Dear Ms. Dornfeld:
I wrote to Toys R Us awhile ago and never received a reply. A colleague
passed along your name, and I was hoping you would consider my feedback.
Please let me know whom I can speak to at the highest levels of your
organization or pass this information along.
I have stopped shopping at Toys R Us and recommended that others do likewise
since I heard about this giveaway. I understand that you are defending it on
the basis that people don't *have* to take it. True enough. But most people,
in the interest of frugality, will take it just in case. Why does this
matter? Formula companies certainly know the answer, and that is why they
partner with companies such as yours: Women who receive formula samples are
less likely to breastfeed and breastfeed for shorter periods of time. This
is a bit of a no-brainer -- why else would the companies give away their
product?
What I *don't* understand is what's in it for Toys R Us. Are you receiving a
financial kickback from the company in question? Would you be giving out
cigarettes, too, since some people still choose to smoke? Well, no, you
might say, cigarettes are dangerous.
Unfortunately, infant formula is just as dangerous, killing an estimated
16,000 of the 4,000,000 babies born in the U.S. each year -- and I tell you
this as a mother who formula fed her first child, with no idea of the
dangers. I am now -- now that I know the dangers -- really angry with
businesses like yours that conspired with formula companies to be sure my
son was formula-fed. And -- by the way -- I'm one of the many women who
started out breastfeeding, ran into trouble, and gave those formula samples
that I had taken "just in case." :-(
You may find the article below interesting:
http://family.go.com/Features/family_1997_06/minn/minn67formula/
You may also wish to consult your legal department, and let them know that:
a) you are violating the World Health Organization Code on breastmilk
substitutes; and
b) you are exposing the company to liability issues by passing out a
dangerous product.
They may not view this "generous" giveaway as harmless when they view it in
this light. I personally will be the first to advise people to take legal
action when they're sabotaged by companies like yours. Toys R Us has no
business giving away infant formula without warning customers of its
dangers.
Sincerely,
Janice Berry
Westerville, OH
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