Green Poppy

This blog entry is in response to frustrations over the red poppy.

And how many are discarded each year on Remembrance Day.

According to the Salvation Army, a poppy should never be re-used. Whilst I appreciate this "honour" aspect – it can just as easily be interpreted as a funding grab.

As Green Briefs (a blog about sustainability and marketing states) "the day is too important to be remembered with cheap plastic". http://unicyclecreative.com/wordpress/2010/11/its-time-to-recycle-the-remembrance-day-poppy/

We have 7 poppies from previous years, have found 2 this year beside busy streets and for the record we placed numerous gold coins in the Legion box at a local diner. 18 million poppies will be sold/offered as donations and proudly worn this November. The Legion makes approximately $16.5 million from this campaign.

Typically people wear the poppies for 2-3 days (or weeks) and throw them out. They are produced by a private company (the name of which appears to be a well-kept secret). This is my problem – there is a lack of transparency. These days, any charity, no matter their mandate, has to be accountable, transparent and demonstrate willingness to adapt to changing times and attitudes. I'd love to have a chat with the manufacturers about recycled poppy plastic ............

Having the "disposable poppy" represent all that is Remembrance Day with an underlying premise is one of waste is simply unpalatable to me. I will donate every year, but I will never buy another new poppy.

War represents such waste – of life, community, biodiversity, security, etc. It brings untold economic and social devastation everywhere it goes. As a method to solve problems it is the most inefficient and unsustainable activity we partake in.

It appears I am not alone in the discourse on the Remembrance Day poppy. Of course there are people who take the day a whole step further......... Green Muze shows us how to green up the entire day!

http://www.greenmuze.com/green-your/celebrations/538-green-remembrance-day.html

As well as remembering past wars, it is important that we work to ensure there are no future wars. That's what sustainability is all about.