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

[HumanBurrito]

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).

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.

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.

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.

Because they are not a sustainability charity.

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

Wow, so many virtues signalled in one post!

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.

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

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...

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

Second charity bashing thread tonight. Fantastic 😳