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To think the Save the Children Christmas Jumper fundraiser is wrong-headed

35 replies

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:00

Heard an ad for this on the radio. Great cause, no questioning that. But I find it a bit wrong-headed to base a campaign around Xmas jumpers. This sort of fast fashion novelty wear is clearly an environmental disaster and many people will be buying them from chain store suppliers that use unregulated third-world (child) labour to make jumpers from petrochemical-based fabrics and dyes that cause dreadful pollution, not to mention the environmental cost of shipping them halfway round the world. Surely this is just compounding the problem they are trying to solve? At the very least STC should be encouraging people to shop sustainably (I can't see anything about that on the campaign website, happy to be proved wrong if it is on there).

‘Tis the season for Christmas jumpers -- but the fad reveals the problems with fast fashion

With the rising popularity of Christmas jumpers, stores are under pressure to produce hordes of the festive clothing. But this fast fashion comes at a cost.

https://www.verdict.co.uk/christmas-jumpers-damaging-the-environment/?cf-view

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MajorCarolDanvers · 13/11/2024 21:00

Second charity bashing thread tonight. Fantastic 😳

Pippy2022 · 13/11/2024 20:58

I share your views OP. The children in need pudsey onesies tat production line also makes me cringe.

Londonrach1 · 13/11/2024 20:55

Just reuse your one Christmas jumper...surely that's what everyone does...think had mine over 20 years....I don't do this charity thing...I'm thinking work parties etc...

mitogoshigg · 13/11/2024 20:52

The kids love it but there's nothing to say they have to be new, charity shops are a great source of jumpers!

NeverDropYourMooncup · 13/11/2024 20:51

Their emails get deleted every year at work. The families don't need pressure (as that's what it feels like, no matter how fluffy it's presented, it still reads as 'buy something special to wear because IT'S CHRISTMAS and be like everybody else in school' to spend twenty quid on a jumper plus the 'fee' for taking part.

BoredZelda · 13/11/2024 20:47

Wow, so many virtues signalled in one post!

mymissycat · 13/11/2024 20:39

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:26

Sure, some people rewear and local organisers take it on themselves to promote sustainable use. But millions of new jumpers are still sold. The point is, why is STC not promoting sustainability as a central plank of the campaign?

Because they are not a sustainability charity.

They will come out with a new jumper next year. All for profit and not charity.

ReceptionTA · 13/11/2024 20:22

As already said, it is what you make it.

The school I work in have a "wear your favourite jumper" day in the same day they serve Christmas dinner. Lots of people don't want a Christmas jumper, for many reasons. Personally I pull out the same jumper every year. I also have one I've bought from Vintage.

If workplaces and a schools encourage people to buy a new jumper every year, that's on them, not Save the Children.

Are we going to get worked up that McMillan promote coffee mornings including cake, loaded with carcinogenic sugar.

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 20:15

I would expect a major charity like STC to engage in long-term thinking and not fundraise in ways liable to exacerbate the very issues they are trying to solve.

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FKAT · 13/11/2024 20:12

I'm not sure if you're being deliberately obtuse but for the last time, Save the Children are not an environment charity or a campaign against child labour or an anti-fast fashion organisation. They are not going to stop doing something that generates £3-5M every year because it conflicts with other charitable purposes. That's the whole point of a charity - it has its own set of purposes that it needs to comply with. It's like expecting the Cats Protection League to fund cancer research.

If you want to support an environment charity you can donate to them instead.

NoisyDenimShaker · 13/11/2024 20:06

I see the problem re. fast fashion.

I'd like to find a great Christmas jumper and wear it every year, once a year. My mum did that, and now my niece wears it.

JennyChawleigh · 13/11/2024 20:03

I just told my line manager I would happily donate £10.00 not to wear a Christmas jumper.

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:59

Famines, wars and disasters are already largely driven by climate change, in which fast fashion consumerism (especially its disproportionate water consumption) and pollution play a significant part.

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LlynTegid · 13/11/2024 19:55

I agree with you OP. I decline to participate.

FKAT · 13/11/2024 19:54

Save the Children isn't there to 'improve the lot' of children. It is there to stop children dying in famines, wars and disasters.

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:51

midgetastic · 13/11/2024 19:44

But there is no more reason for a Christmas jumper to be fast fashion as anything else ? I mean Christmas outfits , Christmas Eve PJs, wide legged jeans ... whatever

No more than similar seasonal stuff though. It just struck me as ironic to encourage people to wear sweatshop wear to help improve the lot of ompoverished children.

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HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:48

Buying Xmas bedding etc is still buying new stuff though. It is still all adding to the total volume of eventual landfill.

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HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:46

NannyR · 13/11/2024 19:42

On their website they suggest buying one from a charity shop, swapping with a friend or decorating an old jumper.

Good to know, thanks. Should be mich more promiment though!

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Snorlaxo · 13/11/2024 19:45

Seasonal clothing and homeware are often cited on here as an example of fast fashion consumerism but most people I know get the Christmas jumpers/bedding/whatever out every year and don’t buy new. My local charity shop had children’s Christmas jumpers in the window after Halloween and they were gone in days. Most people I know have used children’s jumpers on multiple kids and advertise them on FB later for very little. In the same way that GCSE exam guides are put online.

midgetastic · 13/11/2024 19:44

But there is no more reason for a Christmas jumper to be fast fashion as anything else ? I mean Christmas outfits , Christmas Eve PJs, wide legged jeans ... whatever

NannyR · 13/11/2024 19:42

On their website they suggest buying one from a charity shop, swapping with a friend or decorating an old jumper.

To think the Save the Children Christmas Jumper fundraiser is wrong-headed
FKAT · 13/11/2024 19:42

OK. Don't support them then.

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:39

FKAT · 13/11/2024 19:37

Because they are not a sustainability charity. They are there to make money for their own purposes. Not contribute to a generic omnicause.

But they are fundraising by promoting something that actively makes life worse for countless children 😕

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HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:37

Tens of millions of tons of fast fashion goes to landfill every year. Of course Xmas jumpers are a tiny % of that but they still play into the idea that clothes have a short lifespan and we need separate clothes for every special occasion.

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FKAT · 13/11/2024 19:37

HumanBurrito · 13/11/2024 19:26

Sure, some people rewear and local organisers take it on themselves to promote sustainable use. But millions of new jumpers are still sold. The point is, why is STC not promoting sustainability as a central plank of the campaign?

Because they are not a sustainability charity. They are there to make money for their own purposes. Not contribute to a generic omnicause.