arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

** BOYCOTT GILLETTE! ** BOYCOTT GILLETTE! ** BOYCOTT GILLETTE! **
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http://www.BoycottGillette.com wesite released today
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Dear CASPIAN Newsletter Subscribers:

Just as CASPIAN warned, global corporations have begun using tiny RFID
tags hidden in products in ways that invade consumers' privacy.

Gillette is at the forefront of the abuse.

In conjunction with the Auto-ID Center (the industry consortium that is
developing the spy chip infrastructure) Gillette has developed so-called
"smart shelves" that are hooked up to hidden cameras to secretly
photograph customers as they pick up Gillette products. CASPIAN believes
these shelves would be better labeled "spy shelves."

The spy shelves are part of a "guilty until proven innocent"
theft-prevention strategy as follows: The shelf detects when
RFID-enabled packages are picked up, triggering a hidden camera to snap
a photo of the shopper. A second photo is taken at the cash register
when the item is purchased. The photos are later matched. If someone is
seen picking up a product but not paying for it, he or she is branded a
potential shoplifter.

Of course, this wrongly targets the customer who changes her mind and
leaves the product in the checkout line or has someone else pay for it,
like a husband or mother along for the shopping trip.

We expressed our concern about this practice to Gillette nearly three
weeks ago and patiently awaited a response. The response never
came--even after we followed up last week with a certified letter to
Gillette VP Dick Cantwell.

Apparently, Gillette feels it does not need to share details about its
RFID spy tag technology with consumers. It also appears that the company
plans to continue down its ill-advised path of presuming that all of its
customers are thieves until proven otherwise.

In response, CASPIAN is calling for consumers across the globe to throw
away their old Gillette razor handles and switch to a different, more
privacy-friendly brand of shaving product.

Please help us spread the word by distributing this email far and wide.

BOYCOTT GILLETTE!

In freedom,

Katherine Albrecht
CASPIAN, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
http://www.nocards.org
(And now http://www.BoycottGillette.com)

p.s. Read on for our press release.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CASPIAN LAUNCHES WORLDWIDE GILLETTE BOYCOTT
Gillette faces consequences for spying on consumers

August 11, 2003

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
is calling for a worldwide boycott of Gillette products since the
company failed to renounce a Gillette Mach3 "smart shelf" spy system.

"We have corroborated evidence that a Gillette 'smart shelf' fitted with
radio frequency identification (RFID) devices can sense when packages
are removed from a store shelf and, in response, take pictures of
consumers handling them," says CASPIAN founder and director Katherine
Albrecht. "Tracking and photographing consumers without their knowledge
and consent is unacceptable."

CASPIAN sent an open letter to Gillette VP Dick Cantwell July 21
requesting information about the smart shelf and Gillette's item-level
RFID tagging of consumer products. The group also sought assurances that
the company would not condone the photographing and tracking of
consumers anywhere in the world.

"Since Gillette failed to renounce the photographing and tracking of
innocent shoppers, we can only conclude that they plan to continue down
this ill-advised path," says Albrecht. "We want to send a clear message
to Gillette and other companies that consumers will not tolerate being
spied on through the products they buy."

Albrecht theorizes that Gillette could face other consequences besides
loss of revenue from their actions. "Photographing adult consumers has
already cost Gillette a loss of consumer goodwill. But just imagine if a
picture of a minor is snapped without permission. Gillette will have a
firestorm on its hands if its shelf photographs a teenage girl as she
bends down to examine Venus shaving products. Her father, his attorney
and the whole world would be knocking on CEO James Kilt's door."

A copy of the open letter, evidence of Gillette smart shelf trials and
pictures of tagged products are available at the group's new boycott
Gillette web site: http://www.boycottgillette.com.

Gillette is currently the leader in nearly a dozen consumer product
categories. Their products include well-known brands like Gillette
razors and shaving products, Oral-B toothbrushes, Braun appliances and
Duracell batteries. A more complete list of their products is posted at
http://www.boycottgillette.com to help consumers avoid purchasing
Gillette products.

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN)
is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
since 1999. With members in all 50 U.S. states and more than 15 nations
across the globe, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing
strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious
shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

For more information about CASPIAN visit http://www.nocards.org.

Katherine Albrecht, CASPIAN Founder and Director: (877) 287-5854
Liz McIntyre, CASPIAN Communications: (877) 287-5854
Mary Starrett, CASPIAN Media Associate: (602) 315-6193

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CASPIAN - Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
A national consumer organization opposing supermarket "loyalty" cards
and other retail surveillance schemes since 1999

http://www.nocards.org

We encourage you to duplicate and distribute this message to others.

http://www.zeda.org