How America Supports Their Charities

America loves to pseudo-support charities by buying products that contribute a small, and usually capped amount to a particular organization. This is a win-win situation, the consumer doesn't have buyers remorse over the pink Corvette they just purchased because $2 will be going to breast cancer research, and Corvette just made bank appealing to that desire to be a "good Samaritan" within the consumer.

My question is, if people are so eager to join a cause and give their money to prevent/stop/raise diseases/genocide/awareness, then why can't they find a website and donate directly? I think there are a few reasons why the majority of people don't do this, but continue to lick and send their Yoplait yogurt caps.

The first, and most simple reason is that America is lazy. We are all touched by tear-jerking stories on Oprah, and everyone loves to watch Ty Pennington built a house in 20 minutes on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." But when charities ask for donations, it becomes a hassle for many. People don't feel like seeking out charitable organizations and would rather get their good deed over with in the cereal isle of Whole Foods.

Another reason which delves deeper into American culture can be explained by commodity fetishism. Not only are good erased of the labor that went into them and instead infused with hegemonic ideas about beauty, food, and cleanliness, when a product slaps a colored ribbon on the front of their product, or changes the color of their product entirely, that good becomes an embodiment of charitableness, selflessness and awareness. Essentially, consumers can have their cake (the pink Swiffer) and eat it too, (They think they're combatting breast cancer).

When I googled "charity supported products" the first thing that came up was Oprah's "18 Products That Support Breast Cancer Charities" if you get a chance, take a look. Among the pink bras, cosmetic cases, sneakers and sneakers, there are also Sharpie products with the caption "Pinkify your life" the suffix -fy, which means 'to make' proves the point that in order to support breast cancer research one must literally buy into it.