We are locals of East Oxford and love supporting independent businesses. However, we are flabbergasted when we went to the shop and there was not only any hand sanitizer upon entry, but the staff did not were face coverings on multiple occasions. We came into the shop, only to find a member of staff at the checkout munching crisps and hummus after dragging one overpriced item across the till at a time. In terms of customer service, there often is no eye contact, greeting, or acknowledgment whatsoever which reminds me of Berghain where we feel as if we should be grateful to be there in the first place. It is a lovely little shop to get our bits and bobs from, but we will go somewhere else from now on.

When I noticed a plethora of Israeli products in Wild Honey, I immediately wrote to the owner, thinking that he had no idea about Israel's brutal military occupation of Palestine and the 2005 civil society call for a boycott, divestment and sanctions so that they received justice and basic human rights like freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom from torture, etc. He ignored my email. He claims his business sells ethical products but there is nothing ethical about Israel's continued land theft and the over 60 Israeli laws which discriminate against the indigenous people because of their ethnicity. Legalised racial discrimination is the definition of apartheid. Not only does he not have a problem with what Israel does, he put up a statement at his store proclaiming his avid support for the Israeli state. His claim that his business is ethical while financing gross human rights violations through economic support is appalling. He claims to give back to the community while actively reducing Palestinian communities to lives of fear, deprivation and misery. This is cynical hypocrisy. I will never give Wild Honey any more of my money after knowing this. I prefer my money to do good instead.

Updated from previous review on 2023-08-23