School Fundraisers: Green Options Needed

[Hippie Staff]

School Fundraisers: Green Options Needed
Editorial, Happyhippie.com


http://www.happyhippie.com/images/giftwrap.gif



My daughter came home from school with a giant envelope containing the Sally Foster Fall 2007 GiftWrap catalog. While I want to support her school, and assist in fundraising efforts, I couldn't find a single thing I wanted in the catalog. Flipping through the pages again, I decided to buy the obligatory gift-wrap. I was shocked to see there wasn't ONE recycled-paper gift-wrap option. Not one! In disbelief, I went to the Sally Foster website and typed in 'recycled' in the search function. Again, nada, zilch.




If I'm going to shell out $8.50 for a tube of gift-wrap, I want to feel darn well good about it. So here's a personal note to Sally Foster:




Dear Sally,


Let me be blunt - I can go to any dollar store and pick up half the crap in this catalog. Cheap totes, cheap plastic picture frames and scented candles made in China. The thing is, Sally, I don't want any of it. Wouldn't it be great, and productive, to offer quality products that are also kind on the earth and beneficial to the children hocking your products? There are beautiful recycled gift wrap paper options now, card sets and journals. There are natural soy candles that are trendy and hip. Cotton tote bags, recycled material picture frames, pens and more.




Please Sally, offer us something we can feel good about! I know there are many retailers who have these products and would be thrilled to partake in a national fundraiser program.


As for this year, Sally ol' gal, I think I'll pass on the fundraiser and support the upcoming book fair.




Thanks,
Happy Hippie Mom



To be fair, I called the Sally Foster Company and asked why there was no recycled gift wrap. The company represenative with a lovely southern accent sounded sympathetic, as she said they did not offer any right now, but they were looking into it for next year. She also stated that the gift wrap was acid-free and could BE recycled. Well..whew, that's good! I sincerely hope the Sally Foster organization looks hard, very hard, for eco-friendly gift products for next year's catalogs.




Green fundraising is not a foreign concept, but it's just not mainstrean..yet. Many schools choose programs such as Sally Foster because it's convenient, and they've set the marketing machine and organization into place. However, I strongly believe that once people have the option to choose beautiful items, that look good, feel good, and are eco-friendly, they will prefer to purchase these items over the garbage.




Here are some sites to investigate and mention to your local school - I know I am!


Green School Fund Raisers: http://greenstudents.ca/Home.html (http://greenstudents.ca/Home.html)




Green Coupon Book - http://www.fundraisinggreen.com/insidebook.php (http://www.fundraisinggreen.com/insidebook.php)




BeGreenNow - http://www.begreennow.com/pages/giftofgreen (http://www.begreennow.com/pages/giftofgreen)

[LIBRA]

GREAT letter!!!! Bravo :cheers:

My son is in school this year and he just came home with a ton of fundraisers, coupon books to places we never go to or eat at, a booklet full of cookie dough by the pound, ingredients unknown, and another paper asking to save all the box top for education labels off boxed foods, which we dont eat any of. So my son is screwed, im not buying or trying to sell any of it. I may however just give the school some money to be put into the fundraisers accoount. They are saving up for a rock wall, for rock climbing etc..

Im going to look into this greenfundraising tips and pass them along, thanks so much. I really didnt even give that a thought.

[Hippie Staff]

I just corresponded w/ Earthloven.com , and they are offering school fundraisers..gift wrap..100% recycled gift wrap.


Not sure of the details, but if we're going to buy something like gift-wrap for school....why not this.

I'm sure there are more too...

You can bet your bippy (what is a bippy? lol) that next September, I'm going to have a stack of options for my daughter's school.

[CowboyHippy]

my uncle used to bet bippys all the time

never figured out why, but he was an odd duck


I understand giving money to schools for whatever (hey nevermind my outrageous taxes)

we save the funny pages from the local papers, colorful and works great, also free recycled, recycleable and i can use it to start up the woodstove if the fire burns out.

[Unkle_John]

look into www.eco-cell.org

[unclejoe]

when i was a kid in parochial school, the parish had paper drives.
the parishioners would bundle up newspapers and bring them to
the churh parking lot for collection by a paper company,
who would pay for the paper and haul it away.