High-profile charity Comic Relief has come under fire for sending out balloons as part of its fundraising pack, with national press and television coverage highlighting the activists who have been challenging the organisation on social media.
The use of balloons (and plastic noses) has come under criticism in the last few days, with the BBC’s Comic Relief campaign the latest target for campaigners looking to put a stop to balloons altogether.
Conservation group Blue Planet Society said that by including balloons in the fundraising pack Comic Relief was showing ‘an embarrassing lack of environmental awareness’, pointing out that it believes balloons to be even more of an environmental threat than plastic straws.
In response to a series of tweets directed at her, broadcaster Emma Freud, executive producer of Red Nose Day, initially replied, saying that the fundraising packs ‘will raise around £8million to support people living in poverty’. However, she later said that; ‘This is the last year we will [include balloons in the pack]. We are learning.’
Suteesh Chumber, operations manager for EBPC, also commented on the issue, saying; “We fully support the fact that awareness is being raised regarding the potential threat to the environment. This is why we are pushing for our ‘Balloons’ campaign to be adopted as standard best practice. Responsible use and disposal of any product negates the threat posed by littering.”
“It is also important to point out that we actively discourage balloon releases,” he continued. “We have created our ‘Don’t Let Go’ slogan and launched symbols for the industry’s packaging to ensure that consumers properly dispose of spent balloons. The proportionality of threat must also considered and although this issue is sometimes blown out of proportion by the media, we consistently strive to improve our members’ social and environmental responsibility.”
A spokesperson for Comic Relief said: “We advise all our fundraisers to use and dispose of the balloons responsibly and adopt the ‘Don’t Let Go’ policy.”
