Wednesday, April 29, 2009

not the point

Ok, so I joined this Facebook group/application/whatever called Hot Dish. I think they are associated with Grist.org. Their tagline is 'serving up the hottest climate news' so ever so boldly I assumed they would be a 'green' organization. In the 4 months since I joined I have won: a t-shirt, a license plate frame and a bookmark. Why is a group whose sole purpose is reporting on the environment distributing stuff all over the country? (or maybe even world?) I tried to explain this concern to customer service when I got an email today reminding me I still hadn't given them my t-shirt size or mailing address. I suggested that instead of sending me more 'stuff' they could just donate the money they would have spent to an organization dedicated to combatting climate change.

The response:
"Thanks for your thoughtful question. Unfortunately, the t-shirts, license frames, and bookmarks were preordered in bulk, so we can't recoup the cost. However, I will try to find another user who's interested in them! Thanks for being committed to reducing your stuff."

At least she appreciated my efforts, but that wasn't really the point.

2 comments:

  1. HI - just found you through APLS...ugh. I read this post and wanted to jump up and down yelling, "See?!!!!" I'm not the only one who finds the irony (for lack of better word) in these types of situations! Good for you for politely explaining your convictions. There are a few times in my life where I wish I could be a little more bold. W/the kids, there are some people that go overboard in gift-giving. They are so generous but I wish at times their gifts were more useful things and not just stuff! Also, when the grandparents buy the 'more-than-content' meals at a certain restaurant, we keep a collection of the little toys to put in the Christmas Child shoeboxes that get sent out all over the world. I wish the toys didn't have to be made of plastic, pushed on kids and told they need them to be more-than-content, and purchased...but since they are, it seems like a trade-off to pass them on to less fortunate kids. Well, I'm glad I found you and I look forward to more =) Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for stopping by. Sadly there are way too many situations like this but perhaps if we keep speaking up the message will finally be heard.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.