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| My new poppy brooch... |
The flower, made famous by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae in his 1915
poem "In Flanders Fields", are mass produced annually as part of the Royal
Canadian Legion's fund raising campaign. They are made out of plastic and are
attached to a stick pin.
Over nineteen million are manufactured for Remembrance Day every year.
Since I was a kiddie in school, I have regularly needed to buy more than one
poppy throughout the campaign. That's because they are seemingly made to be
lost, typically in record time. If you pin it on without a blob of chewing gum
to secure it to your jacket, odds are it's going to be gone the next time you
look down.
It's extremely frustrating.
Especially since, in recent years — as with many things, unfortunately — there
has been enough shaming of supposed non poppy wearers that you just
don't want to be accosted with the question of "Why aren't you wearing a
poppy??" What do you mean? I am
wearing a poppy! Oh... I guess I lost another one.
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| An example of Canada's Remembrance Day poppy... designed to be lost! |
Ironically enough, yesterday — in a relatively short-lived moment of corporate
madness — U.S.-based
Whole Foods mandated and later walked back an order that poppies could
not be worn by employees in stores across Canada because they were not
an approved part of the standard uniform. Oy.
Several years ago, the annual poppy campaign made stickers available and I
grabbed one of those instead. See? I still have it. It is, however, somewhat
lacking in sophistication.
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Poppy as a sticker... |
Last year, after yet another instance of buying a poppy at the mall and then
getting back to my car half an hour later sans poppy, I decided to opt
for a permanent solution.
I went online and purchased four poppy brooches (as shown at the top of this
post) on Amazon. It cost me just over eight dollars for all four and
this year, I am happily wearing a poppy that will not end up in our waterways.
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The back of my brooch... |
Because, yes, I have always been disturbed about these little pieces of
plastic — and pins! — ending up who knows where, affecting who knows
what. If you believe that even a small change can make a difference, then you
may want to forgo that plastic poppy.
But for change to happen, we have to make a loud enough noise for various
parties to hear.
In the last decade, a movement called No Stone Left Alone has popped up across Canada, having originated in my home city. Theoretically, it's a moving and inspiring practice whereby school children leave poppies on every grave (headstone) belonging to service men and women. A local newspaper columnist wrote that over the past ten years, students have placed 298,277 poppies on Canadian headstones.
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image courtesy of NoStoneLeftAlone.ca... |
As impactful as the gesture is, that represents an awful lot of plastic waste
floating around. Because that's what happens after someone places a poppy on
top of a headstone, however reverently: they blow away and ultimately become
litter.
Maybe these same school children should come up with a more environmentally
friendly way to ensure that no stone is left alone. Perhaps an art class
project to make paper, felt or fabric poppies in conjunction with the event is
the way to go.
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You don't need much to make a felt poppy... |
It's so easy to make your own poppy.
Just cut three pieces of red felt in the shape of a peanut, a small circle out
of black felt, and then stack and glue (or sew) them together. If it's meant
to be worn, hot glue a
clasp bar pin onto the back. (You can get small packages of five or ten
of those in the craft section of most discount or dollar stores.)
No felt? Make it out of poster board. Apply a couple of coats of
Mod Podge to each piece and the result should withstand light
rain and snow. (Or, did you know there's an outdoor version of
Mod Podge that will totally meet the demands?)
Either way, both versions are better than plastic.
Part of the problem is...
You know how sometimes the best intentions are ground to a halt by crazy
regulatory red tape? The reality is, the Royal Canadian Legion has a fairly
restrictive trademark on the concept of
poppy as Remembrance Day symbol.
Not only are they the only organization allowed to distribute poppies for this
purpose, no one is allowed to "deface" the poppy that they distribute. Even
swapping in a different centre pin — one designed to hold the poppy in place
more securely — was frowned upon several years ago by the Legion.
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image courtesy of PoppyStore.ca... |
Also, no one is allowed to make any commercial profit from the poppy symbol.
(I take it that the trademark doesn't extend world wide — or it's ignored by
parties in other countries — since the poppy brooches that I purchased are
widely available online.) Therefore, crafters who have made more
environmentally friendly versions over the years for sale have been stopped,
even if they intended to donate their profits to the Legion.
Meanwhile, the Legion itself has an online shop where they sell various
poppy-themed items, some of which might raise eyebrows. I think there are four
options for a brooch, including the beaded version shown here for $70 CAD.
(I'm not sure why this one is so expensive; one made out of sealskin is
actually "only" $60.) While I donate to the Poppy Fund every year,
unfortunately, it's not on the scale of $70 at a time.
The good news is that a redesign of the poppy to use more biodegradable
materials is currently being considered and we may see something more
environmentally friendly in the near future. Let's hope. (Update November 6, 2022: The Canadian Legion says that this year's batch are biodegradable!)
For now, I will wear my metal brooch, drop money into the donation boxes when
I encounter them and take the time to remember and honour the people who
sacrificed their lives to make ours and our world better. That is,
after all, the whole point.
Given the tumultuous times that we're living in, let us truly not
forget.
'Til next...
I too can remember wearing poppies on Memorial Day in May that were made of red crepe paper and actually made by Veterans themselves. I was too young to understand why we wore red poppies, but I do know that I loved those little handmade flowers and would keep them in a scrapbook. Veteran's would come to our schools and sell us the poppies. Our parents were sent home notes about this so that we children could have money to buy one. Later when I was older they would be outside in front of grocery stores selling them. I don't recall what material they make them out of today, but those red crepe paper ones I thought were so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a part of my memory! My grandfather was a WWI disabled vet, and my uncle was an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces during WWII. They were both members of the Canadian Legion. I am American born with Canadian parents, so the line between my two countries has always been a bit blurred. I did not realize that we wear our poppies of remembrance on Memorial Day for the States and on Veteran's Day for my Canadian family--I wear them for both with equal pride. Lest We Forget.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pleasant surprise to learn of your Canadian connections. It's so cool to be Canadian! ;-) I know, because I just spent over two hours shoveling a horrendous amount of snow.
DeleteI wasn't aware of the distinction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day until I did some research for this blog post. Up to now, it had always been a minor curiosity as to why two days six months apart had the same purpose. Now I know they are different in that one is to remember those long gone and the other is to honour those who serve among us. Glad to know that these days continue to hold meaning for many people.