movement” — as well as a “buy-cott” involving Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network have also made headlines. The latter buy-cott calls for DEI-backing consumers to shop at Costco, a company whose shareholders recently decisively voted down a proposal to curtail its DEI policies.
Feb. 28 Boycott Draws Mixed Reviews From Commenters
Commenters on the Yahoo! News article related to the economic blackout boycotts were mixed in their messaging, ranging from support to cynicism, with some degree of apathy mixed in.
“This will get a chuckle from the major retailers. A more consistent blackout — like a few days every month — would send a much stronger and noticeable message… The problem would be the same one that will exist for this one day blackout: getting people to actually do it,” user Sean wrote.
“I’m avoiding spending money in the free market for the next couple years. I’m already pretty frugal so it’s a game that eliminates a lot of waste. I also buy local, make my own, thrift and give a lot of unused items away. The level [of] consumerism and the waste sent every day to landfills in our nation are unsustainable,” user Neil offered.
“In the unlikely event this has any traction at all (Walmart shoppers aren’t noted for social awareness), all that will happen is workers will be sent home early Friday losing a few hours on their paychecks, the shoppers will be back Saturday to catch up and the corporations will not lose anything. I doubt the overpaid celebrities have darkened a big box store in years. In the end it’s just adstream media clickbait and a fundraiser for the sponsoring organizations,” The Blue Fisherman opined.
Discussion Questions
Will the Feb. 28 “economic blackout” be effective in spurring resulting action from American corporate interests?
To what extent will consumers react to the Feb. 28 boycott, and the several DEI-related brand boycotts, throughout 2025? Should retailers react proactively to address this consumer constituent or apparent discontent — if so, how?
Excluding boycotts, what are some other effective pathways available to U.S. consumers to express discontent or dissatisfaction with certain retailers or with the current state of economic or consumer affairs more broadly?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Gary Sankary
Retail Industry Strategy, Esri
James Tenser
Retail Tech Marketing Strategist | B2B Expert Storytelling™ Guru | President, VSN Media LLC
Paula Rosenblum
Co-founder, RSR Research
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I don’t believe there will be a major impact. For one, I do not believe most Americans subscribe to the philosophy and thinking of the group organizing the protest. For another, I think many will recognize that the initiative lacks any logic: absolutely no good can come of trying to essentially sink the economy. Third, the aims and target are too diffuse; successful boycotts have very clear targets and rationales (think Bud Light). And finally, any spending postponed on Friday will likely be made on another date so, in the broad scheme of things, the impact is cancelled out. The company specific boycotts may gain a little more traction but, even here, most Americans will just ignore them.
“Activists”??? for what cause exactly?? Economic turmoil doesn’t need a road show, thank you: it opened January 20, 2025 for a 208-week billing (subject to frequent cast changes). That should generate far more thumb’s down than this
junior high schoolpreschool musical ever will.If you don’t know, no one can explain it to you
Oh, I know – at least in a general sense – well enough; I just feel that something that “lacks any logic” (the post above) or is “silly” (the post below) shouldn’t be bestowed the title of “activist”.
You’ve got frightened people who feel they are losing the country they remember. And an incredibly bifurcated economy. So they try to do “anything.” I think, as I said below, Doug McMillon was way more effective in sending shock waves through the stock market.
the desperation is what you have to worry about. That, and crazy people.
Economically, there will be very little long term impact. In fact, some of it is kind of silly. Reminds me of stores being open on Thanksgiving. Just moves demand around. Frankly Doug McMillon did more by lowering Walmart’s future guidance to shock the market. But…if enough people participate, we’ll get a sense if people actually care or if it’s all whining.
im hoping it’s not all whining. I do love this country and feel like it’s going downhill at breakneck speed. Gotta do something to change. Most of the elected democrats seem to just know how to ask for more money.and the elected republicans are just frightened, rightly or wrongly.
so, we’ll see.
For a boycott to be effective, it has to be focused. This is a lot of dates and companies to keep track of; my planner is already full.
But will it work? We’ll know more about how effective a viral boycott can be after today (2/28). The bigger issue, as chaos continues to be thrown at the world’s biggest economy, is that an increasingly large number of Americans across the political spectrum feel disenfranchised and are scared about their future. Consumer confidence is plummeting; prices are going up, and jobs are being lost. Many people are feeling real pain, and they don’t feel like they have any way to make their anger and angst known. A boycott may very well resonate with people who feel like no one is listening.
Whether it’s big enough to cause companies and the government to listen remains to be seen. There doesn’t have to be a 45% drop in sales to make an impact (see Tesla for reference). Even a 5% or 10% drop will make retailers take notice. Target is experiencing a 10% drop in in-store traffic after social media was filled with calls to boycott the retailer after they abandoned their DEI initiatives. (Fortune Magazine 2/22/25) They will notice that. Will it drive change, or will it be dismissed as just another everyday swing in business fortunes? It’s hard to say. The crystal ball on the US political climate is cloudy with a chance of rain at the moment.
Unless they are strong and consistent enough that the boycotters also suffer, boycotts are not effective. No pain, no again. They can be symbolic of discontent but not likely to solve any problems. Protracted boycotts of the right businesses and for the right reasons would be effective, but I believe that there are not enough consumers willing to go on a “hunger strike” to prove a point.
The target is wrong. What is bringing the country down and the prices up are all in the hands of the government, not the companies. The companies will react to this nonsensical situation. This administration will not care.
I assume the boycott of spending does not prevent the buying of $28.99 t-shirts or $39.99 wall tapestries – plus shipping – sold on the www.theonecalledjai.com which redirects to thepeoplesunionusa website.
Selling things to raise money. That’s very, err, capitalist of them…
Today’s proposed “economic blackout” will have very modest economic impact on monthly retail sales, since it will mainly just shift demand. If participation is widespread, it could send a message to the political estate, however.
Retailers should track this event closely as a kind of litmus test of consumer mood. The impact will likely be unevenly distributed, and it will be important to gauge the “who,” not just the “how much.”
I only wish the organizers had dubbed this “White Friday” and allowed a little more time for more coherent PR to take hold. Our local Tucson paper did print an article this morning, and there was mention on at least one morning news show. Somehow, it still feels like it won’t move the needle very far.
There is no rational basis for the economic boycott. Despite the movement’s vague, off-target, and idiotic reasoning, the movement’s reasons are ill-founded. With left wing protests, the wrong actions are taken at the wrong time against the wrong people.
It is unlikely that the “boycott” will be a success, since most Americans will not buy into the “cause” because there is no sensible causes or reasons.
As Al Sharpton believes, this is all about DEI, while other civic “leaders” have told us it is about price gouging, which, of course, no retail chain is doing, and they certainly aren’t doing it together.
Stores will do fine today, and many Americans will go out of their way to shop almost like it’s black Friday.
No impact. Zero. Waste of time.
The country just had an election and the candidate that won had, as part of his platform, a promise to eliminate, to the best of his ability, DEI.
So even if this action were to have an impact, that impact will have the effect of coming off like the “sore losers” union, not to mention that with all these different dates and targeted companies, the actual organizing of this protest is daunting…I mean you need to put in 6 different sets of dates in your calendar along with 11 named companies and “everyone else” on two specific days…in order to be a good comrade and support the protest you will need to be uber organized.
Not likely to happen.
I’m not seeing this effort has much more than a barely recognizable impact on the companies or industries targeted. And telling people to not spend money or with certain companies doesn’t deter the average American consumer. It may actually have a counter effect. Consumers primarily make daily purchase decisions for food, clothing and basic needs first on price or their quality-value equation, in availability, and in taking care of themselves or their family now. But consumers will also make decisions in how their values align with brands/companies who are clear in what they stand for. That requires investment in brand marketing and communication.
This protest effort will struggle to get a wedge between most consumers and all the brands/companies they are targeting.