I've got a beef. The Gap is featuring a new line of (Red) products to go to AIDS programs. Forget that the Gap is still being monitored by various environmental, sweatshop, and human rights groups. Let's just focus on the fact that certain companies, including The Gap, MAC cosmetics, and others, do these promotions where they create certain product lines with the inducement that part of their profits go to AIDS and breast cancer programs (for example). So now the burden is on me to buy the products that will donate to charities regardless of whether they are the products that I actually want. Meanwhile, The GAP looks like a good corporate citizen (which they aren't, though admittedly they seem to be working on cleaning up their act) and take a tax break on the donations. Why doesn't The GAP just donate a portion of ALL their profits to charity? Or better yet, a percentage of all their profits with a minimum guaranteed donation, so that it doesn't matter if people run to buy their products. Because, that's what genuinely good people do. And, if you really want to give, then skip the GAP shirt and just cut a check to your favorite organization devoted to AIDS relief (or the environment, or animal rights, or women's rights, or whatever). At least then you get the credit, instead of a big corporation who has shown more care for their bottom line than social responsibility.
By all means, shop with corporations you think have good corporate policy. But don't get sucked in by slick campaigns.
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2 comments:
Honestly, that's because most people don't really want to donate. And if they do, they want to get some material reward for it as well.
Also, if you buy a certain product that people know contributed to donations, then you as a customer get to wear that as some badge of honour.
It's sick, I know, but the customers, honestly, are just as involved with and just as benefited by (in their minds) these kinds of campaigns as the companies.
Oh, of course. I'm just trying to break people out of their self-absorbed haze, for at least a minute. If nothing else, I held up a mirror for them to see their own hypocrisy. And now with that little self-important speech I can say good-bye to any readers I had.
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