In the past month, I received five solicitations to donate to charities.
While I approve of most of these charities, and might be willing to contribute to some of them, I'm now barred from doing so on my principle to oppose certain behaviours.
The pleas for help come in padded envelopes, accompanied by ... stuff... Christmas cards, stickers, memo pads, address labels, note-paper, a shopping or gift bag, a calendar, pens....
This is stuff I don't need or want, would never choose for myself and will never use. But every single item has my name printed on it, so that it can't be returned and given to someone who does want it and could use it.
It's basically instant garbage and, when I think of how many such packages they must send out, year after year, an unconscionable amount of waste.
They're wasting the effort, since I can't donate to them, knowing they'll just waste my money on crap nobody wants. They're wasting the labour and resources that go into producing the unwanted crap. They're wasting packing and printed material, and then postage and then postal service time and labour, fuel and air pollution, to convey the crap to all the other people who don't want it.
Presumably, the tactic works: some finely calculated percent of recipients feel guilty enough to write a cheque.
Which only makes it more reprehensible!
Don't you think?