Comments on: Shopping for charity vs. giving to charity http://greenlagirl.com/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/ Urban environmental lifestyle blog in Los Angeles Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:11:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rodney North http://greenlagirl.com/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/comment-page-1/#comment-95170 Rodney North Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:00:18 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2007/06/25/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/#comment-95170 Siel, way to go - again! This kind of thing has always bugged me, especially as I know most people never think through the details. Its also always bugged me how too often the companies offering the charitable hook seem to be cynically exploiting shoppers' charitable impulse and mis-understanding. It's especially annoying when they also use the opportunity & the feel-good glow of the related cause to jack up the price of the item. (Frankly $88 seems WAY steep. I think the wholesale cost for even a _organic_ t-shirt is only about $5.) Siel, way to go – again! This kind of thing has always bugged me, especially as I know most people never think through the details. Its also always bugged me how too often the companies offering the charitable hook seem to be cynically exploiting shoppers’ charitable impulse and mis-understanding. It’s especially annoying when they also use the opportunity & the feel-good glow of the related cause to jack up the price of the item. (Frankly $88 seems WAY steep. I think the wholesale cost for even a _organic_ t-shirt is only about $5.)

]]> By: Rafi http://greenlagirl.com/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/comment-page-1/#comment-95153 Rafi Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:37:48 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2007/06/25/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/#comment-95153 It's the same issue with bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, etc. I wish I could tell all my friends "Hey, write a check to the Long Beach AIDS Foundation". But if I did that, nobody would do that (maybe my mom would but that's it). Instead, I asked people to sponsor me for the Long Beach AIDS Walk. I got $500. Of course, a large fraction just goes to cover the cost of the event (I think 50% is a reasonable guess). Still, most of my contributors wouldn't have given anything otherwise--not because they don't care, but because it's not a cause they think about very much. So it's the same thing with these t-shirts. Reasonably, a person should buy a cheaper t-shirt and give a big fat check straight to the NGO. It seems like a stupid system, but they probably end up getting more money that way. By the way, are you modelling the $90 t-shirt in that photo? For that price, I'd want something a little..... nicer. It’s the same issue with bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, etc.

I wish I could tell all my friends “Hey, write a check to the Long Beach AIDS Foundation”. But if I did that, nobody would do that (maybe my mom would but that’s it). Instead, I asked people to sponsor me for the Long Beach AIDS Walk. I got $500. Of course, a large fraction just goes to cover the cost of the event (I think 50% is a reasonable guess). Still, most of my contributors wouldn’t have given anything otherwise–not because they don’t care, but because it’s not a cause they think about very much.

So it’s the same thing with these t-shirts. Reasonably, a person should buy a cheaper t-shirt and give a big fat check straight to the NGO.

It seems like a stupid system, but they probably end up getting more money that way.

By the way, are you modelling the $90 t-shirt in that photo? For that price, I’d want something a little….. nicer.

]]> By: Sue http://greenlagirl.com/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/comment-page-1/#comment-95117 Sue Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:05:10 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2007/06/25/shopping-for-charity-vs-giving-to-charity/#comment-95117 Yea, I've always been aggravated at fundraising purchases. "by this wrapping paper..." - welp, how about I write a check to the baseball team and skip the middle man? Those fundraising exercise things I leave to other folks, too. "Give me some money for each mile I ride..." sheesh. Donate. Find a way to make the event visible for that aspect of it - but I can't pretend I wouldn't want to ride 150 miles anyway :=) Yea, I’ve always been aggravated at fundraising purchases. “by this wrapping paper…” – welp, how about I write a check to the baseball team and skip the middle man?
Those fundraising exercise things I leave to other folks, too. “Give me some money for each mile I ride…” sheesh. Donate. Find a way to make the event visible for that aspect of it – but I can’t pretend I wouldn’t want to ride 150 miles anyway :=)

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