Last updated 12th August 2026
What is the campaign about?
Launched by JustMoney Movement in May 2026, the campaign Challenge Amazon: Break the Habit, Fix the Rules encourages Christians and churches across the UK to shop more ethically and reduce dependence on Amazon. The campaign highlights issues around tax avoidance, poor working conditions, and corporate greed.
Individuals and churches will be empowered to take collective action to challenge a broken global economic system.
- Break the Habit: reduce dependence on Amazon, where possible, and shop more ethically.
- Fix the Rules: campaign for better national and international rules that challenge the power that big companies wield and the harm they cause.
A key focus of the campaign is the UN Tax Convention, which is currently being negotiated and aims to create a fairer global tax system.
Why focus on Amazon?
Amazon is the UK and world’s largest online retailer, with around a 30% global market share. It has been accused of avoiding paying billions in fair taxes globally, including an estimated £2bn over the last five years in the UK alone. The company, owned by multi-billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, has also been heavily criticised for its record on workers’ rights and environmental practices.
Amazon represents a broken global economic system of multinational corporate greed, underpinned by tax avoidance, poor working practices and environmental harm.
The Challenge Amazon campaign is not criticising Amazon’s employees, who are often victims of this same corporate greed and exploitation. There are a wide range of organisations (including worker-led groups) campaigning to see an end to Amazon’s unjust practices.
What are the aims of this campaign?
The campaign aims to raise awareness of Amazon’s unjust tax practices and broader issues of corporate responsibility. It will encourage churches and individuals to reflect on their spending choices and take collective action to champion better business practices and a fairer tax system.
The campaign will build support for global tax justice reform and the UN Tax Convention, currently being negotiated to create a fairer global tax system.
The campaign will strengthen the movement for economic, environmental, and financial justice within UK churches, as part of a wider movement for change.
Why is this campaign important? Why is JustMoney Movement calling on Christians to take action?
Modern economic systems are driving inequality and environmental harm. One in five people in the UK live in poverty, while globally, 700 million live in extreme poverty (under $2.15/day).
Large multinational corporations concentrate wealth and power. The ways that they operate contribute to social, environmental, and economic harm. Christians are called to care for the poor, look after the natural world, and speak out against injustice.
Just one church community of 40 households has a collective ‘spending’ power of £1 million every year to help shape a fairer, greener world. There are tens of thousands of churches and millions of Christians across the UK. JustMoney Movement believes that together we can choose to spend more ethically, speak out for justice and call for better global rules that challenge the power that big companies wield and the harm they can cause.
What are the key messages of the campaign?
The global economy is broken, and Amazon is a major example of the role played by multinational companies in concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few – driven by tax avoidance, poor labour practices, and environmental harm.
Christians and churches have collective power to influence economic systems through making more ethical spending choices.
Global tax rules must change, including through a strong UN Tax Convention, to build a fairer and greener future.
What actions are supporters being asked to take?
JustMoney Movement is calling on individuals and churches to:
- Reduce reliance on Amazon, where possible, and shop more ethically using suggestions from the campaign resources
- Sign the pledge to “break the habit” and share the campaign with others locally
- Share ethical shopping examples and campaign messages on social media
- Use the church campaign resource pack to equip local congregations and communities to take action
- Take the ‘email your MP’ action to support global tax justice reform, including the UN Tax Convention
Doesn’t Amazon create jobs and contribute to the economy?
Amazon does create jobs, but this is only part of the picture. Many roles – especially in warehouses and delivery – are low-paid, insecure, and high-pressure, with high turnover. Amazon’s growth has also contributed to the decline of local businesses and high street jobs, replacing existing retailers that were paying their fair share of taxes.
At the same time, wealth is concentrated among shareholders and senior executives rather than being widely shared. Combined with concerns about tax practices, market dominance, and environmental impact, this raises questions about whether its overall economic contribution is as positive as it appears.
Amazon employees and civil society organisations have raised concerns that Amazon’s investment in AI, while leading to growth for the company, will mean negative impacts on workers, disproportionately affecting those on lower wages.
Why is Amazon accused of not paying enough tax?
Amazon pays very little corporation tax — a tax on a company’s profits — compared with the enormous scale of its sales.
Amazon can make very large profits, but its business model involves heavy investment in expansion, which can reduce the profits it reports. It also pays significant amounts of compensation in shares rather than cash. The cost of this share-based compensation is recorded as an expense, reducing reported profits.
Investors accept this focus on growth because they’re betting on Amazon becoming more valuable in the future. They expect their shares to be worth more, rather than demanding maximum profits and dividends today.
Amazon also shifts where its profits appear. If you buy something in Europe, your receipt will usually come from Luxembourg, a low-tax country, rather than your own.
Local Amazon companies can be structured to appear barely profitable, mainly handling sales and delivery. The result? Huge sales where people live, but relatively little profit — and therefore tax — reported there.
By encouraging people to shop less on Amazon aren’t you harming small businesses that rely on the platform?
This campaign is focusing on Amazon, because of the company’s persistent tax avoidance, poor employment practices and impact on local businesses and the environment.
We are not calling for people to avoid the independent businesses which need to sell on the platform in order to survive. Our focus is on Amazon as a company and the systems it creates, not the people trying to make a living on it.
However, many of the small businesses selling on Amazon face constant pressure from the global giant, through rising fees, tough selling terms, and the way the platform uses its power. So, we would encourage people to buy direct from these smaller businesses, where possible.
A 2022 report found that in the US, Amazon’s market capture had displaced 136,000 bricks and mortar shops, and the rise of its warehouses provided only half as many jobs as the 1.7 million retail roles that have been lost to its monopoly.
What is the UN Tax Convention and why is it important?
Global tax rules are weak and are often determined by the wealthy nations, for example via the OECD group of rich countries. Tax avoidance by big companies means that governments are deprived of revenue for the public services that we all depend on. Poorer countries are most severely impacted.
In November 2023 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish a UN Framework Convention on Tax which would give all countries a say on global tax rules. Negotiations are currently underway, with the aim of agreeing a legally binding framework by 2027.
The UN Tax Convention is a historic opportunity to fix a broken global tax system. A fairer, more effective global tax system would be good news for climate justice too, helping countries finance a just transition to a more sustainable economy.
The UK has a moral responsibility to constructively engage with the UN Tax Convention, as the UK and its overseas territories are responsible for around a third of global tax avoidance. It’s an opportunity to ensure justice for poorer nations, including those already facing the worst harms of the climate crisis. The UK’s own economy and tax revenues would also benefit from better global rules addressing tax abuse and lack of transparency.
What about investments in Amazon? What are church investors doing to challenge Amazon?
Our Challenge Amazon campaign is focused on changing consumer behaviour and mobilising support for a stronger, fairer global tax system through the UN Tax Convention, as this is where we feel we can have the biggest impact as part of a wider movement of people of all faiths and none.
JustMoney Movement doesn’t hold investments other than a small number of shares for the purposes of AGM activism. We don’t currently hold any shares in Amazon.
We sit as observers on the Church Investors Group, a network that represents institutional investors from many mainstream Church denominations and church related charities, with combined investment assets of over £26bn. Given Amazon’s dominance in the market, Amazon will be present in most funds that churches invest in, unless it has been explicitly excluded.
Some church investors and fund managers are engaging with Amazon directly. For example, CCLA is committed to holding Amazon to account on workers’ rights. This has included filing shareholder proposals and coordinating a public letter, supported by 47 global investors, highlighting concerns raised by GMB Union regarding its efforts to organise Amazon workers in Coventry. The Church of England has produced guidance for its investing bodies on ‘big tech’ like Amazon, which includes concerns around corporate tax practices.
What other brands are connected to Amazon? Should I avoid these too? Where can I find alternative, more ethical online retailers?
Ethical Consumer lists Kindle, AbeBooks, Audible and Twitch as associated brands and you may wish to avoid these as part of your Break the Habit pledge. Ethical Consumer and Good Shopping Guide are good places to research more ethical retailers.
The Fair Tax Foundation has a list of companies that are Fair Tax Mark accredited. The Fair Tax Mark is the world’s first certification for responsible tax conduct, and is now widely regarded as being the gold standard for business worldwide.
You can find other ideas for shopping ethically in our church resource pack, downloadable from the Challenge Amazon campaign page.
If you have further questions about the Challenge Amazon campaign and how you can get involved, please contact info@justmoney.org.uk