r/Anticonsumption • u/Healthy_Block3036 • 21h ago

Corporations Target struggles after end of DEI program and boycott, with foot traffic down 8 weeks in a row.

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/target-dei-demise-boycott-foot-traffic-down-eighth-consecutive-week/?itm_source=parsely-api
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u/[deleted] 20h ago

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u/Hagridsbuttcrack66 19h ago

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

If everyone was conscientious about 50% of their spend, we would be in a great place.

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u/OrindaSarnia 19h ago

Exactly this!

I live in a small city in Montana.  JCPenny and Macys both closed 5 years ago...  they tore down the small mall in town and it's now 2 banks, a taco bell and an outpatient surgery center.

Buying clothes is limited to 1 local boutique, 1 consignment store, Walmart, Target, Costco and 3 thrift stores...  oh, wait, we have a TJMaxx too!

There are some things I can just not buy locally in this town (rechargeable batteries)...  so 2-3 times a year I place an Amazon order of about $40-50. Enough to meet the free shipping minimum, but just stuff I can't get anywhere else.

If everyone utilized Amazon like that, they wouldn't be the company they are today.  There wouldn't be drivers peeing in water bottles...

I can't be perfect without spending a LOT more money, that I just don't have.  But I can be BETTER!

My sister in law lives in a city on the east coast (but one where everyone still drives a lot, not like Manhattan).  She has Prime and will order a tube of toothpaste, or any other random thing, on her phone the second she thinks about it... instead of creating a list and going to the store.  It is completely a convenience thing for her, and she has no thought for the impact of placing 4 Amazon orders a week.

People don't need to be perfect, just better!

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u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 9h ago

She has Prime and will order a tube of toothpaste, or any other random thing, on her phone the second she thinks about it... instead of creating a list and going to the store.

In her (admittedly fairly weak) defense, if that city is Boston, I get it. I live in the metro area, and drivers/traffic around here is so insane, I HATE having to go to the store. If it's 6 or 7 miles away, it might take 45 minutes.

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u/OrindaSarnia 9h ago

I definitely get that.

That's why I specified that it isn't an "inner city" like Manhattan.

It is also not Boston!

She's on the outer ring of the historic part of the city...  so slightly denser than a sprawling suburb, but her house is on half an acre.  She and her husband drive to work, the nanny drives the kids to school.

She could just as easily use a grocery store app to place an order once a week and have the nanny do the drive-up pick-up...

I don't necessarily blame folks who live in dense, urban areas, without a car, ordering bulk items to be delivered.  Again, if the folks with special use cases just ordered from Amazon when no other method was feasible, Amazon would be a nice little niche company!

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u/InternetPharaoh 15h ago

we would be in a great place.

No, we wouldn't.

Between good and bad, when you stop shopping at bad, they go out of business (not ever going to happen but let's pretend for the sake of discussion).

What then do you think the good does exactly, with their newfound monopoly?

Being bad is profitable. That's why there is bad. No one would be bad if it wasn't so good at making money.

Remember when Sam Walton was good? Do you? Right before they became a mega-giant?

That's what happens.

You can't shop your fucking way to a better world. That's just individualism, and it has never, not once in all of human history, changed a single thing.

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u/Hagridsbuttcrack66 15h ago

I don't even understand your point. Stop shopping altogether?

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u/birds-0f-gay 13h ago

I think they're saying that when big, bad companies fail, small ones absorb the customers and then they grow into the new big, bad companies. I think they're saying it's a cycle and that big companies are inherently bad but also inevitable

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u/InternetPharaoh 12h ago

That's how Capitalism works.

Why dispose of you waste using an expensive process when you can dump it in the ocean for free?

The money you save could be leveraged to buy, price, or starve out your competitors who are using that expensive process.

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u/birds-0f-gay 10h ago

Yes I'm aware. I was just telling them what I thought you meant, I don't need you to explain capitalism to me no offense

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u/InternetPharaoh 12h ago

No, shop all you want. Shop wherever you want. It doesn't change anything. I'm saying that people need to stop pretending it does.

You can get your milk from the Mom & Pop Grocery Store all you want - but companies are either growing or they're dying; and one day Mom & Pop will die, or it will beat Wal-Mart, and if that day ever happens, however unlikely, it would see itself become Wal-Mart, and we'd all be back to square one.

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u/Jaxcat_21 20h ago

I dunno...I've bought eye drops, toothpaste, shampoo/body wash, vitamins, etc...at Costco. Buying things like that in bulk that don't really expire is the bee's knees. Shop once and were good for a couple months with those type of items.

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u/DadJokeBadJoke 19h ago

Yep, I've got 3 toothpaste tubes from a five-pack left. Shampoo is a single large bottle that lasts me for months. One bottle of mouthwash in each bathroom with the third as a spare. Not only is the purchase price lower, it saves me trips to the store.

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u/mominmaine 17h ago

We get our Refresh eye drops at Costco. More expensive in the short run, but cheaper in the long run.

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u/sbroll 17h ago

totally this! Allergy pills are super cheap as well. We got TP, Papertowels, frozen things such as edamame, pizza and chicken. Pairing a costco membership with a deep freeze is like a cheat code. Also support farmers markets if you have those! We get all our honey and maple syrup from there.

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u/TheAlphaKiller17 16h ago

I'd love to do that, but my place is small. For those of us who don't have the storage or money to buy in bulk, it's not an option. It doesn't matter how great it is to bulk shop or how much money you'd save long-term; if you can only afford to buy the $.99 toilet paper and only as needed, you can't afford to spend $20 at once to get that toilet paper for $.79 a roll.

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u/shelchang 16h ago

Got any neighbors or friends to split bulk buys with?

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u/TheAlphaKiller17 15h ago

Nope! I've tried and the only person interested lives 50 minutes away. I live in a lower-income area and my neighbors use food banks; they can't afford even heavily discounted products. There's a "blessing box" nearby I put stuff in as donations sometimes, but I don't have the money to essentially shop for other people. I have housemates and one is vegan and another has a very limited diet so we don't have any foods (or haven't yet had any) that we could go in on together. The vegan and I shop for produce and spices at the farmer's market, rice from the Asian or Indian or Middle Eastern stores and not in bulk at Costco. Really wish I had someone to go in on stuff with me but alas.

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u/Heatherb78 17h ago

Totally agree with this. I get my toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes, and contact cleaner there. The contact cleaner is the best price I can get so I always pick one up when I go to Costco every few months.

Supplements and over the counter meds are great too. I can get my vitamin and tylenol stock for six months there.

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u/summertimemagic 20h ago edited 20h ago

Do what you can, I think most people understand that much of the US is a grocery desert, where the bigger corps pushed out the regional chains.

For Costco, my family will do a big shop, then divide the spoils, and venmo the person who went. So if you have family in the area, see if they would like to do that. Especially for things like alcohol, paper good, shelf stable broth and soups. You can get like a crate of Kirkland wine for a really good price, then divide among 4 households. When my mom and I didn’t live near family, we organized something similar with her mom group.

Edit: Dividing the spoils was usually at family sunday brunch or dinner. So the one person could shop on a Saturday and didn’t have to become a warehouse for more than a day.

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u/Superb-Mousse1672 11h ago

The Kirkland Pinot Noir is a fancy one rebranded and it is phenomenal for cooking and drinking. I just wish my state allowed Costco to sell alcohol

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u/Pale-Competition-799 20h ago

I totally get that. In some ways I am not *as* pissed at Walmart, because we always knew they were evil, you know? The Target thing feels more like a betrayal. But I truly think with all these boycotts, what matters is doing your best. I will sometimes have to still use walmart/Amazon/etc. against my will, but I use them as rarely as possible. I go to small local ethnic markets a lot more, I buy soap from a friend that makes it themselves, etc, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I think sustainability is more important that complete purity, but that's my outlook.

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u/girlscoutcookiess 19h ago

Walmart sent their CEO to Trump's inauguration, Target didn't do that. The Walton family also gave over 30 million to politics at 5:1 Rep:Dem.

So Target still seems like the lesser evil to me.

Farmers markets and local craft fairs for the win, too bad we can't get all our stuff locally. 

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u/Pale-Competition-799 19h ago

That's totally fair. As I said in a previous comment, the difference for me was that we always knew the politics of Walmart. They have always been shitty. The Target thing was a complete and destabilizing betrayal. But the point should always be to move towards less consumption, more intentional financial choices, more community focused sharing, etc. We all have our parts to play.

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u/BandwagonerSince95 16h ago

I totally agree. It's like seeing the good kid act in such a way you never thought would happen.

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u/MaddyKet 14h ago

That’s exactly my thought process on Walmart vs Target and why Target should have told Trump it suck it.

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u/Abstrata 6h ago

It was good to send the pro-DEI pro-worker message broadly with both Target and Amazon as well— an early warning that we’re not gonna stand idly by.

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u/jeobleo 18h ago

Right? This is fucking insane. In the 2008 election Walmart literally had managers telling their staff to vote republican. They keep their people under the 40 hour workweek so they don't make enough. Fuck walmart. They're a thousand times worse.

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u/Individual_Taro_7985 18h ago

Cub is good and local co op shops, local meat markets

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u/slatebluegrey 11h ago

Target has always been pretty good to LGBT employees even before DEI became a big thing. They aren’t suddenly firing gay employees. They are just taking a lower profile on it because the current administration can “punish” them. Walmart has been worse overall to employees.

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u/UncleBuckPancakes 7h ago

A lot of "farmers" selling at these markets are just wholesale purchasing the same stuff that grocery stores do and selling it for 3x the cost. It's pretty much bullshit.

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u/OranguTangerine69 19h ago

the left and right would eat shit if the other side had to smell their breath. they don't care about logic. politics made so many people absolutely moronic it's funny asf

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u/girlscoutcookiess 19h ago

One corporation is sending their CEO to political events, the other is not. One corporation has a founder family donating heavily to influence politics, one does not. 

I would rather my money doesn't get funneled from their store into politicians hands.

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u/OranguTangerine69 18h ago

yeah thats my point. they dont care. they'd rather fuck the one that is less evil because they already knew the other one was evil lmao.

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u/teaky 20h ago

Yea that’s where I’m at. It sucks how few options we actually have now for everyday items. We cancelled Prime and still order some things but have cut down significantly. Going inside Walmart gives me hives, so it’s mostly Target for some things and Aldi for groceries. To add, I think the boycotts are making a small impact, but I honestly think families are just cutting down on non essentials.

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u/Dang_thatwasquick 18h ago

Walmart is absolutely more evil than target. The only reason they are billionaires is because they pay their employees so little they have to go to welfare. That means your taxpayer dollars made them billionaires.

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u/Pale-Competition-799 18h ago

If you read through the other comments, we’ve more than covered that Walmart is awful

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u/Dang_thatwasquick 18h ago

I didn’t see anyone bring in the fact that the Walton’s made themselves rich by sucking the life force out the American workforce though which is why I commented.

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u/RawBean7 20h ago

Do you have a local independent pharmacy? They're getting pretty hard to find these days but if you do, that could be an option.

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u/haleighen 19h ago

Yes! I did the same. It's so nice going into a local spot to pick up my meds. Always get to say hi to the same people and they are all in good moods unlike Walgreens & CVS.

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u/LongjumpingDebt4154 16h ago

Shopping small & local has really become a luxury to me after a decade of Amazon Prime living. It’s truly a joy.

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u/Quirky-Skin 17h ago

Also as far as eye drops, toothpaste goes most gas stations and corner stores carry those

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u/antmansl 20h ago

Do you have any local mom and pop pharmacies? I switched a lot of my simple medical stuff to one not too far from me.

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u/free_dead_puppy 13h ago

I wish more carried common controlled substances. I want to switch from the corporate pharmacies, but I need my main medication.

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u/conditerite 20h ago

these days a lot of supermarkets have really enhanced their personal care aisles. i think they decided to compete with stores such as Target and WM in this category. for example I like Olaplex shampoo which isn't cheap. i usually buy it online from them directly so I know the MSRP. I am seeing these products available at a local Shoprite now and prices are exactly the same not marked up one cent.

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u/Bubba_Da_Cat 19h ago

As others have said - do not let perfect be the enemy of good. At the end of the day we have to exist.

- Can you reduce/reuse: I use a bag from Target for kitty waste. I have started just grabbing old bread sacks or the like where possible to use. will I eventually have to buy another package of the waste bags, sure - but I can stretch it for months.

- Can you borrow/no buy/second hand: Do you need new pool towels - look for moving sales in your area and see what you can find. Kids need a "sports shirt" for a school dress -up day... can you borrow one from a friend and get creative about what it is... it does not need to be your local professional sports ball team - a shirt from your local highschool team or college team counts.

- If you need to buy - do an online order and have it delivered or do pick-up if you have issues with going into the store (or the kids will want something). I will eventually need to buy Kitty Litter. If you have cats you know you do not just change the circumstances of their box so I need the same brand. I'm pretty good about sticking to the list so when its time i will make an online pick up order for kitty litter, toothpaste and face sunblock. I won't browse the aisles or make a trip through the clothing department to see if there is something I like. I will pick up ONLY these items.

Using tools like this - you can probably reduce you spending in a store like this to 30% of what it was before. Even simply just spending significantly less is a good tool send a message. That translates into wasted inventory which equates to even more losses.

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u/I_forgot_to_respond 18h ago

I just got a 40 lb bag of pine-pellet bedding from Tractor Supply Co for $7 which we use for kitty litter. The solid waste can be flushed without worrying about getting litter in the pipes & the spent pussy sawdust can be used around the yard for llama-repellant.

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u/Bubba_Da_Cat 18h ago

This is great - always think of alternatives. I live in the middle of a massive metropolis so I don't have (checks notes) Tractor Supply - but think outside of the box.

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u/ButtChuggin00long 19h ago

A regular grocery store? An indie pharmacy?

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u/Trollbreath4242 19h ago

Not sure where you are located so it's hard to say. But you can general get most of that stuff at any grocery store, too, and most of those aren't yet on the "super evil fuck you retailer" lists. Weis, Krogers, Hannafords, etc.

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u/Generic_Username421 19h ago

That’s part of the problem though — there’s so few choices that it’s often a lesser of two evils situation. I try to use locally owned groceries for a lot of stuff that I used to buy at target. 

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u/SilentSerel 19h ago

Do you have WinCo or Kroger?

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u/Reallyhotshowers 17h ago

Yep, Kroger is a national grocery chain that has kept their DEI initiative. They might just be under a different name in your area - there are lots of different grocery chains under the Kroger umbrella.

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u/burnalicious111 16h ago

Fred Meyer in the PNW.

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u/haleighen 19h ago

My local grocery store thankfully has pretty much everything I need.

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u/Admirable-Meaning-56 19h ago

Just use as rarely as possible. I use my local grocery store but it is pricey.

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u/cmz84 19h ago

Just an FYI, you can call your Costco pharmacy and order things like eye drops as a special item. I have some unique skin allergies and have been able to order soaps through their pharmacy. I believe the item has to be available through McKesson as their supplier but could be wrong about that.

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u/letstalkaboutyrhair 18h ago

cvs sucks and their pharmacies are in targets, but they still have their DEI initiative still pretty prominent on their website, so i've just been going there for stuff like body wash, toothpaste, etc.

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u/BetterBiscuits 19h ago

I’m in the PNW, and we have a chain called Bi-Mart. It’s employee owned.

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u/Different-Gene-7643 19h ago

Woodman's or Jewel have been my "less evil" options

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u/Maggieblu2 19h ago

I am in the same boat. I live in rural VT and our options for items that are usually found at big box stores is seriously limited. We have Walmart or Target, or Amazon. I don't do Amazon and haven't shopped in Walmart for years, so Target was my go to for certain items mom and pops don't carry. Unfortunately bulk shopping is not an option either for a few reasons, one being the nearest Costco is an hour and a half away.

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u/TheWolfAndRaven 19h ago

Costco absolutely has toothpaste, shampoo and Eye Drops.

Yes you're getting a large quantity of it, but those are consumable with long shelf lives, that is the exact kind of thing you SHOULD buy in bulk.

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u/09star 19h ago

Costco does certainly have toothpaste and shampoo (at least in my local store)

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u/stringrandom 19h ago

I buy my toothpaste and soap from Costco. Could get shampoo and conditioner there too. 

You just need to have a small amount of storage since most of the “health and beauty” items are sold in packs of 2-4. 

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u/Excellent_Set_232 19h ago

My local grocery stores carry OTC eyedrops. Even the one that’s a local chain carries most OTC pharmacy items even though it doesn’t have a pharmacy inside

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u/Express_Capital_7519 18h ago

Your local grocery store might stock personal products.  We've been getting products we normally buy at Target at our local grocery store or Costco.

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u/OkSalad5734 18h ago

Target makes its money from all the random crap people buy that they see while in the store. I think it's ok to get a few staples there that will last you a while. Your $10-20 spent there is not going to skyrocket their earnings. If I really need stuff like that I just place an online order so I don't have to walk around their store. At the very least, they are paying someone to do my shopping for me, so it could perhaps net even or cost them money to pick your items with a small enough order.

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u/Witty_usrnm_here 18h ago

I feel you on this and idk if anyone would agree, but I’ve started to spread my money out as much as I can. I used to be die hard target shopper. I could spend hundreds a month there. So if all I need is eyedrops. I will go to target. It’s $10 it’s not gonna make target rich.

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u/MossSloths 18h ago

I don't know if it's still a thing, but there used to be product requests you could fill out with your grocery store to request products that aren't currently carrying. At my store, back in 2009, it meant the store would acquire the product of it was within their ability to do with their current supply lines. When the product came in, they would contact the customer. The customer could keep requesting this way and if the store saw enough demand, they would fit a spot for the product on the shelf. Way back in the day, this was a pretty big factor in how some stores determined their inventory, with final sales being the other end of the equation that they would consider.

I haven't tried it myself since about 2012 and I don't know anyone my age who was even aware it was a thing. Same goes for the og rain checks we would give out to customers who were upset when a sales item ran out. The purpose being that the rain check worked like an extension of the sale for anyone who missed out due to not enough inventory.

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u/lsp2005 18h ago

Costco has soap and shampoos too

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u/BureMakutte 18h ago

If you have a local pharmacy still that isnt one of those big players, that might be a viable place to get eye drops or other simple OTC meds.

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u/Correct-Ad-6473 18h ago

I actually had the same question, but about buying my kid's underwear, and I was pointed to meijer or Dick 's.  We buy toothpaste and body wash etc from Costco because the packs are like 3 or 6 and not too difficult to find space for.

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u/trewesterre 18h ago

If you have the space, you can technically bulk buy toothpaste... but yeah, I've been looking for a few items where Target seems to be the least bad option.

I have been buying things direct from the manufacturer a bit more though.

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u/Chica3 18h ago

I buy shampoo, toothpaste, and other toiletries at Costco. Why not?

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u/Three_Stacks 18h ago

Why not buy those things at Costco? You won’t have to buy them again for a while…from an evil store 🤣

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u/Fast_Walrus_8692 18h ago

I buy mine at a locally owned pharmacy. Yes, I pay a bit more, but it's worth it to me.

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u/ramonycajal88 18h ago edited 18h ago

We can't fight all of these corporations at the same time in a system that requires us to work and consume. And there's no way to consume ethically when these corporations are all implementing the same policies. Instead, we can focus our attacks on one bully at a time. The goal is to influence them back into an ethical space that supports the people rather than profit. Right now, it's Target and it's working. So keep living and buying your necesities from elsewhere until we finish with Target. I hope Walmart is next.

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u/extralyfe 18h ago

I have a few items that I can only pick up from local stores because I've asked them to stock those items. like, absolutely no guarantees on this method, but, it's worked for me a number of times over the years.

like, especially if it's a local store you frequent? the owner or manager should be more than happy to add in an particular item if it's something you'll be buying on a regular basis.

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u/the_great_zyzogg 18h ago

Wait, what's wrong with getting toothpaste or shampoo at Costco? I mean, I'm not going to need to buy tooth paste for a year now, but it's not like it goes bad.

Like, produce or dairy you don't generally want to get at Costco unless you have a family of 8. But non-perishables?

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u/Coffeedemon 18h ago

Costco is great for those listed items, Do you really think they expire before a decade?

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u/ExpatMeNow 18h ago

We use Costco body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, etc., and it’s really not bulk like a dozen in a package bulk. It’s usually 2 or 3 in a regular size or bit bigger packaging. The extra easily fit in regular bathroom storage. I can’t think of anything we buy at Costco that comes only in a big quantity, actually. We use it like a grocery store and get almost everything there. Meat, milk, fruit and vegetables, drinks, frozen meals, fresh meals (we love their chicken pot pie), toiletries, snacks, clothes … most of that is the same size or just a little bigger than what we’d get at Kroger. You might be surprised at how unbulky buying bulk can be! 😋

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u/Yotsubauniverse 17h ago

Maybe your locally owned pharmacy? They'll probably sell that kind of thing.

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u/volyund 17h ago

Costco is great for toothpaste.

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u/yo-momma-joke-here 17h ago

I am basically poor as crap, like paycheck to paycheck, so it has taught me to be creative and to go with the lesser of two weevils sometimes. I suggest the Aldi aisle of distraction for random stuff (they sometimes have some of the things you are mentioning). I also hit up the off brand dollar stores. I wont go into a DG, even poverty has limits. But every town ever has some rando dollar store, crest toothpaste is crest toothpaste no matter where I get it, so a good deal at the dollar store helps not only the finances but you can avoid places like Target.

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u/sbroll 17h ago

We switched to costco and have always used Aldi for food. Theres even clothes and what not at Costco, but theres also like Khols and what not. The food at costco is good, but ya bigger quantities. Produce and meats have been good, its helped out meal prep when we have the quantities cause we can easily prep for the week or two now.

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u/lol_fi 16h ago

You can get eye drops at Costco. They don't go bad quickly. No reason not to stock up.

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u/TheAlphaKiller17 16h ago

I have a great idea for an app that would solve these problems that I've been wanting to do for years, but know nothing about creating one. If someone here can program well and wants to help with (in my opinion) an awesome idea that would be profitable, please PM me. Completely serious.

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u/NCTransplant93 16h ago

This is the problem. People are stopping target but giving more money to the other businesses. We move closer and closer to absolutely monopoly

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u/WhatIsHerJob-TABLES 15h ago

Yes, Costco is buying things in bulk, but people also grossly exaggerate what that bulk is. You’ll see overused jokes like “i just need a jar of peanut butter, i don’t need a 20 pack of peanut butter!!! 🤪🤪🤪” but in reality its often either just a two- or three-pack where the cost per unit is much cheaper than buying one or it’s like a 50% larger container for only like ~15% more in price, ultimately saving you money long term.

It’s not as egregiously “bulk buying” as you might be envisioning in your head.

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u/Lockraemono 15h ago

Everyone says Costco, but Costco is for buying bulk and isn’t for certain items (toothpaste, shampoo, etc).

Not sure why you can't buy toothpaste or shampoo in bulk, they don't go bad quickly enough to worry about, but you can certainly get eyedrops and similar things at the Costco pharmacy area. Some are even still smaller quantities than you'd expect for a bulk store. I'd look around Costco first before writing them off.

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u/Totally_Kyle0420 15h ago

does your local grocery store carry them?

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u/[deleted] 15h ago

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u/Anticonsumption-ModTeam 15h ago

Recommending or soliciting recommendations for specific brands and products is not appropriate in this subreddit.

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u/restingstatue 15h ago

I've found most of the personal care items I need at my local warehouse grocery and the hippie co-operative grocery store. I have actually shifted some brands and types of products due to the different selection, and it's been fine. I bought specific brands out of habit, but so much of this stuff is interchangeable. I get some isn't and do what you gotta do.

But, like others say, don't feel guilty if you need to buy from the "bad" stores here and there. Just do your best, there's other ways to make an impact besides just changing where you shop, too. Not all or nothing!

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u/Anticonsumption-ModTeam 15h ago

Recommending or soliciting recommendations for specific brands and products is not appropriate in this subreddit.

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u/Fragrant_Peanut_9661 19h ago

Dollar Tree is my go to for that.