The initiative aimed to challenge the influence of major corporations and wealthy individuals on working-class Americans, with many boycotters joining to protest the current Trump administration's rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
[1][3] Separately, the National Action Network, a civil rights organization led by Reverend Al Sharpton, announced in late January 2025 that it would identify two companies for boycotts within 90 days, focusing on businesses that had abandoned their diversity pledges.
[1] The Economic Blackout was conceived and launched by The People's Union USA, an organization founded by Chicagoland meditation and mindfulness instructor and convicted sex offender[4] John Schwarz.
In a video released on February 25, Schwarz characterized the boycott as "a warning shot" to corporations that had treated Americans as "an endless source of profit" while maintaining minimal wages and lobbying for favorable political conditions.
Participants were instructed to avoid all forms of consumer spending during this period, including in-store purchases, online shopping, fast food consumption, and vehicle refueling.
[2] Many social media users documented their participation through video posts, including by brewing coffee at home instead of buying it, packing lunches for work, and purchasing necessities and goods in advance.
[1] Many boycott participants expressed support for the blackout as part of a broader commitment to redirect spending away from companies that had retreated from DEI initiatives, such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target, to Costco, which had maintained its diversity programs.
[1] Most research organizations were not specifically tracking the boycott's economic impact, due to online sales data aggregators like Adobe Analytics typically collecting spending information on a monthly basis, with exceptions made for major shopping events such as Cyber Monday.
[1] University of Virginia marketing professor Young Hou stated that it would be difficult to maintain the boycotts due to the unwillingness of consumers to disrupt their spending habits for long periods, while possibly leading to counter-protests from supporters of the boycotted companies.