Ikea + Unicef = ?

Let’s start out with some facts; in the last seventeen years consumption in Norway has increased with 36%. We are not atypical in that respect, it’s actually below the rate a lot of other countries we should compare ourselves too. But it’s not good.
The main reason this increasment has happened is the access to cheap stuff, from places like H&M, Ikea and Rema 1000 (grocery store).

Everybody should know by now that this is one of the big problems the world has, we exploit other countries for their goods (making the rich richer and the poor… well, starving). We buy shitty toys painted with poison made in slave labor just because they are soooo cheap and enslave animals for food purposes.

Because everyone knows this most companies with decent marketing strategists figure out ways to make our consumption guilt free, or even something we see as a duty.

Ikea has started a campaign where they give 1 euro to UNICEF for every plush toy you buy from them for about two months.
This makes people think that they are doing something good purchasing these products.
Ok, why do I think this is bad?
Because I was at Ikea today (buying stuff for making this years Yule gifts), and I saw people walking up to the stand, reading the info, and then picking up a toy they hadn’t intended to buy in the first place!
The UNICEF booth had no info about how to donate without purchasing, this gives the impression that all you can do is buy something, and everything will be better.
WTF?

The toy costs 100kr = 12.45 euro
if we say that the production cost is half of this (I think it’s smaller), and we remove 2 euro for shipping and handeling, Ikea still makes about 4 euro pr toy.
They give one fourth of this to charity. They still make money off the toy, but more money since more people are buying them!

And as a marketing campaign this is really clever, people will buy more at Ikea because they know that Ikea gives some of their income to charity.

Unless I’m very much mistaken, UNICEF gets some out of this, the consumers get more shit in their home they didn’t really need in the first place, the enviorment gets more messed up with every shipment of toys across the globe and the ultimate winner is… Ikea!

The moral of todays post: Don’t buy shit you don’t need, donate the money instead.