In a marketing campaign Lindt Chocolates has decided it would be a great idea to profit off of harm done to Autistic Children.
The Harmful Easter Bunny
Lindt Chocolates has announced for every sale of their Gold Bunny they will donate 10 cents to the number 1 organization who promotes hatred of Autistic people… Autism Speaks, saying:
“Lindt USA is very excited to support Autism Speaks, the leading autism advocacy organization in the USA. This Easter the Lindt Gold Bunny will not only help build nicer Easter baskets but it will also bring hope and help to the millions of families impacted by autism across the country.”
On Advocacy
So Lindt claims to give hope to millions of families impacted by us – by supporting the leading advocacy organization that does not support the needs of the people it claims to represent. I think the leading advocates for Autistic People should show Lindt Chocolates how wrong their assumption is, and how Autistic People don’t appreciate Autism Speaks. And of course the leading advocates for those with Autism, are those with Autism.
Educating Lindt
According to Lindt – the marketing campaign does not start until March 12th, so that leaves plenty of time to give Lindt an education on how Autisitc People feel about Autism Speaks, and the harm they have caused in our lives. Lindt may be totally unaware, so its our job to politely educate them – but also say were not going to be walked on in the name of marketing a product in a way that will harm us.
I’m not the best at writing letters, so I ask those that are talented at it to leave a copy of your letter in the comments section via a link so the rest of us can get ideas.
Contacting Lindt
Lindt can be reached via the following means:
- Lindt USA:
Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc.
One Fine Chocolate Place Stratham, NH 03885
(603)778-8100 - Lindt World Headquarters:
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG
Seestrasse 204
CH-8802 Kilchberg
Switzerland
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh no. They make my favorite chocolate EVER (Excellence Chili. I love spicy things. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate in general, it’s nice and all but no big deal… but I LOVE Excellence Chili.)
I wrote them this email:
Dear Lindt Company,
I would like to say something briefly regarding your sponsorship of Autism Speaks.
Most of Autism Speaks’ funds from donations go towards researching potential causes for autism. Very little goes towards support services for support for autistic people, or advocating for the rights of autistic people. They have no autistic people on their board of directors. In short, they leave little room in their organization to let Autistics Speak, contrary to their name. Finally, they promote a negative, pity-oriented view of autism, something many autistic individuals do not appreciate. A quick google search – “Autism Speaks Doesn’t Speak for Me” shows a handful of the many people in the autism community – some parents of autistic children, and some autistic individuals themselves – who do not support Autism Speaks’ message.
As an autistic person who enjoys your products (Excellence Chili is my favorite chocolate from any company! It’s delicious!), I hope you’ll reconsider sponsorship of Autism Speaks. I was sad when I heard about it. If you want to help autistic people you could donate to an organization that is actually run by autistic persons, such as The Autism Acceptance Project (TAAPestry, which can be found online at http://www.taaproject.com/) or autistics.org, or The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (which can be found online at autisticadvocacy.org)
Thank you for your time and careful consideration.
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(my address)
Lindt USA
Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc.
One Fine Chocolate Place Stratham, NH 03885
Dear Sirs:
Over the years I have greatly enjoyed your products.
However, I recently heard about your plan to raise money for Autism Speaks from the sales of your Gold Bunny; and I believe it important to state my feelings on this issue.
I am glad you want to help autistic people; but you are probably unaware of the methods that Autism Speaks uses.
As an autistic person, I have followed Autism Speaks and their efforts for quite some time, and have been greatly disappointed. Rather than encouraging acceptance of autistic people, Autism Speaks uses sensationalistic descriptions of autism that frighten and misinform the general public. To raise money, they portray autistic people as objects of pity. And, instead of using the money they raise to help real people live better lives, they spend much of their funds to research prenatal testing that would prevent more autistic people like me from being born. Additionally, Autism Speaks does not have any autistic people on its board of directors, excluding us entirely from their operations.
Please reconsider launching your campaign. I and many other autistic people would be very grateful.
Thank you,
(me)
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@ chaoticidealism
Thanks for the great letter supporting the cause
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