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Boycotts: To what effect?
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November 14, 1996: 9:48 p.m. ET
History of boycotts is mixed, but the results can be long-lasting
From Correspondent Allan Dodds Frank
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The call by black leaders for a boycott against Texaco Inc. is just one in a long line of consumer protests that have been around since the Boston Tea Party.
Over the years, some, such as the bus boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr., have been very successful.
Some, like the protests accusing Nestle of dumping baby formula in developing countries, have even become global and lasted for years.
Texaco is probably hoping its boycott will become one of the many that failed, unnoticed and causing little or no harm.
Boycotts often spring from grassroots activists concerned about issues ranging from fur coats to dolphins being killed by tuna fisherman.
Boycotts can also involve social issues, from Mitsubishi being accused of sexual harassment to protests against Disney's extension of benefits to gay partners
The cottage industry even supports a magazine, Boycott Quarterly, and Editor and Publisher Zachary Lyons remembered how McDonald's backed off of its use of Styrofoam containers. (81K WAV) or (81K AIFF)
The damages done by a boycott are hard to quantify but can linger for years. Exxon still bears the stigma of being indifferent toward the environment.
That long term impact is often what boycotts are looking to establish, explained Ray Rogers, director of Corporate Campaign Inc.
Rogers said that companies spend millions of dollars to create a certain image "that can be destroyed for many years to come," with an effective boycott. 
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