The Florida GOP isn’t the only one profiting from the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” by selling merchandise. A subset of Etsy buyers and sellers began a boycott of the online marketplace this month over its decision to allow “Alligator Alcatraz”-branded merchandise on its site.
Today, this sort of merchandise — including T-shirts, hats, mugs, stickers, patches, and other items — can be found across e-commerce platforms beyond Etsy, ranging from large retailers like Amazon to online marketplaces like eBay to seller storefront providers like Shopify and more.
However, Etsy users have taken particular issue with the company’s decision to allow the merchandise, which celebrates the controversial ICE detention center in Florida, where detainees are held in cages and subjected to reportedly horrible conditions, according to outlets like the AP, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CBS, The NYT, Tampa Bay Times, and others.
Etsy, its users argue, has a published Discrimination and Hateful Content Policy, which lists “immigration status” as a protected class — meaning both behavior and merchandise cannot contain or display discriminatory behavior toward the listed protected classes. Boycotters believe that Etsy is in violation of its policy, as the company notes that prohibited behavior includes not only hate speech, but also “content which directly or indirectly contains violent or degrading commentary against protected classes listed above.”
The Etsy boycott has been loosely organized on social media platforms like Meta’s Threads and Reddit so far, where there are thousands of posts and comments. For example, one Threads post that references the boycott received more than 26,500 likes and a Reddit post exclaiming “What are they thinking over at Etsy?!” has 69,000 upvotes.
When searching for the term “Boycott Etsy” on Threads, you’ll find a long stream of posts debating the boycott, many of which have hundreds of replies. Some Etsy sellers worry their online businesses will suffer as a result, even though they are not selling this type of merchandise. Others, including those who disagree with the Trump administration’s policies, believe the merchandise is protected free speech.
On Reddit’s Etsy Community and elsewhere, boycotting sellers are threatening to close their shops, and buyers say they’re closing their accounts. There are also references to the boycott across other social media sites like X, TikTok, Facebook, and others.
Because the effort is so far only loosely organized, it’s difficult to tell how many are participating. According to data from app intelligence provider Appfigures, Etsy’s iOS app in the U.S. hasn’t slipped in the ranks at this time — it’s been in the top 20 apps in the Shopping category throughout the month.
Etsy is not alone in profiting from this type of merchandise, as some sellers and buyers have also pointed out. Many major selling platforms have not banned “Alligator Alcatraz”-branded products at this time. Among those TechCrunch reached out to, only Amazon was willing to defend its choice to host this merchandise, pointing us to its policy around controversial products and content. The company also said the “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise was compliant with its guidelines.
Etsy did not respond to multiple requests for comment. eBay responded to an email request, but never shared a comment. Shopify didn’t respond, nor did smaller platforms like Redbubble and TeePublic. (Walmart and Target were not found to be hosting this type of merchandise at this time. Walmart told TechCrunch it has clear guidelines around prohibited products, and those that don’t comply are “promptly removed.”)
Etsy also featured a couple of sellers with pro-“Alligator Auschwitz” branded merchandise, among other listings for merchandise calling for its abolition (as seen in the screenshot below).
E-commerce platforms have weathered storms like this before, and have been known to host products that promote both right-wing and left-wing views without taking a political stance themselves.
But in more extreme cases, the companies have capitulated to customer backlash. For instance, earlier this year, Shopify was caught hosting a storefront run by Kanye that was selling a swastika T-shirt and took it down, though it continued to host other stores that featured antisemitic content. Amazon also previously faced backlash over its decision to host right-wing militia merchandise and products celebrating QAnon conspiracies, and also pulled those products down.
