Poppy merchandise .

I'm getting a bit peed off with seeing different representations of this.Ok, so a proportion of profit goes to charity.A lot more goes to whoever makes the jewellry, bag, or whatever.I personally find it distasteful and yet another way of 'cashing in'.
Rememberance Sunday is in November anyway. I shall buy a simple poppy in memory of my brave grandad and all those who have fought. Anyway that's me.I wonder how others feel.

I'm not keen but i suppose there are no restrictions on who can use the poppy.I would never buy it .I buy poppies from the volunteers and then the whole amount goes to the British Legion.

I saw the Kipling umbrella with poppies and it was pretty expensive for what it was ,no doubt marked up in price because of the time of year coming up.

My son is in the Army, so far he`s served 23 years as a soldier and during that time he`s seen many incidents where soldiers or ex soldiers need help. He himself needed help for PTSD when a mortar in Afghanistan missed him by feet and killed his best friend and he as well as other soldiers had to collect body parts from the scene in order to repatriate fallen colleagues. He also servied in Iraq and had to do similar distasteful acts when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a market square full of women and children. That`s just 2 of the incidents he`s faced in his long and active career. He`s done Bosnia, Kosovo, Denmark, Ireland, Afghanistan (twice ) Iraq (twice ), The Falklands ( in peace time ) and many many postings around the UK too, one of them as as Casualty Liason Officer with the unenviable task of visiting families to tell them their son, daughter, husband etc was dead or injured.
Poppy Day is a wonderful thing but all year around, there are other Service Charities which need help and donations. Combat Stress is one which helps soldiers and ex soldiers with mental health issues which is a big problem and suicide, addiction, depression are rife especially amongst ex soldiers. SAAFA helps soldiers or ex soldiers and their families with almost every issue under the sun, from housing crisis, debt, homelessness and so on. Many ex soldiers have failed marriages, addiction problems and unemployment and the Army and local Councils no longer guarantee them a place to live or help in retraining or finding a job, all due to cutbacks.
I buy directly from the BL because I know 100% of profit will go to them but I also support SAAFA and Combat Stress however I can. There are SAAFA representatives in most areas, they tend to be ex servicemen or women and they`re frequently looking for help providing household items to an ex serviceman who has been homeless and they`ve helped to rehouse him or employers who have any kind of work for such men. Combat Stress have their own website, facebook page and rely heavily on donations and provide a valuable service in all things mental health related. Our NHS is stretched to its limits, our Armed Forces have suffered massive cutbacks, local Councils no longer give priority housing and more and more servicemen and women are having to rely on help from Charities.
Sorry to go on but as you can tell it is something I feel very strongly about and when my son retires in 2 years time, after giving 25 years of his life to protecting and defending others, it will possibly be the good will of others which will help his transition back into civilian life.

Petespants said:

I'm getting a bit peed off with seeing different representations of this.Ok, so a proportion of profit goes to charity.A lot more goes to whoever makes the jewellry, bag, or whatever.I personally find it distasteful and yet another way of 'cashing in'.
Rememberance Sunday is in November anyway. I shall buy a simple poppy in memory of my brave grandad and all those who have fought. Anyway that's me.I wonder how others feel.

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I couldn't agree with this more. The Queen and other members of the Royal Family have often worn simple, paper poppies - the type you can get from anywhere, so why certain people feel the need to wear some crystal-studded sparkly 'evening wear' version of one honestly baffles me. To my mind, 'merchandising' the poppy is deeply distasteful - it's not jewellery, it's symbolic. The simple paper poppy is something which we can all, wear to show our respect and gratitude, from the grandest peer of the realm to the local dinner lady. This one-upmanship of it goes totally against that sentiment and I'm cynical to believe that it's just another marketing ploy to shift more tat - let's play on people's sense of decency and patriotism and 'monetise' yet another symbol. If they're serious about raising money for the Legion, then donate more than a crappy 10% or whatever and make a dent in your bottom line - the shareholders will just have to suck that one up.

Like Vienna, it's a family thing with me too, and something I feel strongly about.

I believe more services should be available for servicemen and women whenever they are needed .The merchandising I was objecting to being sold in September at minimum charity profit could ,in my opinion ,damage the concept of poppy day as people may wear these glittery designs instead of the plain British Legion designs,year on year. More designs keep coming too.It just seems another thing for designers to sell as a moneymaker.I would sooner buy a poppy from a BL person who is selling them because they genuinely care.

The British Legion sell the sparkly brooches and pins and enamel versions on their own website. I always buy a paper poppy from a volunteer but lose it pretty quickly so have my enamel one for the day I realise it has gone missing. As it is sold direct, TBL get the profit.

Buckley produce the sparkly poppies sold by QVC, BL and the likes of M&S and they are very clear that all profits go to the BL, which is around 80% of the sales.

That's ok . Thanks. I just would hate to see a charity that does so much lose out if it were a case of designers using a cause to help further themselves. I know BL sells a whole range now but everyone associates the poppy with BL so fine.

Any donations I want to do to charity, I will do directly with the charity. I see no evidence that QVC actually puts their own hand in their own pocket (as opposed to ours) for the charities they "support"... and I am more reassured that my money is going on exactly what I want it to go on when there is no middle-man.

I like to buy a new Buckley poppy brooch every year, for me and my mother.

Sussex Shopper said:

I like to buy a new Buckley poppy brooch every year, for me and my mother.

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Are they all different so you have a collection of broaches ? Do you wear them at other times of the year too ?

I've often wondered if they are used as just another piece of jewellery all year round.

Some years back ,probably about 15 years I was standing waiting for my train and a young man came up and asked me why I was wearing a poppy.

No, only wear them in poppy season. Have 4 now. Means I don't have to do too much swapping around. I'm particularly fond of last year's - a wreath with "lest we forget" scrolled over it. I don't like the very bling-y ones, but I think the important thing to do is to give, and regularly. If I get a pretty and meaningful piece of jewellery from that, so much the better!

Yes true .I buy the paper ones every year and give a fair amount .I have several years worth of poppies around the house but still buy more .I don't like to throw them away. Doesn't seem right somehow.

I bought a poppy brooch a few years ago from the BL web site because I would be in Cyprus when November 11th came around and I wanted to show my support. I then found they have BL branches there so they got a donation as well. Now I just put a donation in the tin and I wear my Buckley poppy, my very small contribution to recycling.

Turandot said:

Yes true .I buy the paper ones every year and give a fair amount .I have several years worth of poppies around the house but still buy more .I don't like to throw them away. Doesn't seem right somehow.

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I know what you mean!

They've got some nice things on the BL site shop apart from the brooches. I have a brolly and a small jute bag (having a wipeable interior it's extremely useful for toting my trainers to and from work).