Local residents in the Forest Fields and Hyson Green district of Nottingham declared the area an apartheid-free zone in 1986. This letter was sent to local shopkeepers explaining the aims of the campaign. It told them that thousands of local residents supported a ban on South African goods and offered to discuss the issues raised by the boycott.
Brent AA Group supporters with their local MP Ken Livingstone asked shoppers to boycott South African goods sold by Tesco in February 1987 on the eve of the AAM’s March Month of People’s Sanctions.
Nottingham AA Group converted a local bus to publicise the campaign for a boycott of South African goods and of Shell.
In 1987 the AAM called for ‘people’s sanctions’ in response to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s determination to oppose all sanctions measures against South Africa. In March 1987 it organised a month of local action when local AA groups targeted British companies with a big stake in the South African economy, like Standard Chartered Bank and RTZ. The highlight of the month was the launch of the Boycott Shell campaign on 1 March. This poster was used by local AA groups to advertise events in their own localities.
Marks and Spencer became the focus of the South Africa boycott campaign in Greater Manchester after it refused to discuss its purchasing policy. In 1987 local anti-apartheid campaigners collected 10,000 signatures to a petition asking it not to sell South African products. The petition was presented to the store by the Bishop of Manchester. M&S also had links with the South African company Wooltru, which stocked M&S merchandise.
The AAM made Tesco its main target in the consumer boycott campaign after Tesco reneged on a pledge to stop sourcing ‘own label’ products from South Africa. Tesco continued to sell South African tinned fruit, as well as well as expanding its lines of South African fresh fruit and vegetables. This leaflet was produced for a special day of action on 26 September 1987.
Poster produced for the campaign to pressure British supermarket Tesco’s to stop selling South African goods. The poster uses Tesco’s distinctive brand image. The chain was subjected to regular ‘days of action’, when campaigners handed out leaflets outside its stores asking shoppers to boycott South African products.
