Boycott Shell

White button with black text. The Shell logo is in the background.

The Boycott Shell movement was part of anti-apartheid movement started in 1987 by organizations in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Apartheid was a South African policy that discriminated against black citizens based on race. Shell was a main target of this movement because it provided fuel to the South African military and police, who maintained the apartheid. According to the boycotters, the South African government could not maintain the apartheid without companies like Shell, because it did not have its own oil supply. As the boycott continued, local groups picketed Shell stations throughout Great Britain, causing Shell’s share of the U.K. market to fall by 6.6%. The apartheid in South Africa officially ended in 1994.