War sponsor products
For whom in this war it is blatantly deployed in defense of Ukraine in recent months an ethical dilemma has arisen regarding our common consumer habits. Are the products I choose morally sustainable? It seems like a silly question, with thousands of victims and entire cities destroyed what does it matter which drink I buy at the supermarket or which detergent I use for the shower every day? But it's not like that, because the purchase of certain products from companies still active in russia directly affects the firepower of the kremlin feeding the state coffers through the billions of dollars paid by the companies themselves in the form of taxes and supporting the Russian labor market and its economy, thus lightening the burden of international sanctions.
Monitoring of companies active in Russia
We have already talked about some online services that monitor the activities of trading companies that are still active in russia, let's talk about War & Sanctions (where you will find all the official list of sanctioned entities and companies not directly sanctioned by governments but still in Russian business by member country) and B4Ukraine, a real movement to push consumers to make more ethical choices in daily life so as not to further subsidize the Russian war machine.
For an even more 360-degree overview, we also refer you to the site Leave Russia (edited by the KSE Institute), a veritable bible of all multinational companies that are still operating in russia.
War sponsor products
Let's get to the heart of things and find out which products we buy every day and which unexpectedly help the Kremlin continue this war.
First of all, among the companies with very famous products in Italy and directly involved in the business in Russia which, with their taxes, are helping to generate liquidity for the Russian army, we find Bonduelle (fresh, frozen, vegetables) e Leroy Merlin (large-scale distribution for DIY), which despite the pressures suffered since 24 February 2022 have always refused to withdraw from the Russian market.
Pepsico (food and beverage)
Pepsico, producer of various drinks such as Pepsi o 7Up, still remains permanently in Russia and has seen its profits increase on that market in 2022. Among its brands (all very famous we find:
Pepsi (drink);
7Up (drink);
Lays (chips);
Gatorade (beverage);
Lipton (the);
Unilever (beauty care and cleaning products)
Unilever is a large multinational with over 400 product brands across Europe and is reported by the Ukrainian authorities as a sponsor of the war. Among the Unilever products (all for the beauty and household cleaning sector) distributed in Italy we find:
Where (beauty care, deodorants, creams);
Ciff (house cleaning);
Glysolid (hand cream);
lysoform (surface cleaner);
Knorr (food);
Algida and Magnum Algida (ice cream)
Quick (dish soap).
The entire complete list of the Unilver brands for Italy can be found on their website.
P&G (Beauty care and cleaning products)
Like Unilever, too P & G has a large number of commonly used brands, and this company is also reported as a sponsor of the war. Here are the main P&G brands (also sensational names here):
Dash e Lenor (fabric detergents);
Brown e Gilette (shaving);
Head & Shoulders e Pantene pro V (shampoo);
Viakal, Swiffer, Mastrolindo, Fairy (house cleaning);
Oral B e AZ (oral hygiene);
Olaz (facial care).
And these are just the most important ones, you find their entire list of products on their site.
Mondelez (food)
Mondelez is another multinational that has not withdrawn from the Russian market, its products are all from the food sector and in recent months in the Scandinavian countries they have been the subject of boycott campaigns by consumers and also by the furniture giant IKEA , which pulled Mondelez-branded products from its stores.
Of this company we mention:
Oreo (cookies);
Milka (chocolate);
Mikado (chocolate snack);
Philadelphia (cream cheese);
toblerone (chocolate);
TUC (crackers);
Fonzies (french fries);
Nestlé (food & beverage)
Also Nestle, a multinational leader in the food sector, was officially indicated as a sponsor of the war for not having abandoned Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and after months and months of confirmed Russian war crimes and on the table of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Among Nestlè products we find:
Purina, Friskies and Gourmet (food for dogs and cats);
KitKat, Smarties, Baci Perugina (chocolate);
Nesquik (chocolate mix for milk drinks);
Nespresso (coffee);
Levissima and San Pellegrino (waterfall);
Maxibons (ice creams);
Buitoni (food)
Boycott these products?
The various campaigns launched by consumers across Europe to boycott these products have a very specific purpose: prove that the western consumer is not blind to the atrocities committed by russia in this war and make these companies lose important market shares in the European Union market. If then these giants prefer the Russian market (a country we recall is very poor and on the verge of a sensational bankruptcy) to the thriving Western market, these will be calculations that will have already been made internally.
We do not in any way push for our readers to take such radical positions as to renounce their customs, we simply believe that an ethical choice has long-term benefits and no real disadvantages living in a global market with so many alternatives.
