Something that I find a lot of people my age struggle with is how they can aid a cause they feel strongly about in a way that matters. If an issue is physically far away from us, it often feels like there isn’t a lot that we can do. With the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, I have felt this way a lot over the past year.

At the beginning of the year, my friends and I were, of course, aware of the negative contribution that certain brands were making toward Israel and its military and decided to boycott them. We began to look further into these brands and others to make sure that our efforts were justified, but it became difficult to fact-check every post that we saw indicating a brand’s involvement. Back in February, a friend of mine discovered an app that was quite literally made to solve this problem.

Boycat is an app that is specifically designed to help people who support Palestine boycott companies, brands and products that either directly or indirectly support Israel and its military. They now also sponsor campaigns for other global issues, but for the purposes of this article, I will solely be focusing on its Palestine campaign.

The app is very easy to use. You can use its search function to find out if a brand or product is compliant with the boycott or you can directly scan a product’s barcode. If an item is not compliant, the app will provide you with a small blurb explaining the company’s role in Israel’s occupation with a link to the sources it got its information. Boycat also suggests alternative brands that you can purchase in lieu of the non-compliant products.

Boycat also allows you to submit information to the app. You can recommend other alternative brands that people can buy from or report any issues or incorrect information you might come across. There is also a homepage that features daily updates regarding any relevant news related to specific brands or the war in general so that you can easily stay informed. Under the profile icon, you can see how many items you have scanned, how much money you have divested from non-compliant companies and view teams that you can join in order to collaborate with other boycotters to make a change.

I’m a firm believer that boycotting is a great way to show your support for a cause. It literally doesn’t cost you a penny, and it is a great indicator to brands where consumers’ loyalties lie. I have also found that many of the brands that I buy from now tend to be healthier to consume than the ones I have been boycotting. Not only do I get to share support for something I feel strongly about, but I have also developed healthier dietary habits because of the brands that

I’ve cut from my week-to-week life. Once I started looking into just how many brands I bought from, indirectly investing my money where I didn’t want it to go, I began to use Boycat to alter my lifestyle in small ways to help the cause in a big way.

Boycat is available on the App Store, Google Play and as a browser extension. You can also visit their website for more information on what you can do to support Palestine.