Knitted and Crocheted Sweaters for Penguins in Oil Spill

Okay, so as an avid knitter, I have received several links over the last few years from friends who thought of me when they saw the call for mini sweaters to be knit and sent to help penguins who had been affected by an oil spill. It was said that the sweaters would keep them from trying to clean themselves and ingesting the toxic oil. 

Click here for an example of such links. 

So many friends were sending me these links, that I thought I should look into it more. What a FUN idea! I get to do what I love (knit!) AND save an adorable creature in the process!

Well, when I looked into it, I found this:
The Great Penguin Sweater Fiasco 

Because the call was outdated, they were getting more sweaters than they actually needed. Each time a friend sent me the link, I would explain that it was old. 

Well, tonight a friend sent me a NEW link. I was about to tell her the same "outdated" story, but noticed it was from this month! So I went back to the "Fiasco" article and notice the update:

UPDATE, March 2014: The Phillip Island penguin foundation have changed their tune, and put out a new call for more sweaters, with predictably huge amounts of media coverage. They strongly imply in their advertising that this will save oil-soaked penguins (although there’s been no oil spill since 2001). If you read the fine print, you find out the sweaters will actually be sold in the gift shop. I guess “knit sweaters for us to sell in our gift shop” is not the sort of thing that goes viral.

They want more sweaters AND they aren't even being used for the penguins! They are being sold in their gift shop! WHAT A HOAX!

Although, THIS article, claims that the money is actually then being used by the foundation to help the penguins. 

Wow. Playing on the emotions of us caring/loving knitters who just want to warm hearts... very very disappointing. 

For those who are still looking to knit for a cause, try "Knit for Kids" sponsored by World Vision. 

CLICK HERE to visit their website.