Donald Trump may have been democratically elected president, but there are plenty of people who find this appalling. That nearly 73 million American voters rejected the xenophobia, racism, sexism and hatred that fueled Trump’s campaign could be an opportunity – for corporate America.

Companies are now faced with the prospect of millions of potential customers willing to boycott brands that associate with the toxic politics of Trumpism or to support those who repudiate them. For many Americans, resisting the normalization of Trumpism includes distancing themselves from the brands that have a real or perceived affiliation with the president-elect.



It’s no longer enough to simply try and provide products that consumers want while keeping profit margins as high as possible. Corporate America in the age of Trump will have to be aware that a misstep could mean that their brand will be associated with white supremacy, misogyny and xenophobia. (New Balance found this out last month when a company official appeared to support the president-elect and a social media uproar ensued.)

Over 50 companies are now being actively boycotted, and as more connections with Trump are made public, we should expect that list to grow.

At least six companies have already refused to sell Trump-branded products. Macy’s was first taking Trump-branded products off their shelves soon after Trump made his now-infamous Mexican rapist comments. Shoes.com was not far behind in removing Ivanka Trump’s footwear line from its site, followed by Bellacor, Wayfair, Zulily, RueLaLa and Stein Mart ditching Trump-branded goods.

Others companies are protesting Trump by withholding their ad dollars. Kellogg, Warby Parker, Allstate and a host of other companies have pulled advertisements from Breitbart.com. Breitbart, long known for its antisemitic, racist and misogynistic articles, was co-founded by Steve Bannon, now a Trump White House senior adviser.

Even company officials are under scrutiny. Fortune noted in September that no Fortune 100 company CEOs backed Trump, and Silicon Valley bigwig who did donate to a Trump-related organization, Palmer Luckey of Oculus Rift, faced backlash for it.

Corporate America would be wise to align itself with the Americans who rejected what Trump stands for. It will prove to be smart for their bottom lines.

