Tag Archives: Destination Maternity Boycott

Motherhood Maternity Boycott Update

I don’t know about any of you, but I received an email back from the Destination Maternity Marketing Partnerships department. Here’s what it said:

Good morning,

On behalf of Destination Maternity Corporation we deeply apologize for your disappointment with our Perks Program and we appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

After signing up for the Perks Program at the time of check out, you are to receive special offers and coupons via email, as well as through the mail, from our preferred partners such as Huggies, Enfamil and many more. These items could be anything from special offers and coupons to informational brochures, relating to this exciting time in your life.

We have several safeguards in place to ensure that our team members properly explain the program to all clients, and that our clients fully understand the program before accepting.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused to you as a valued customer, and would be more than happy to have your email and physical address removed from all mailing lists. However, in order to do so, we will need your full name and address as provided at the point of sale. Please send us this information at your earliest convenience.

Please feel free to contact us if we can provide any further assistance in this matter.

Best regards,
DMC Marketing Partnerships

And here is my response:

DMC Marketing Partnerships,

 

Thank you for offering to take me off of the list, but I have already called and asked to be taken off.
My problem is not with the Perks Program, but rather Destination Maternity’s choice in partners. Personally, I fully understood that I would be receiving coupons and magazines in the mail—which I was happy about. The problem is when something like formula goes from simply sending me coupons that I can choose whether or not to use to actually sending formula. I understand that you are not responsible for what they choose to send me after being put on their list, but you are responsible for choosing to partner with someone who will send formula samples out to fragile new moms in hopes that they will give up on breastfeeding and “get hooked” on their brand of formula.
I would love to continue shopping at Destination Maternity stores. I would actually love to be on your mailing list because I did get many things that were nice to have. The problem is that I can not support a company that chooses to partner with another company that has obvious malicious intent. Destination Maternity could even do something as simple as an option to opt in to receive information on formula for mothers who think they may want to use it. Even an option to opt out of receiving formula information would be better than nothing.
Thank you for your time
I don’t think they really understood the point we are trying to make at all. This is more than simply wanting to be taken off of their mailing list. This is looking out for the interests of all new and future moms with intent to breastfeed. Formula companies are taking away the decision that a mother makes of whether or not to breastfeed by forcing the formula into the homes of these moms. It is absolutely wrong. They are stealing the possibility of a healthier life for that baby because they want money.

Motherhood Maternity Boycott

Hello all!

I am amazed at all of the comments I’ve received and continue to receive on my last post about a possible boycott of Motherhood Maternity. There seems to be a resounding “Yes!” that we should indeed boycott, so I’ve written this letter for everyone to send in. You’re welcome to edit and add as you’d like.

Since this is an issue with a partnership that they have, I feel it prudent to send these letters to the Vice President of Marketing Partnerships Zanny Oltman. You’re welcome to also send the message to the general marketing partnerships department. Here are the email addresses:

zoltman {at} destinationmaternity {dot} com

marketingpartnerships {at} destinationmaternity {dot} com

This boycott involves all Destination Maternity stores and brands. Be sure to watch out for their brands when shopping for maternity clothes at Babies R Us, Macy’s, and Kohl’s too. A complete list can be found here: http://destinationmaternitycorp.com/HomeBrand.asp

Here’s the email:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am one of the many mothers who gave my information to a store representatives at one of your Destination Maternity Corporation stores (Motherhood Maternity, Pea in the Pod, and/or Destination Maternity) and consequentially had infant formula samples sent to me by one of your “select partners”. I, along with the other mothers who have been and will continue to send you these emails, urge you to rethink your “partnership” with these formula companies. While many moms do choose to formula feed—which is their decision to make—I choose not to, but having these actual cans of formula sitting in my house puts me at risk of ending my breastfeeding relationship prematurely. It puts all mothers and babies who are sent these cans of formula at risk. No matter the determination of a mother to breastfeed, having those cans sitting there calling to her in the middle of the night when she’s sleep deprived, likely in pain, and just looking for some relief, can easily act as a detriment to her choice to breastfeed. Formula companies know this and take advantage of it by sending formula to expecting mothers through “partnerships” such as the one you are involved in and giving away free formula to hospitals to give away to new parents. Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, Ban the Bags and Best for Babes are just three organizations that recognize the harm this free infant formula can cause.

We send you these emails to inform you that until you cease this partnership, we will no longer be shopping at your stores or buy your brands. We also plan to send the message along to all current and future moms we encounter that Motherhood Maternity, Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity stores do not value breastfeeding by holding this partnership. On the contrary, you are risking ending your breastfeeding relationship prematurely by shopping at these stores.

Thank you for your time,

{insert your name here}

Lastly, please leave a comment here letting me know that you have sent in an email to Destination Maternity so that we can kind of keep count of how many of us are joining in the boycott. Thank you all for joining me in this cause against breastfeeding booby traps!