The New Cause Marketing? That you wear?

Forget the pinkwashed hairdryers and jeans. Is this the new cause marketing? What do you think?  In 2006, Barbara Donaldson and Karen Gulino created Deploy Peace, an organization that creates dog tags from the remnants of past conflicts, and donates a portion of the proceeds to the Fisher House Foundation, which helps reunite wounded soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines with their families as they recover from injuries suffered while protecting our country.

Over the past 3 years, Karen and Barbara have purchased the wings and tails of retired B-52 Bombers and C-130 Hercules from the largest military “bone yard” in the nation (AMARC). These great planes once flew missions in Vietnam and Korea. Through the hard work and ingenuity of Donaldson and Gulino, these distinguished military aircraft are recycled and refashioned into military style dog tags and sold at www.deploypeace.com . Since its inception, hundreds of individuals from around the country have shown their support for our brave men and women in uniform, by wearing these one-of a kind pieces of history.

Karen Gulino stated, “We are an army of two, just trying to make a difference. We give retired military aircraft one last great mission, to reunite our wounded military heroes with their families in their time of need. We believe that these brave men and women answered our country’s call, and now we need to be there for them and their families.“

Barbara Donaldson, commented “Our jewelry is designed to show support for our troops while honoring the memory of those who died protecting our country. We are honored to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Fisher House Foundation to help them in their important work.”

Karen added, “Recently I had the honor of touring a Fisher House in San Diego. I was deeply moved by the work being done there, and by the caring, compassionate staff and volunteers. Their hard work has resulted in countless families being able to be close to loved ones in their time of need. It was so inspiring to see heroes helping heroes. We are honored to support their efforts, and our men and women in uniform.”

Pinkwashing

So this isn’t a new topic. But something near to my heart since I work at the American Cancer Society High Plains Division. Pinkwashing is the same as greenwashing or any other campaign where brands are taking advantage of publicity regarding breast cancer and breast cancer research.  I think this quote explains it very well:

“But when she began researching which charity to support, Jarmoska felt overwhelmed. Numerous organizations sponsored walks, runs and bike trips. Even more were pitching pink-ribbon products and promotions with a promise that a portion of sales would support a breast-cancer cause. Jarmoska was stunned by the profusion of pink cosmetics, jewelry, teddy bears, blush wines, blenders, candles and paper products. “I realized breast cancer had become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns,” she says. “With so many companies involved, my suspicion was that the motive was not always entirely pure.”"

As you can see it’s not only bad for the charity involved, but for the customer.  I’m not blaming the non profit here, I just want to point this out to people. Just because you buy a pink hairdryer doesn’t mean that 100% of the proceeds go to the non profit quoted on the box. Or sometimes people assume the American Cancer Society gets the money! But in reality we rarely partner around pink products.  So buyers beware!

Here are some examples from a recent Austin American Statesman Article:

Pink Oakley Sunglasses: $180.00 w $20.00 from each sale going to the Young Survival Coalition

Ella Moss World Tank: $49.00 w $5.00 going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Avon Crusade Tote Bag: $10.00 w $10.00 of the Net going to Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.

Give Hope Jeans: $88.00 w 100% up to $200,000 going to Living Beyond Breast Cancer.