The Cons of Girl Scout Cookies: Do sales really help the Girl Scouts?

Everyone seems to love Girl Scout cookies, but they seem to have changed, for better or for worse. Many people only buy Girl Scout cookies because of how cute the girls look, and not because they actually like the taste of the cookie. Did you know that the bakers recently got rid of the popular “Thanks-A-Lot” cookie? This is a vanilla cookie with chocolate on the back, and “thank you” in different languages on the top. These were one of the most popular cookies until they got rid of it. Most people didn’t know this, and once they found out, they were so upset and decided not to buy as many cookies. Maybe they don’t have enough money, but whatever the reason, they are getting rid of flavors that many people love to bring a new cookie out that isn’t as popular. Clearly, they are running out of creativity with their names because many people have said how dumb the new names sound. For example, “Toast Yays’ came out last year and replaced the “Thanks A Lot.” These cookies are similar to the “Thanks a Lot,” but they have vanilla on the bottom instead of chocolate, and they don’t have any words. People not only like them less but are discouraged by the name, too.

In addition, Girl Scout cookies are a big part of destroying forests. Did you know that all of the Girl Scout cookies use a decent amount of palm oil in the recipe? Palm oil, if you didn’t know, is an edible vegetable oil that is in a lot of foods, and because of this, it is a major driver of deforestation. The bakers even stated, when asked, “We will continue to work with our suppliers to increase our use of sustainable palm oil with a goal to get 100% segregated sustainable palm oil when it becomes logistically and financially feasible.” They still say that they use palm oil on their website, and have many members that are debating about whether they still want to sell them or not.

Moreover, in different areas of the country, there are different bakers who make different recipes of specific cookies. For instance, the S’more cookie, which is no longer being sold, (and also my personal favorite cookie,) would be a graham cracker, with a thin layer of marshmallow frosting, and a thick coating of chocolate in one area. Yet in another area you would have gotten a sandwich cookie with frosting and fudge in the middle, and a bit of a maple flavor.

Last but not least, have you ever thought about how much money the troops actually earn and get to use for their activities for all of their cookie selling? Just from my own experience, I know that my troop barely got any money from selling the $5 box of cookies. After some research, I found that, according to mashed.com, “In 2014, CBS Minnesota broke down the price of a box of cookies, which was then $4. They found that 27 percent of the cost — $1.08 — went into making, packaging, and shipping the cookies, 19 percent (76 cents) went toward the Girl Scouts’ volunteer program, 15 percent (61 cents) went toward funding scout camps, 12 percent (49 cents) went into funding leadership programs, and 6 percent (22 cents) went into the coffers of local administration. That leaves only about 21 percent (84 cents) that goes directly to the troop.” This means that barely any of the money people may be giving the troops for their girl scout cookies is actually going to the troops.

All in all, Girl Scout cookies may not be what you think they are. They have many cons to them that most people don’t care about or just glance over. However, some of these cons are real concern that should be heard. We can no longer ignore the cons of these delicious treats; people have to realize what is going on and understand it, or they will continue manipulating customers as well as the girls.