How to distribute it is a difficult problem.
On December 21, Canada Goose's official Weibo announced that it would donate 2,000 pieces of down jackets and other cold supplies to the Gansu earthquake area in conjunction with the Shanghai Charity Association. Figure: Shanghai Charity Network.
On December 21, three days after Linxia Jishi Mountain**, Canada Goose posted on its official Weibo that it donated 2,000 pieces of down jackets and other cold supplies to the earthquake area in Gansu.
3 days later, someone posted information on the second-hand trading platform Xianyu: "Aid to the goose in the earthquake area of Gansu to see the ** will know that the goods are not ordinary, only a few hundred, first come, first served, no washing label, no tag, no return." ”
What originally seemed to be an ordinary donation of love, because of this "resale" information, caused an uproar.
Controversial luxury donations
According to the information released by the Shanghai Charity Network, the total value of the relief materials donated by Canada Goose reached more than 15 million yuan, including 1,000 warm jackets, 500 sleeping bags, 2,001 Canada Goose down jackets, 74 pairs of gloves, 3,000 packs of warm stickers and 3,000 insulated water cups.
Canada goose down jacket is known for its luxurious quality and high quality, in some e-commerce platforms, most of the Canada goose down jacket is sold at 9,500 yuan, and there is no shortage of products with more than 10,000 yuan.
On the morning of the 27th, the person in charge of the Shanghai Charity Association, the recipient of the donation, told the "Chinese Philanthropist" that the institution was also the first time to receive such a valuable material donation during the emergency disaster relief process.
This time, it was the company that reached out to us. Although the value of the material is high, our first judgment is that the down jacket is a material needed in the disaster area. We have rescue teams in the disaster area, and they have learned that many local people have thin clothes to protect themselves from the cold. At this time, the company expressed a strong willingness to donate, and they could only donate materials, so we received it legally and compliantly, and gave it to the disaster area as soon as possible. The person in charge said.
In view of the fact that this batch of materials is a luxury item, after the materials are transported to the disaster area, the local public security personnel will be dispatched to supervise the whole process, and the staff of Xu Hu's hometown in Jishishan County and the Shanghai Zique Emergency Rescue Team will jointly unload the goods, and properly place them after inventory.
Because the Canada goose down jacket is expensive, some commentators have raised the question of "whether the luxury clothes with relatively high value are suitable to donate to the disaster area". The above-mentioned person in charge said that the ** meeting also considered cashing in after receiving the materials, and then giving all the cash to the disaster area. However, this is done with the consent of the donor, and the whole process will be too long, and the emergency response time is time-limited, so this method has to be abandoned.
We also recognized that this was a special batch of donated items, because the ** of this batch of down jackets was too high, and the pressure caused to us at that time was also very high. When the goods are delivered on the same day, we let ** supervise the whole process and send them to the disaster area point-to-point. The local public security organ is also supervising the whole process when unloading. The person in charge said.
The Shanghai Charity Association issued a statement saying that it will manage and use the donations from all walks of life to ensure that every cent of donations and materials can be used for the help of people in the disaster area and post-disaster reconstruction.
Xianyu also responded that the so-called information on reselling donated materials was a rumor, but in fact, the user involved made up this information in order to sell down jackets for hot spots. The platform has permanently banned the account.
Assignment puzzles
This donation of Canada Goose has special characteristics, one is the most expensive, and the other is that the number is limited. In practice, luxury donations are often met with the question of how to distribute them, which is often controversial.
There are no specific requirements for the distribution of charitable materials in the law, but according to public welfare ethics, an open and fair process should be reflected and given to beneficiaries who meet the value of public welfare. Jia Xijin, associate professor at Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management and deputy dean of the Institute of Public Welfare and Philanthropy, said that if the distribution process deviates from the value of public welfare, there is a configuration according to the value of money, relationship value, power value, etc., which will greatly reduce the purpose of public welfare.
Jia Xijin believes that the down jacket donated to the disaster area is more important than the use function, that is, the cold function. Its distribution should first of all be given to those most in need, in accordance with the function of keeping out the cold, and with attention to procedural justice in the process, according to rules that are visible to all;Considering the added value of the brand, it can give priority to vulnerable people, such as the disabled, children, and the families of the victims, without conflicting with the emergency needs of the cold. "It is okay to distribute them to these vulnerable groups and increase the added value of love materials such as warmth and comfort. ”
So, can the person who received the donated item sell the down jacket?He Guoke, a lawyer at Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm, believes that it depends on whether the donor has an agreement in advance. If the donor and the charitable organization agree with the beneficiary that the appeal for donating down jackets is to help the victims keep out the cold, and the sale may be contrary to the purpose of funding, according to Article 59 of the Charity Law, if the beneficiary fails to properly use the loving materials, the charitable organization may require the beneficiary to make corrections, and if he refuses to make corrections, he may request him to return them.
If there is no agreement or the agreement is not clear, the beneficiary cannot be legally liable for selling the down jacket. He Guoke said.
Jia Xijin analyzed from another angle: in an emergency, the recipient's demand for down jacket warmth will be higher than the economic need, if it is transferred to the person he cares about, it is understandable, but if it is not used at the moment and is sold, it means that he does not have a real need for warmth and cold protection, and may not be a suitable donee himself.
According to the Shanghai Charity Association to the "Chinese Philanthropist", the Gansu Provincial Department of Civil Affairs has taken the lead in setting up a working group to discuss how to distribute this batch of down jackets.
Should we donate luxury goods to the disaster area?
In He Guoke's view, under the current legal system, there is no prohibition on enterprises donating Canadian goose down jackets to disaster areas.
The current law does not have specific requirements for receiving donations from the society in disaster relief, including the types of materials, **, etc., which are not stipulated.
Some people also questioned that the 2,001 down jackets donated by Canada Goose this time were overstocked products.
In this regard, Jia Xijin believes that although the market value of the backlog product is relatively low, it is very suitable as a donation product, and it is also a reuse of good products. It should be pointed out that a backlog of products is not the same as a non-conforming product.
In Jia Xijin's view, in the process of disaster relief, it is a good idea to let high-quality clothing benefit the affected people. Of course, on the other hand, due to the high value and limited quantity, the requirements for the distribution process are higher, which is a challenge to the public welfare execution of the receiving charitable organizations and the relevant local departments responsible for distribution.
In the face of the pressure, Ma Chengjun, secretary of the Party Committee of Xu Hu's hometown in Jishishan County, the recipient of the Canadian goose down jacket, told the "Chinese Philanthropist" that the corresponding list of beneficiaries will be publicized for public supervision.
In this regard, He Guoke expressed concern: according to Article 62 of the Charity Law, charitable services should respect the beneficiaries and must not infringe on the privacy of the beneficiaries.
There are also many industry experts who suggest selling the materials for cash and donating money.
He Guoke said that no matter how valuable the relief materials are, they must be given to the groups who need them most. If the materials are not suitable to be given directly to the beneficiary, the relevant institutions can realize them by sale, auction and other means in accordance with the provisions of the "Charity Law" and the "Regulations on the Administration of the Association", and all the income after realization can be used for public welfare.
Author: Wen Rujun.
Visual China.
*Editor: Zhang Xu.
Duty Editor: Yang Yongjie.