Every year around Girl Scout Cookie time I hear about how several of them have two different names. There are always plenty of people asking why the names changed. I have also noticed that the conversation tends to come up more when one participant has recently moved to a different state.While this is a common conversation to come upon, the question rarely gets an answer. I wrote about why I do not think that we as a society should encourage door-to-door solicitation, including child fundraising, as there are better ways to get products when you know you want them without being told you want them by a solicitor at your door. While I was researching that post, I came across the answer to the Girl Scout Cookie names issue, so here it is straight from the Girl Scout website:
Q: Why is my Caramel DeLight now called a Samoa? (or) Why are my Trefoils® now called Shortbreads?
A: Girl Scout Councils choose their licensed baker, either Little Brownie Bakers or ABC Bakers. Each of the bakers owns its cookie names, except THIN MINTS® and TREFOILS®, which GSUSA owns. So a cookie like the Trefoil / Shortbread may look and taste similar, but your local Girl Scout council determines which one will be on the market when they select their baker.
The girls barely sell the cookies anyway, it's usually the parents that do all the work. That said I do not like door to door solicitation of any kind. Sending kids is just a nasty sneaky way to do it because the companies know people don't like to say no to kids.
ReplyDeleteI personally refuse to buy from parents. There are ways to sell cookies without using parents or the presumptuous use of door-to-door solicitation. I used to just go to my cousin who was a scout or a booth that is set up outside a grocery store. I also think that if they would like to encourage learning sales practices of today and the future, that Internet sales should be an option. Currently, Girl Scouts of America prohibits this practice.
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