 VANCOUVER — Anti-Israel demonstrations outside Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) stores on Saturday, Nov. 28, were small but orderly, with only 12 protesters outside the company’s Vancouver store, 10 outside the Calgary store and none outside the Toronto outlet.
The protesters were there to show their disapproval of the retail co-operative’s sourcing policy, in particular its contract to source two products from Israel: underwear and hydration systems for backpacks.
To demonstrate their support MEC’s sourcing practices, the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) encouraged Jewish communities throughout Canada to participate in its “Buycott Israel” program by buying Israeli products at the store the following day.
The encouragement worked, and shoppers turned out in large numbers Nov. 29 to purchase large quantities of Israel-made underwear.
“We track sales on a four-week-period basis,” said MEC spokesperson Tim Southam. “The ‘buycott’ definitely drove some sales, and the sales for men’s and women’s seamless long underwear that day were the highest in terms of number of units sold for the period.”
Nationwide, 69 per cent of men’s long underwear for that four-week period were sold on Sunday, and 76 per cent of women’s long underwear. The highest number of units of underwear sold was in Calgary, Southam said.
“This clearly demonstrates that the Canadian public supports MEC’s ethical sourcing policy and rejects efforts to politicize the activities of one of Canada’s most socially conscious merchandisers,” said Michael Elterman, chair of the CIC’s Pacific region.
An earlier attempt to force MEC to boycott Israeli goods was defeated by MEC members at the co-op’s annual general meeting last May.
A similar community-organized effort to thwart a boycott of Israeli wines took place in Toronto last April.
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